So a few weeks ago Dr. Tim had made a post on here offering free samples of some of his products. I sent him a PM and he was gracious enough to send me a package containing Dr. Tim’s One and Only as well as Dr. Tim’s Waste Away. I recently got a chance to use the bottle of One and Only, and actually got to compare it with Seachem’s Stability.
I responded to a marketplace ad on MonsterFishKeepers.com about 100 Black Calvus that were being offered for $60. It seemed like a great deal at the time, so I inquired and eventually bought them on September 6. While I was at the seller’s place, he mentioned to me that all of his fish were for sale. The only free tank I had at the time was a 90-gallon tank, so I really had no room at all to put anymore fish. However, after negotiating great deals on three groups of fish, I decided to go ahead and get them. I told the seller I’d be back the following night to pick the rest up, as I literally had to set up two more tanks overnight.
I decided to set up an old 125-gallon tank that I had set up at my old place. I filled it with water and placed Seachem Tanganyikan Buffer in it. I also had recently bought a 55-60 gallon column tank that I decided to set up as well. I filled it with water on September 7 as well. It was after I filled it that I remembered the One and Only that Dr. Tim had sent me. I went ahead and poured in the entire 4 ounce bottle in the column tank, which said it was good for tanks up to 60 gallons. Since I had a big bottle of Seachem Stability, I started to use it on the 125-gallon tank.
So the same night, on September 7, I brought the fish home. I expected some losses, as I knew the tanks were not prepared for the fish. In the ~55 gallon tank, I put 10 adult Paracyprichromis nigrippinis as well as 11 juvenile Tropheus Red Ndole and 9 juvenile Tropheus Ikola. In the 125-gallon tank I placed a group of 22 adult Cyprichromis Leptosoma (Utinta) as well as about half of the juvenile Black Calvus.
I knew that I should expect there to be problems while the tanks cycled. First of all, there was going to be a rather large bioload. Also, these fish were rather sensitive and I didn’t know how much they could take. I continued to dose the 125-gallon tank with the Stability while monitoring the water parameters on both tanks.
After about four days, I noticed a large nitrite spike on the ~55 gallon tank that I used the One and Only on. It was borderline dangerous, so I did a 30% water change. I continued to do the same thing for about 4 day as the nitrites never dropped. Finally, the nitrites dropped and the nitrates started to become detectable. After roughly 10 days, the tank appeared to be completely cycled. I did not lose a single fish while cycling this tank.
Meanwhile, on the 125-gallon tank, it took roughly the same amount of time for it to completely cycle. The only main difference is that the nitrite spike never reached near as high as the smaller tank, but I figure it’s because there was a smaller bioload and more surface area. I did do two 25-gallon changes while using Stability, but everything appeared to be fine. However, I did lose two of the Cyprichromis Leptosoma (Utinta), but I am not sure if it was due to water parameters or not. I had noticed some larger fish chasing around a smaller fish from the colony, so they may have been bullied.
Overall, I had a good experience using Dr. Tim’s One and Only. I appreciate the sample package from Dr. Tim, and I will try to post another review on his Waste Away when I am able to use it. This product made cycling the tank a lot easier, and I am pretty impressed that it made the water clean enough to not kill any of the 30 fish in the tank.
One again, thanks for the samples, Dr. Tim!
I responded to a marketplace ad on MonsterFishKeepers.com about 100 Black Calvus that were being offered for $60. It seemed like a great deal at the time, so I inquired and eventually bought them on September 6. While I was at the seller’s place, he mentioned to me that all of his fish were for sale. The only free tank I had at the time was a 90-gallon tank, so I really had no room at all to put anymore fish. However, after negotiating great deals on three groups of fish, I decided to go ahead and get them. I told the seller I’d be back the following night to pick the rest up, as I literally had to set up two more tanks overnight.
I decided to set up an old 125-gallon tank that I had set up at my old place. I filled it with water and placed Seachem Tanganyikan Buffer in it. I also had recently bought a 55-60 gallon column tank that I decided to set up as well. I filled it with water on September 7 as well. It was after I filled it that I remembered the One and Only that Dr. Tim had sent me. I went ahead and poured in the entire 4 ounce bottle in the column tank, which said it was good for tanks up to 60 gallons. Since I had a big bottle of Seachem Stability, I started to use it on the 125-gallon tank.
So the same night, on September 7, I brought the fish home. I expected some losses, as I knew the tanks were not prepared for the fish. In the ~55 gallon tank, I put 10 adult Paracyprichromis nigrippinis as well as 11 juvenile Tropheus Red Ndole and 9 juvenile Tropheus Ikola. In the 125-gallon tank I placed a group of 22 adult Cyprichromis Leptosoma (Utinta) as well as about half of the juvenile Black Calvus.
I knew that I should expect there to be problems while the tanks cycled. First of all, there was going to be a rather large bioload. Also, these fish were rather sensitive and I didn’t know how much they could take. I continued to dose the 125-gallon tank with the Stability while monitoring the water parameters on both tanks.
After about four days, I noticed a large nitrite spike on the ~55 gallon tank that I used the One and Only on. It was borderline dangerous, so I did a 30% water change. I continued to do the same thing for about 4 day as the nitrites never dropped. Finally, the nitrites dropped and the nitrates started to become detectable. After roughly 10 days, the tank appeared to be completely cycled. I did not lose a single fish while cycling this tank.
Meanwhile, on the 125-gallon tank, it took roughly the same amount of time for it to completely cycle. The only main difference is that the nitrite spike never reached near as high as the smaller tank, but I figure it’s because there was a smaller bioload and more surface area. I did do two 25-gallon changes while using Stability, but everything appeared to be fine. However, I did lose two of the Cyprichromis Leptosoma (Utinta), but I am not sure if it was due to water parameters or not. I had noticed some larger fish chasing around a smaller fish from the colony, so they may have been bullied.
Overall, I had a good experience using Dr. Tim’s One and Only. I appreciate the sample package from Dr. Tim, and I will try to post another review on his Waste Away when I am able to use it. This product made cycling the tank a lot easier, and I am pretty impressed that it made the water clean enough to not kill any of the 30 fish in the tank.
One again, thanks for the samples, Dr. Tim!
