Starting Back Up Again...Questions About Using Seachem Stability

[the loach]

No I meant the nitrite. You already verified both ammonia and nitrate tests giving the exact same result.
If Stability works as advertised, it could convert the nitrite in nitrate, maybe the bacteria come out of dormancy when they detect nitrite, and the dosing is off since you didn't add fish immediately like they advised.
If the reading is correct and nitrite is now higher as previously, it would indicate the product being effective, though further testing is required on all 3.

 

[dudley]

If the nitrite test kit has been open more than 1 year or is beyond its expiration date, time to replace it.

I would either perform a 50% water change to dilute the nitrite or do what T the loach said in post #79 and add 1 gram of salt per gallon of tank water.

 

[Kaskade10729]

No I meant the nitrite. You already verified both ammonia and nitrate tests giving the exact same result.
If Stability works as advertised, it could convert the nitrite in nitrate, maybe the bacteria come out of dormancy when they detect nitrite, and the dosing is off since you didn't add fish immediately like they advised.
If the reading is correct and nitrite is now higher as previously, it would indicate the product being effective, though further testing is required on all 3.

The packaging didn't advise to introduce fish immediately -- it states that marine life can be added at any time during the week-long dosing process, so long as the process is finished through to the seven days.

I'll perform another test later today and report back.

 

[Kaskade10729]

If the nitrite test kit has been open more than 1 year or is beyond its expiration date, time to replace it.

I would either perform a 50% water change to dilute the nitrite or do what T the loach said in post #79 and add 1 gram of salt per gallon of tank water.

You don't think 50% is a bit much at this stage?

 

[the loach]

The packaging didn't advise to introduce fish immediately -- it states that marine life can be added at any time during the week-long dosing process, so long as the process is finished through to the seven days.

I'll perform another test later today and report back.

"any time" does include immediately...
If the nitrite reading is real, changing water will slow down cycling.

 

[Kaskade10729]

"any time" does include immediately...
If the nitrite reading is real, changing water will slow down cycling.

But I just want to be clear that they didn't suggest putting the life forms in immediately as a de-facto standard for the product to work; nowhere did it state that. It was my understanding that life forms could be added at any time during the process...

It was Seachem reps themselves, later on, who recommended I add fish to "help along" the cycling protocol.

With regard to the nitrite reading and cycling, what am I supposed to do then? Do I do a small water change, at least, to address the purplish color I'm reading on the chart? It's clearly not in the "light aqua blue" range of the chart anymore, but now turning into a very light purple hue -- does this mean I should change some water? That's all I want to know, thinking of the health of the inhabitants...

 

[Kaskade10729]

FWIW, I received this advice on a goldfish-oriented forum:

Is it just barely purple or solidly on the .25 ppms? If it’s the latter do a water change

This individual seems to be suggesting that if the reading is solidly on that .25ppm box (the light purple color), it's time for a water change...but she didn't specify how much.

 

[the loach]

I would add 1 gram of salt per gallon and add some more Stability. The fish will be fine... when you change water during the cycling process you are only slowing it down, and it is slow enough as it is with 2 small fish in a 60 gallon.

 

[Kaskade10729]

I understand that I may be slowing down the cycling but my question is this (to make it simplest for me to understand): Should a small water change be done just to address that small spike in nirtites? As I said, it's beginning to read light purple in color when I take the test...

 

[the loach]

In your case I would add salt to address the nitrite and not do a water change.