Bacteria Supplement

[brittanykluss]

Is it necessary or helpful to have this during a fishless cycle? I got a small bottle of Top Fin Bacteria Supplement

 

[Polar]

Read The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling . Short answer not helpful
P

 

[The Editor]

I got impatient during my first fishless cycle and used live bacterial supplements.... I don't think they helped at all...

+1 for Polar, not really worth it.

 

[LyndaB]

Save your money. Most of those so-called bacterial supplements don't even contain aquatic bacteria. Buy some plants instead.

 

[jcolon]

Is it necessary or helpful to have this during a fishless cycle? I got a small bottle of Top Fin Bacteria Supplement

Yep ... Do yourself a favor and either let nature provide the bacteria or seed it from an established tank ... both of which are
1) Free of charge
2) Provide real BB ... Not much worst in this hobby than having an "established" tank crash on you after a few months.

 

[Sparky74]

I used Seachems Stability in my 55 gallon a while back and it worked for me.

Either that or I had the fastest fish in cycle in history.

I have 2 empty 10 gallons and am going to run an experiment using Stability in one and let nature takes it's course in the other.

I read a lot of people saying "It's junk", but I find the reasons for it being junk seem speculative rather than factual. Perhaps some of the companies products are junk(like any product), but perhaps some actually work.

Kind of like how I've read "all Fluval canisters leak"...I have 3, 2 of which are quite old, and have never seen a leak. If you don't put them back together properly, yes they can leak. But that is user error, not the product.

 

[5x5]

I am a believer after using Seachems Stability in my 65 Gallon. I struggled for the longest time to see my first nitrite readings, but once I started adding this to my tank, it happened overnight. The rest of the cycle was very quick from there. I wouldn't discount this product, especially if you have a fish-in cycle, or if your fishless cycle is taking too long and you can't get seeded media.

On a side note, I previously had tried Dr Tim's Bacteria, which I did find to be a waste of mnoey.

 

[Sparky74]

I am a believer after using Seachems Stability in my 65 Gallon. I struggled for the longest time to see my first nitrite readings, but once I started adding this to my tank, it happened overnight. The rest of the cycle was very quick from there. I wouldn't discount this product, especially if you have a fish-in cycle, or if your fishless cycle is taking too long and you can't get seeded media.

On a side note, I previously had tried Dr Tim's Bacteria, which I did find to be a waste of mnoey.

According to the Seachem, it takes about 24 hours for the bacteria(spores) to take hold.

Here is a response(rather quickly I might add) from Seachem:

I think you have answered your own question in saying " I have used it the past with success." Stability works because it contains a variety of bacteria that are capable of not only surviving but thriving in the aquarium environment. These bacteria facilitate the break down of wastes and encourage a healthy ecosystem. Most bacteria have a relatively short lifespan but make up for this by multiplying quickly and colonizing their environment. If you are concerned that the bacteria in Stability will only live for a couple of weeks and then the tank will crash, you have no reason to. These bacteria are well adapted for such an environment and will establish a healthy and stable filter bed. Other types of bacteria will still naturally occur in the aquarium even though Stability has been used. They will still be able to colonize the aquarium along with the other species from Stability. As far as the product not working, while I cannot speak for the products of other companies, Stability has been one of our top selling products for many years and I do not believe this would be the case if it did not work. We take great care in the research and development of new products. We do not release new products unless we have found them to be effective and superior to the products of competing companies. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Product Support
1080

 

[carey]

I got some free with my 20g tank 2 weeks ago and in my opinion it did not help.

Just save your money and get something cool for the tank. Thats what I plan on doing. I only tried it cause it came with the tank, I;d never pay for it. I mean logically, how long can bacteria live in a bottle on a store shelf for who knows how long?

I have my thoughts that using it is the reason my corals arent opening up under several different types of lighting. I kinda regret even trying it, but it was worth a shot to see for myself.

 

[Sparky74]

how long can bacteria live in a bottle on a store shelf for who knows how long?

Stability contains spores, not live bacteria. Spores can lie dormant for quite a while. Shelf life is about 4 years I believe.

I don't mind paying $10 to have fish immediately, as opposed to looking at an empty tank for a month. Plus, if you are doing a fish in cycle, it doesn't take many fish losses to equal $10....

I'm just not so willing to write it off as junk, since I have used it successfully. A fully stocked tank within a week, with no ammo or fish deaths. Miracle or maybe it does work?

 

[carey]

Or luck? lol I woudl never trust putting fish in a new tank within a week of setup, with or without bacteria additives. But thats just me.

 

[Sparky74]

I wouldn't do so if it was unsafe for the fish. I'm not a sadist.

But when numbers read 0 ammo 0 nitrite and 10 nitrates, why not have fish? The product is made to create a beneficial bacterial bed rapidly. Which in my observation from using the product, it did. I followed the directions, then added some during water changes, but slowly reduced the amount I added, until eventually I stopped adding it. I have never had a mini-cycle, ammo spike, etc. Several of the people saying it doesn't work had PH readings of around 6 to start with. Mine is mid 7's. Perhaps that is an issue. Maybe they didn't use dechlorinator and that killed the spores? Too many variables.

The tank tested fully cycled and has remained that way(for a year). To me, that is proof that it works, more so than reading people saying it doesn't work, when there could have been other causes for it not working. I find it hard to come up with another explanation of Nitrates being present almost instantly other than the product actual does what it is sold to do. I don't believe luck converts ammo.

 

[LyndaB]

This is one of those topics where people feel very strongly because it's either worked beautifully for them, or it's failed miserably. Opinions are never wrong. I've heard too many horror stories of these products not working to attribute every one of those stories to operator error. They have not worked for the vast majority of people I've talked to in more than a few fish forums.

We simply have to agree to disagree on this topic.

 

[Sparky74]

This is one of those topics where people feel very strongly because it's either worked beautifully for them, or it's failed miserably. Opinions are never wrong. I've heard too many horror stories of these products not working to attribute every one of those stories to operator error. They have not worked for the vast majority of people I've talked to in more than a few fish forums.

We simply have to agree to disagree on this topic.

I have no problem with opinions or disagreements. That's how people learn. It's the instant "it's junk" comment that seems to follow any questions regarding bacterial supplements that irks me. There are many variables that could cause a failure(bad tap water/failure to use conditioner/follow directions/etc), but if it works, there aren't too many variables that could cause a cycle to happen that fast(minus seeded material somehow making it's way into the tank).

I am going to set up 2 ten gallon tanks next week and have my friend add the Stability to one of them, without my knowledge and then dose them up with ammo. I won't know which has the supplement and will see what the numbers tell me. I'll do it 2x for good measure. I like to see the results in front of me.

 

[LyndaB]

That sounds interesting. Please be sure to let us know your findings.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

Stability worked for me! Honesty it really did.

I don't know if it was due to coincidence or luck....but I had an ammonia problem when I was cycling my tank. It would never completely go down to zero.
I added stability, and within three days of testing, I saw the ammonia go from 0.5 to 0.25 to 0 !!!

stability may not contain true nitrosomanas bacteria, but it certainly gave my cycle a boost.

 

[5x5]

I have no problem with opinions or disagreements. That's how people learn. It's the instant "it's junk" comment that seems to follow any questions regarding bacterial supplements that irks me.

Agreed, that's why I posted my experience with these products. Anti-Bacteria Products and Fishless Cycling has become bandwagon topics in my opinion. I don't necessarily disagree with most of the points on either topic, but it's getting to the point where they are presented as one-sided arguments.

 

[jetajockey]

I've tested stability a few times and the results were pretty bleh. Either it did nothing or it did what other heterotrophic bacteria supplements do, convert for a while and crash. Sometimes the crash part doesn't happen if the real nitrifiers have enough time to build up to take the place of the supplement.

The thing that bothers me about stability is their marketing, that whole 'synergistic blend' and 'facultative anaerobes' thing raises an eyebrow.

They claim stability has an indefinite shelf life and can withstand most handling extremes. The problem with that is it's a generally accepted idea that the nitrifiers found in aquaria are aerobic autotrophs, which means that they do not have a spore form.

The other issue with bacteria boosters is the directions, it bothers me when they suggest a routine dosing with water changes, that says to me that the bacteria colony isn't sustaining itself.

 

[brittanykluss]

I've tested stability a few times and the results were pretty bleh. Either it did nothing or it did what other heterotrophic bacteria supplements do, convert for a while and crash. Sometimes the crash part doesn't happen if the real nitrifiers have enough time to build up to take the place of the supplement.

The thing that bothers me about stability is their marketing, that whole 'synergistic blend' and 'facultative anaerobes' thing raises an eyebrow.

They claim stability has an indefinite shelf life and can withstand most handling extremes. The problem with that is it's a generally accepted idea that the nitrifiers found in aquaria are aerobic autotrophs, which means that they do not have a spore form.

The other issue with bacteria boosters is the directions, it bothers me when they suggest a routine dosing with water changes, that says to me that the bacteria colony isn't sustaining itself.

Good point it does say to use with water changes. I think im going to try it w/o it.