With no shortage of Biological water treatments available I've never really relied on them.The reason being is there's really no true shortcut to a fully cycled aquarium you have to wait and let nature take it's course. In the past I've tried products like Cycle by Nutrafin and Easy start by Tetra but in most cases these products were used in setting up fast quarantine and hospital tanks.
Most of these products -want you to use them continuously which doesn't make sense to me.If you have a fully cycled tank why would keep adding new strains of bacteria to already established water? Well, I think because some manufacturers want you too keep coming back for more and the price of admission isn't cheap.
Cycle at around $22 for 16 ounces encourages you to dose your tank with 5 ml for every ten gallons once a week and 10 ml for every ten gallons during water changes.
Nonsense.
This brings me to "Stability" by Seachem (one of my favorite companies)But being partial to them and their product line doesn't mean I don't question or research as best I can when trying something new.That said, I'm nursing a new 55, a 40 and 125. I had a bottle of Stability which I had bought on a what the heck basis the 55 has fish in it, I seeded the filter but still had serious ammonia spikes.
Seachem claims that the bacteria used in competitive products are inherently unstable. And for the bacteria to survive it must live in the exact temperature, PH and other water parameters in which it was raised and colonized.This makes perfect sense.When you add this bacteria to your aquarium, it survives for a brief while but then crashes and dies.
Stability on the other hand, has bacteria that can survive in almost any kind of water fresh and salt and virtually any type of water conditions.Seachem states the strain took a decade to develop. What sets it further apart from the competition is that it contains nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria which isn't the case for any other product of it's kind.Seachem also states other bacterial supplements form toxic hydrogen sulfide something that can never happen with Stability.
With this said, I've dosed the 55 and 40 according to the directions which are 5 ml per 10 gallons on the first dose and a follow up of 5 ml per 20 gallons for 7 days.What I've noticed and noticed quickly, is that my water is clearly more stabilized. Currently I show no ammonia on the API test or Seachem Ammonia Alert meter it's been five days since the last dose and all of my readings are in the safe zone.
I don't use it for water changes but having experienced the problems of adding fish to a non or partially cycled tank, I have not so fond memories of daily 50% -80% water changes for weeks..ugh.Where Stability shines is in helping you protect your fish and stabilize the water, especially in keeping the primary fish killer ammonia in check.So for specific applications Stability is an excellent product. It's harmless to fish and appears to deliver on it's promise. But as a weekly or even monthly addition to established tank maintenance I wouldn't suggest it.
To their Credit, Seachem says you can use it as an on going additive but unlike other products they don't make it sound like you have to.
I had hi hopes for stability and used it as advised. (even longer than suggested 7 days) While I think its a good supplement for your bio media... It doesnt quite save you from new tank syndrome like they advertise. My advise is use when your bio system needs a boost or doing water changes not for starting new tanks so much when you want to add fish right away and expect them to live through the tank cycle. (well maybe if they are hardy....but thats another story / debate)
Buy Seachem Stability 250ml Now
I would give this more stars, but the thing is it worked so well initially that i never needed to use it but once (making it pretty expensive for a small application). Use as jumpstart for new tanks or full water changes (?). The Biofilter is important for clean and efficient water cycles, this keeps levels in check, and my fish seem happy.
Read Best Reviews of Seachem Stability 250ml Here
I used this to help cycle a tank for my goldfish and he seemed to go through it without much stress at all. I still top up the tank a little now and then. Worth the price. Shake well.
Want Seachem Stability 250ml Discount?
I have used stability mid-cycle to complete the nitrifying [nitrite > nitrate] stage on a 25-gallon tank successfully (4wks pre-Stability +1 WK w/Stability=5 WK total)*. I was trying to cycle with 3 small fish, doing daily water changes for 4 WKs prior to starting Stability. Part out of frustration, added confidence in having 4 WK-old biological filter being established already and also just following the instructions that instructs to fully stock and keep up the required dosage, I actually went out and way overstocked my tank. No signs of stress at all and very active throughout. I then purchased a 10-gallon tank to relieve overcrowding and used Stability to cycle the tank from start to finish successfully:
On the brand new 10-gallon tank I stocked it fully (w/ brand new Penguin 100 filter only/ No Purigen/ no bacteria seeding other than Stability) and started Stability with Matrix both in the filter and scattered in gravel. The tank successfully cycled in 2.5 weeks with minimal ammonia/ nitrate (longest) spike, with NO water changes and no algae bloom. (Dosed with Prime for 2-3 days Nitrite stage). Watching my tank cycle that quick with no water changes and stressed fish was pretty impressive.
I have stopped adding stability for 3 WKS, w/water changes , now without a hint of stress or any spikes in NH3 or NO2-.
In conclusion from my experience I would estimate that the use of Stability drastically reduces the cycle time with minimal stress to fish with NO water changes, but I also recommend the use of Matrix (my 25 gallon has nitrate levels so low that I am starting to worry about dangerously low nitrate conditions, so I may have to remove some) and Prime or similar products.
*I also realized I had made a crucial error in not providing media in my filter for nitrifying bacteria growth in the first 4 weeks and added seachem Matrix as well as seachem Purigen at the same time I started Stability treatment on my 25 gallon; I also added a second filter (Penguin 100) at that time to achieve overfiltered conditions.
BTW I do not work for Seachem and you can most likely use a competing brand's products just as successfully, but I am a firm believer in this product from my experience, and I KNOW how frustrating it can be to cycle without bacterial seeding so why go though it? I read about this stuff before I started cycling but actually wanted to try it once and experience succeeding without seeding, but impatience and better logic got the better of me, and I'm so glad.
Save 46% Off
I purchased this item about 3 months ago. It arrived with the hand holding the trident broken off, but I super glued it back on. I really liked the look of the ornament in my 10 gallon planted betta tank; however, after 3 months the paint has really faded away. I know this is made in China and I'm not sure it's safe paint even though my fish is still alive. I wouldn't recommend getting this for an aquarium ornament.
