Experienced beginner! - Page 8

mousey · 07-29-2009, 08:45 AM

well my cat doesn't like it so maybe you have a point

ron v · 08-11-2009, 12:40 AM

Well it's been six weeks now and I thought I would update my "experiment". The two 10 gal tanks with the 3-spot gouramis have still not cycled completely. The tank in which I used Stability for the first seven days is still showing subtantial amounts of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The tank in which I added nothing is showing no ammonia. Nitrite is still showing a little and we have lots of nitrate. So the tank without Stability is about done. The Stability tank is actually behind in it's development. Keep in mind that I have soft water (very little buffering capacity) so PH is unstable. During the first week or so of the cycle, PH dropped to 6.0 or lower, Since then, PH has been kept pretty steady at 6.6-6.8 with water changes. The bacteria doesn't do well at a low PH so I'm sure the first week was not good for them. But they should be OK at 6.6. Normal cycling bacteria, as I understand it, go dormant at a low PH but survive ready to bounce back when conditions are right. I wonder if the Stability bacteria is more sensitive and maybe instead of going dormant they died off?

I also would have thought that the normal bacteria would have inhabited the Stability tank by now so that the cycle time line would at least be equal??? Why not? Questions...questions???

**bmlbytes** · 08-11-2009, 12:47 AM

Ron without doing it in a proper science lab, it would be impossible to tell you why that happened. Maybe stability contains some sort of chemical that helps their bacteria grow, but is not a good living enviroment for normal bacteria. Maybe it would be better to set your PH to 7.0 and see what happens.

mousey · 08-11-2009, 07:27 AM

I would be contacting Seachem to see what they have to say. Often if you can actaully talk to them instead of going by the "official" written version you get different answers.
Eg my use of Prazipro. The container says one treatment is sufficient but when I contacted them they said 3 treatments were actually needed.
go figure- if you can't count on the written instructions on the product where does that leave us?

ron v · 08-11-2009, 09:19 AM

Hi mousey. I've thought about contacting Seachem... just haven't yet. I'm about through cycling so I won't need to worry about it anymore. It's been an interesting experiment even if it raised more questions than it answers. There is no yes or no with this stuff. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. My little experiment means nothing except that it didn't work for me. The real meaningful thing is the experience of many hobbyist. On this forum and others, many people have reported excellent results from several of the instant cycle products. Other people have said it didn't work for them. The logical and reasonable conclusion is that the stuff is worth a try but continued testing is important to make sure.... and we will never know all the answers.

**bmlbytes** · 08-11-2009, 09:29 AM

What would be an interesting experiment would be to see which product works best. Get like 6 tanks and fill them like this:
1. Nothing
2. Seachem Stability
3. Bio Spria
4. API Stress Zyme+
5. Regular ammonia or fish flakes
6. 2 fish

and see which of these will cycle the fastest. All the tanks would have to have the same equipment, lighting, temperature, and water volume and it would have to be in the same room. It would give a good idea as to which products work well.

ron v · 08-11-2009, 09:30 AM

BML, I'm not sure you could tell even with a science lab and I didn't really expect anyone to answer the question. If you go back through this thread, you will see that the whole thing is a series of questions that couldn't be answered. No big deal. This is just my little diversion and something to talk about on this forum. I enjoy doing things like this... and you are right about the low PH being an issue for normal bacteria. They will work at the 6.6 or so that I maintained. Not as fast, but they work. The Stability bacteria may have different enviromental requirements... who knows?

**bmlbytes** · 08-11-2009, 09:36 AM

Lol I'm just bored, so I offer suggestions like this.

Really, a test like this would need to be done in distilled, pure H20 with a PH of 7.0. It would offer the best idea, but may take a while for any method.

ron v · 08-11-2009, 09:36 AM

BML, that is a great idea. Are you available??? I have tried to talk someone else on this forum into helping me with Stability. I would love for someone else to try this experiment with different parameters in a somewhat controlled enviroment. I tried one tank with stability and one without. Maybe someone could try one with high PH and one with low... or different temps...

**bmlbytes** · 08-11-2009, 09:39 AM

I would love to help you with that, but unfortunately I can not afford to buy a bunch of small aquariums and equipment and chemicals

Maybe I could find some fish bowls and I could go buy a few 1 gallon jugs of distilled water from the grocery store though. My room temp should be good, since it is a bit warm anyway. I just don't have the money for filters, substrate, and the chemicals.

**bmlbytes** · 08-11-2009, 09:46 AM

Actually I think I have some play sand for substrate, but I still don't have a filter or the fish bowls.

Plus, what would a do with all those fish bowls?

ron v · 08-11-2009, 09:55 AM

You could do a little with just two. Pick whatever parameter you find of interest and go for it. Don't mess with bowls. Get you a couple of 10 gal tanks....You have been looking for an excuse to get a couple of new aquariums...now haven't you??? LOL

**bmlbytes** · 08-11-2009, 09:58 AM

I do want more aquariums, but I don't think my bank would agree.

There was a guy on craigslist selling 5 Gallons for $5 a piece.

**emc7** · 08-11-2009, 11:15 AM

Don't use straight RO, distilled, or de-ionized water for fish. You would have to start with that and add a measured amount of ions. Maybe baking soda and epsom salt.