Seachem Stability: PUT TO THE TEST/blank slate (daily perams/pics)

[Matt724]

Hi, just entering this thread, but I'd like to showcase another great product: Superbac. I have used seachem Stability and Superbac before, and both work great, but IME, Superbac is cheaper than stability, which is the only reason why I go for it. Also, Superbac is easier because its a one time dose and then you just watch the magic happen. For both products I used it with a pretty good fish load on it, just to up the challenge of the bacteria, but for both products, within a week, I stopped testing because the water balanced out really fast. I just thought that I'd share my experience and let others know that there is another great product out there.

Also, I plan on setting up a neolamprologus multifasciatus tank for my desk, but since they are from Lake Tanganyika the pH will need to be around 9.1, and when I contacted Naturbac (Superbac's company) they said that their product will only work in a maximum pH of 8.2, which poses a problem. I was going to try and contact Seachem Stability and pose the same question, but I expect similar results. Has anyone used Stability in a tank with a pH of over 9.0 before? Successfully?

 

[swk]

Hi, just entering this thread, but I'd like to showcase another great product: Superbac. I have used seachem Stability and Superbac before, and both work great, but IME, Superbac is cheaper than stability, which is the only reason why I go for it. Also, Superbac is easier because its a one time dose and then you just watch the magic happen. For both products I used it with a pretty good fish load on it, just to up the challenge of the bacteria, but for both products, within a week, I stopped testing because the water balanced out really fast. I just thought that I'd share my experience and let others know that there is another great product out there.

Also, I plan on setting up a neolamprologus multifasciatus tank for my desk, but since they are from Lake Tanganyika the pH will need to be around 9.1, and when I contacted Naturbac (Superbac's company) they said that their product will only work in a maximum pH of 8.2, which poses a problem. I was going to try and contact Seachem Stability and pose the same question, but I expect similar results. Has anyone used Stability in a tank with a pH of over 9.0 before? Successfully?

Your multis don't need that high of a ph. I spawn wild caught tangs with 8.0 tap water no problem. Above 7.5 and you're good to go.

Sorry for wandering from the topic

 

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

I have a Rena xp3, aquaclear HOB 110, and a UGF with powerheads. It is a 80 gallon tank. As I said before, prior to changing the gravel, the filters handled the bio load and my water parameters were acceptable. Currently, the ammonia is still at 2. In conclusion, I do not think the stability is working as fast as I want it to.

My first dose was on 5/28/10. Today is 6/9/10. It has been 13 days since my first dose. Fish tank is still not cycled. Ammonia is at 2 or 4, nitrites are not even showing.

 

[JK47]

My first dose was on 5/28/10. Today is 6/9/10. It has been 13 days since my first dose. Fish tank is still not cycled. Ammonia is at 2 or 4, nitrites are not even showing.

This isn't helpful... Is it 2ppm or 4ppm?? Where are the pics of all three readings? Did you take my advice and do a large WC and double up? Specifics man...?

 

[streetthrowback]

well yesterday i put in my 1st dose along with my lil 13 red bellies piranhas, dont have money for a test kit but once i do i will test the water, i will keep up with the dosage and let people know what goes on, the water is clear, and my lil babies are flying throu the tank, looks all good, will post some pics and vids

 

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

well yesterday i put in my 1st dose along with my lil 13 red bellies piranhas, dont have money for a test kit but once i do i will test the water, i will keep up with the dosage and let people know what goes on, the water is clear, and my lil babies are flying throu the tank, looks all good, will post some pics and vids

You can call around the fish stores in your area to see if they can test your water for free. Some stores do that.

 

[zennzzo]

You can call around the fish stores in your area to see if they can test your water for free. Some stores do that.

Just be aware that there are some LFS's that will give you readings leaning toward selling you the magical fix too...

 

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

This isn't helpful... Is it 2ppm or 4ppm?? Where are the pics of all three readings? Did you take my advice and do a large WC and double up? Specifics man...?

Update, today is 6/12/10. My first dose of stability was on 5/28/10. My ammonia is at 2, nitrite is at 0.5

Seems like it is going through a regular fish cycle now.

I did just one water change since 5/28/10. I used all the stablity and one extra dose from another bottle that I had.

I guess, this is real world testing, and you decide if it worked or not.

 

[Zarasa]

hi zennzzo and jk47,

did you guys ever do the head to head test mentioned earlier in this thread to test seachem stability vs. using bacteria colony from an established tank for a new start up?

i have a 29g freshwater tank that is way overstocked (i think) and i am getting ready to start a 65g tank to take care of the overcrowding situation as well as add more fish. i think i will also make the 65g a "low tech" planted tank (no CO2).

so, is it better to bring over water, media, decorations and the original starter fish from the existing tank to help get the new tank going, or is it better to use seachem stability, or do both? my LFS recommends using help from the existing tank + Nutrafin Cycle to get the process moving. the guys there made me cycle my first tank (the 29g) with danio's and rosy barbs and nothing else except kordon chlorine neutralizer. they said they wanted me to learn the proper way to cycle a tank...it took over 6 weeks. for the new tank, i'm in a bit of a rush because i need to alleviate the overcrowding situation. but, i want to do it right and end up with two tanks that are stable in the long run. here's my set up:

existing tank:
- 29g

- temp = 75F (should i raise that? read a comment from zennzzo in his fishless cycling post that bacteria thrive at 80F+)

- parameters: The LFS around the corner checks them for me weekly when i go in...at last check ammonia and nitrites were very slightly elevated, but nitrates were high (80ppm i think)...i performed a 25% water change and added Amquel

- Fluval 305 with biomax, carbon, (adding purigen today to hopefully remove tannins/color from a little bit of driftwood that is in the tank)

- Inexpensive 2x T5HO light

- 2 inches of medium-large sized gravel

- 6 plants of various types

- a few kitschy decorations that my 8 year old added

- a lot of small fish (plattys, mollies, danios, rosy barbs) and one 4 inch pleco...in total i have about 50 inches of fish in there...they all get along just fine, but i've started doing some reading and i think that i've overloaded the tank by 2x and i am probably simultaneously overfeeding the fish.

- the tank has very fine particulate matter floating throughout the tank that clouds the water significantly. polishing pads for the fluval helped, but did not clear it up. i suspect it is due to the tremendous amount of fish waste and plant decay that is going on in the tank, but i'm not sure. any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
-finally, i also need to start doing weekly 25% water changes consistently instead of 25% monthly changes (right?)


new tank:
- 65g 36x18x24 "tall" tank.

- Fluval 405 - plan to run with Seachem Matrix, Seachem Carbon Matrix and Seachem Purigen rather than the Fluval media (can you comment if there is any real difference or am i just falling for the marketing)

- Nova Extreme 4x T5HO lighting to help grow the plants

- 3 inches of gravel from aquariumplants.com designed specifically for planted tanks

- planning to add many plants once the tank is established, but again no CO2 (to complex and expensive to deal with right now)

- a few large pieces of mopani wood that i am currently soaking and may continue to soak for a total of 10 days before putting in the tank.

- both tanks will remains community fresh water tanks

so, i really have two questions:

1 - what is the fine particulate matter filling the entire 29g tank and how do I get rid of it?

2 - should i start the new 65g from "scratch" using stability or jump start the cycle by moving 50% of the filter media, plants (temporarily), and maybe even 10-15 gallons of water over from the existing 29g tank. one thing i'm worried about is bringing over the fine particulate matter problem to the new tank.

sorry for the really long post. i read thru this thread, but could not find your head to head show down...please point me to it, or suggest additional threads on this forum i should read.

thanks for your help!
zarasa

 

[JK47]

That's quite the first post welcome to MFK!

If you have other established tanks, I would just mover some media and slowly stock it. That method is proven through the ages. I found myself needing to cycle from stratch because I was treating medication in both tanks and could not move over any media.
Stability is a great product so you could give it a try but like you LFS recommended, if your just starting out there is some benifit in learning cycling approaches without chemicals or additives. Sorry I was never able to do the head to head comparison. I got started on another project and sold all my 55g's. I'll get back to it one day.