Seachem Stability Fish Tank Stabilizer - For Freshwater and Marine Aquariums, 16.9 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)

I have used this product twice now to successfully cycle my 90 gallon tank, second time I was forced to do a fish-in cycle due to a medication I used that killed my cycle. I had 5 amano shrimp in my 90 gallon when ammonia was reading 0.5. I knew that I didnt have much time to fix it so I started dosing stability - by day 5 now ammonia is at 0 and nitrates are at 5. Does what it says and saved the lives of ALL 5 shrimp. I dosed it together with Prime. For comparison, I set up a 5 gallon hospital tank for the other group of 6 shrimp that I had, and for that I used the Tetra SafeSmart that promises to cycle a tank in 1 day. I was extremely skeptical but since I had lost my cycle I gave it a try. I got a used sponge filter from a pet store along with the SafeStart and my 5 gallon was, indeed, reading ammonia at 0, nitrites at 0, and nitrates at 5 when I woke up the next morning. I put 6 amano shrimp in there and 5 survived. All in all, both Tetra and Seachem did what the promised.

I love my fish and was worried because the water was a bit yellow. This product helped stabilize the water.

Doing research on this product I knew going into it this would be very much a hit or miss outcome. For me, it was a miss, but a mild miss so far. I recently set up a 125 gallon aquarium. On a Sunday I filled it and added the initial dose of Stability. On Wednesday I added a large number of live plants (rooted, non-rooted, stem, and floating) in addition to a school of 10 Harlequin Rasboras. On Friday I did a water test and thought all was well, 0 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite, and 5 ppm Nitrate which is the lowest reading the API liquid test will show. I added a school of 6 Peppered Corys. On Saturday I did the last final dose of Stability, giving a full 7 days of use. By Monday however things went backwards with 0.25 ppm Ammonia, and zero for the rest. Tuesday up to 0.5 ppm Ammonia and again zero on the rest. So for me, this product only worked while I was using it and didnt sustain long afterwards. The directions confirm a theory of mine. I believe it may contain a bacteria that does do the nitrogen cycle, but is not able to reproduce in the aquarium. Thus it establishes at a certain level of ammonia production, and slowly dies off. It is the only way I can explain why the instructions direct the continued use of this product with a monthly dose, and a dose whenever any fish are added. I can see adding a dose with new fish, but the monthly maintenance has to be there for a reason... Without that initial small reading of Nitrates I would of said this product didnt work at all and my live plants are the reason Ammonia has stayed low. Since I do have live plants in this tank (and a lot of them) I cant say definitively that this product worked or didnt work so Im afraid this review may not be all that helpful. I just wanted to share my experience and state that using this product and following the directions, I did not get a cycled aquarium meaning constant 0 ppm Ammonia and Nitrite.

Id like to mention that I fully anticipated to receive this in mid April, and instead it arrived a month ahead of time and I couldnt be more grateful. My betta fish tank has begun the nitrification cycle with my betta in it, and in order to keep him as safe and comfortable as possible, I needed this product and Im so happy to be able to have it to speed up the process in the safest way possible. I completely trust Seachem with each and every one of their products, and Im so happy to have been able to order it from such a reliable source. Thank you!!

When I first set up my 20 gallon fish tank, Id done a lot of research about the nitrogen cycle. I decided to do a fishless cycle and thought it would take a couple of weeks to finish. I wound up waiting over 60 days, with no nitrates ever showing up. Then I got this stuff. In a matter of days after using according to package directions, the nitrogen cycle finished. When I set up a second tank, I paired this with Tetra SafeStart plus...and the tank cycled in a week! How I wish Id known about this and the value of it before I brought the aquarium home!

Pros: -Fast-acting. I rely on it often during emergencies, and its potent. For example, I recently used 3 caps on a terribly neglected 3-gallon tank of water with ammonia readings as high as 8ppm (-In other words, ultimately lethal to most any fish that dont have the ability to draw oxygen from the water surface like bettas and gouramis. And even they will eventually chemically burn their gills by breathing it in, anyway), and 8 hours later the ammonia readings came back at 0ppm. Cons: -Make no mistake; ammonia concentrations over .50ppm WILL kill the beneficial bacteria colony youre trying to estabilish from your bottle of Stability. If you really cant do a full water change and need to use this on an already highly polluted setup, use a generous amount of Seachem Prime to temporarily detoxify said ammonia so that the beneficial bacteria have time to eat it before it kills them. -It is not uncommon for a fresh bottle of Stability to arrive carrying pollution of its own. I would suggest immediately using an ammonia test kit (-Do NOT use tests in the form of strips if youre new to aquarium keeping) on the contents of the bottle. If concentrations are higher than 1ppm you will likely only be adding dead microbes to your tank, and as they decay they will make things even worse for your fish. -Although harmless, large quantities of Stability can cloud your water. If you experience this and it really bothers you, take it as a sign that you need to cut back on the size of your doses. -Although it does have a decent life expectancy, do not assume your Stability will last until the purported use-by date. I would not recommend buying large bottles of it unless you know, for certain, that youll be using it within a few months.

Helped me to get my aquarium ready to add fish once the product helped to cycle my tank

My stepson got a 55 gallon tank for christmas, and I had been trying to get it to cycle for some time before he moved his fish into it, using added ammonia. No luck, so the fish were moved over and we used Seachem Prime (another exellent product) and continuous water changes to keep the ammonia levels down. Two weeks and a couple of bacteria products later, we were still getting 2ppm ammonia and 0 nitrites and nitrates. I ended up getting Stability and the same day the ammonia went down to .25ppm and we finally got readings on the nitrites and nitrates. It has worked very well for us. WORD OF CAUTION: If you get this or any other live bacteria product, make sure you do one day shipping (at least if it is summer or winter). The temperature extremes during average shipping can kill off the bacteria, leading to this being as useful as a bottle of water.

I was starting a new tank and did some research on how to get through the first cycle faster/easier, so I found this. I started a 20g fresh water,heavily planted tank, and threw this in along with seachem Prime. I let the water sit for 1 day, then went and got 9 neons and some more plants. dosed with Stability daily through the first month. Never lost 1 fish. I tested weekly and everything was staying A-OK, so on the second week, which is when it would normally be most dangerous - I even went and got some shrimp because i felt like the water was safe. So it has been 1 month and I never lost anything and tank is thriving. Plants are growing (thanks to plant lights and co2) Not sure if i can attribute this 100% to Stability - but I would do it the same way again and I would not start a tank without it now. Im continuing to dose with it daily for now.

I have read a lot of the reviews of problems people have had, while I dont agree with the claim of instant bio filter as in my 30+ years I have never seen or found any product that will actually create a full, stable cycle, only time and the miracles of nature, I do not believe any cycle that is rushed is stable enough to handle what is thrown at it! I do think Seachem would be wise to change that! There really is no shortcut to a proper cycled tank that could take up to 6 weeks! This stuff is really for the routine maintenance that it is more suited for like filter maintenance or gravel vacs anywhere or anytime you might loose Benifical Bacteria. I only use this during those times on my 90,135 & 220 gallon tanks and have had zero issues others have claimed which tells me there lack of understanding of the nitrogen cycle or what the product can really do! This product will no way cycle your tank it may help but too many factors contribute to a completed cycle. What this will do is help during routine maintenance to replace loss of BB as well as it could aid in any small spikes. I also will not deduct stars for bottles leaking and or damaged as others have done (guess they dont understand product reviews? If Seachem shipped then different story), as that has zero to do with the results of the product