Tetra Easy Balance...

[christilles87]

I have two tanks running right now, my 55 gallon and my 6.6 gallon. My 55 is cycled and doing great and my 6 is almost there! I have Tetra easy balance that came with the tank, should I use this once a week along with my water changes? I know smaller tanks are harder to keep balanced so I was thinking using this product for my 6 gal along with water changes. Will this help keep my tank balanced or will it just be a usless chemical?

 

[KittyKat]

It claims to be bacteria in a bottle sort of product.. but I have, in practice, seen these sort of products mask signs of problems quite often, so I would recommend against.

 

[fluttermoth]

I wouldn't use anything apart from dechlorinator, except under some special circumstances.

Just keep an eye on your stats with plenty of testing and be prepared to do plenty of small but regular water changes are what's best for small tanks IMO.

 

[sausagewinkle]

I had a bottle of this and was advised to throw it in the bin by my local fish store. I never caused me any trouble but he claims he had seen lots of problems with it...

 

[StagnantSun]

I used Easy Balance pretty regularly a few years back because like you I got it for free. I can't really say anything bad about it but at the same time, I don't know if I can really say anything good about it. It certainly never caused me any problems but I don't know if it did any good.

The tank I started putting it in had already been cycled for almost a year. Maybe if I was starting a new tank it's effects would be more noticeable, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[christilles87]

What are some harmfull effects people have noticed? I was thinking a smaller tank could use the extra boost to stay balanced.

 

[Tolak]

The harmful effects are a lightening of your wallet.

They give the fishkeeper a false feeling of confidence thinking they are doing something positive for their tank because the product says so. If a problem is seen, they may perceive adding more of this product as a solution, when it is not.

A tank is either cycled or not, this is a process determined by the filter more than anything else. I'd like to see them define "balanced".

 

[christilles87]

LOL! I have two bottles of this stuff so I was just curious about using it. I also got AmQuel plus removes nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, chlorine and chloramines. Not so sure if I need that or not either... I will definatly keep the Ick Away because I have read it is good just to have on hand. Fish keeping is more complicated then I expected but really fun. I just got my little Albino Bichir and he is so cool!

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

I've not heard of AmQuel but If it removes chlorine and chlomines then use that when your adding fresh water to remove the chlorine from the water, IMO the only thing you should have to add to your tank is a dechlorinator and meds if you need to, oh and I use a plant fertiliser once a week, but that is it.

Hope that helps

 

[Aqua Tom]

If it was free then whats the harm in using it?

 

[christilles87]

If it was free then whats the harm in using it?

Thats kinda my thinking. I am waiting on a master water test kit before I check it out. I figured after the small tank has finished cycling I will use it and see what happends. I got alot of free stuff with my 55 gallon tank and I know that smaller tanks are harder to keep then bigger tanks. Plus I have two darn bottles of this stuff and I would feel bad wasting it! I know some people have seen good results.