Fluval Cyce VS Seachem Stability

[BanjoFish]

Do these do the same job or slightly different?

Which is the better?

 

[GaryE]

They're competing brands. Both are of questionable usefulness.

 

[BanjoFish]

They're competing brands. Both are of questionable usefulness.

Strange as a lot of people ( elsewhere I might add) swear by it.

 

[Essjay]

If you want to use a bottled bacteria product, look for Tetra Safe Start as this is known to contain the correct species of bacteria.

Why is it that you ask? I thought your tank was already cycled - or are ammonia and/or nitrite showing up now that you have fish?

 

[BanjoFish]

If you want to use a bottled bacteria product, look for Tetra Safe Start as this is known to contain the correct species of bacteria.

Why is it that you ask? I thought your tank was already cycled - or are ammonia and/or nitrite showing up now that you have fish?

The nitates were 80.0 recently.

 

[Essjay]

Do you mean nitrates? Nitrites of 80 would mean very dead fish very quickly. Any reading for nitrite above zero is cause for concern. (Nitrite blocks the blood from taking up oxygen. Basically, it does to fish what carbon monoxide does to us which is how it kills quickly at low levels).

Bottled bacteria cannot remove nitrate; they contain (or claim to contain) bacteria which eat ammonia and nitrite only. The bacteria which eat nitrate rarely grow in fish tanks so it's up to the fish keeper to remove nitrate by doing water changes - and stop them getting high by not over feeding the fish.
Food decomposes to make ammonia and fish excrete ammonia. Ammonia eating bacteria eat this ammonia and turn it into nitrite. Then nitrite eating bacteria eat this nitrite and turn it into nitrate. Too much food or too many fish make a lot of ammonia which is turned into a lot of nitrite then a lot of nitrate.


If ammonia and nitrite stay at zero, it is not only unnecessary to use bottled bacteria, it is also a waste of money. Bottled bacteria will do nothing for nitrate.

 

[BanjoFish]

Do you mean nitrates? Nitrites of 80 would mean very dead fish very quickly. Any reading for nitrite above zero is cause for concern. (Nitrite blocks the blood from taking up oxygen. Basically, it does to fish what carbon monoxide does to us which is how it kills quickly at low levels).

Bottled bacteria cannot remove nitrate; they contain (or claim to contain) bacteria which eat ammonia and nitrite only. The bacteria which eat nitrate rarely grow in fish tanks so it's up to the fish keeper to remove nitrate by doing water changes - and stop them getting high by not over feeding the fish.
Food decomposes to make ammonia and fish excrete ammonia. Ammonia eating bacteria eat this ammonia and turn it into nitrite. Then nitrite eating bacteria eat this nitrite and turn it into nitrate. Too much food or too many fish make a lot of ammonia which is turned into a lot of nitrite then a lot of nitrate.


If ammonia and nitrite stay at zero, it is not only unnecessary to use bottled bacteria, it is also a waste of money. Bottled bacteria will do nothing for nitrate.

Edited to correct the post. Meant Nitrates.

 

[GaryE]

What is the water change routine. You may need fresh H2O rather than a bottle that costs.

 

[BanjoFish]

What is the water change routine. You may need fresh H2O rather than a bottle that costs.

I did two yesterday hours apart. One small one today with no fish fed.

 

[Essjay]

The nitrate tester can be awkward to get right if one of the bottles isn't shaken very well, the instructions will say which bottle to shake. In just about every liquid nitrate tester one of the bottles contains a reagent which settles out onto the bottom of the bottle. The shaking is needed to get it back into the liquid.

It seems odd that your nitrate can go from the mid 20s of your tap water to the 80s so quickly after adding fish. Can I suggest that you do 2 tests one straight after the other - your tap water and your tank water - and compare the results. Make sure to wash the test tube thoroughly after each test as any chemicals left in the tube can distort the results.

 

[raylove]

As you say, that's a big swing. I thought that insufficient shaking could produce an unrealistically low reading rather than high so that is strange.

 

[BanjoFish]

I did a reading tonight and a partial water change.

Nitrates 20.0
Nitrite 2.0
PH 7.0
Ammonia 0.2

Also raised the filter out the water slightly.

 

[Essjay]

The ammonia and nitrite readings are not good. Any readings above zero are bad for fish.

Can I recommend you read this to keep your fish safe

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part Il

Part II SO YOU STILL WANT TO KEEP CYCLING WITH FISH? If you are determined to ignore the above advice in Part I and still think you want to proceed with a fish in cycle, then you need to be aware of the information presented below. SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT AMMONIA Ammonia in water exists...

www.fishforums.net

It would appear the tank was not cycled properly before you got fish. In addition to following what that links says, I would get some Tetra Safe Start as soon as possible as that brand does contain the correct nitrite eating bacteria. It won't instantly drop ammonia and nitrite to zero (nothing will) but it will speed things up.

 

[BanjoFish]

The ammonia and nitrite readings are not good. Any readings above zero are bad for fish.

Can I recommend you read this to keep your fish safe

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part Il

Part II SO YOU STILL WANT TO KEEP CYCLING WITH FISH? If you are determined to ignore the above advice in Part I and still think you want to proceed with a fish in cycle, then you need to be aware of the information presented below. SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT AMMONIA Ammonia in water exists...

www.fishforums.net

It would appear the tank was not cycled properly before you got fish. In addition to following what that links says, I would get some Tetra Safe Start as soon as possible as that brand does contain the correct nitrite eating bacteria. It won't instantly drop ammonia and nitrite to zero (nothing will) but it will speed things up.