Lana Bollers Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Stability helps "stabilize" your tank, it seems to me that your tanks are fairly new, this helps them when they are cycling and can also be used when you have ill fish. I always have stability on hand, and yes it is by Seachem. When you are doing a large water change I would highly recommend it, it does not do the same thing as prime therefore can not replace prime. You can not over dose the stability either. In my new tanks I pour it right into the filter, then dose it daily for several days. With stability I believe one cap full does 10gal, but you can double or quadrople that when your tank is new. With prime it is one capful for 50gal, so you would only require a little less then half a capful for your 20gal, and even less for your 10gal, no sense using more prime then what is required, there is no added benefit to it, it just ends up costing you more in the end. The airstone helps circulate the water, I have them in my 29gal tanks, as well as HOB filters, so the water is obtaining lots of movement, this ensure's oxygen to the fish. It seems to me if your fish are gasping near the top of the aquarium this could be a sign of high nitrites, if you don't have plants you may want to concider something even if it is short term, to help control the nitrites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnaw Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Stability helps "stabilize" your tank, it seems to me that your tanks are fairly new, this helps them when they are cycling and can also be used when you have ill fish. I always have stability on hand, and yes it is by Seachem. When you are doing a large water change I would highly recommend it, it does not do the same thing as prime therefore can not replace prime. You can not over dose the stability either. In my new tanks I pour it right into the filter, then dose it daily for several days.With stability I believe one cap full does 10gal, but you can double or quadrople that when your tank is new. With prime it is one capful for 50gal, so you would only require a little less then half a capful for your 20gal, and even less for your 10gal, no sense using more prime then what is required, there is no added benefit to it, it just ends up costing you more in the end. I've had the 10 gallon up since December and 20 even longer. The reason I had to take out so much water is because when I cleaned out my canister filter media and the hoses, there was some residue still left in the hoses or somewhere. Then when I had it setup and running it spewed all of it into the tank making a huge mess! So I needed to thoroughly clean the gravel etc. The airstone helps circulate the water, I have them in my 29gal tanks, as well as HOB filters, so the water is obtaining lots of movement, this ensure's oxygen to the fish. I have a marineland C-160 canister filter. Its rated for up to 30 gallons, does this not create enough water moment? The output is stationed above the water-line not below, is this inadequate? It seems to me if your fish are gasping near the top of the aquarium this could be a sign of high nitrites, if you don't have plants you may want to concider something even if it is short term, to help control the nitrites. I have four plants two Anubis and two java fern in the 20 gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Bollers Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Do you only have the one canester? If you do chances are high that your tank is going through a mini cycle. Their is no circulation of the water except on the surface it sounds like, I would add a small airstone. you may also want to add a couple tablespoons of either pickling salt/epson salt or aquarium salt this will put a slime coat on your fish and help protect them from the high nitrite levels. It also helps when they are stressed. Your plants will help with the nitrite/nitrate levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnaw Posted February 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Well the canister for the 20 and an aqua clear 30 for the 10 gallon. I have another back filter ready to go should I throw that on the 20? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 If you have access to some good filter media that has a good bacteria colony on it then add that extra filter with the good media in it. The other thing is that more filtration is better as long as it doesn't create a strong current in the tank. a small airstone is a really good idea and anytime you see fish gasping at the top of the tank add one as a precaution. Good luck and sorry to hear about you loss. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lana Bollers Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Well the canister for the 20 and an aqua clear 30 for the 10 gallon. I have another back filter ready to go should I throw that on the 20? I have extra HOB filters, so when I clean one, one always has the good bacteria on it... it helps a lot and I don't have to worry about the mini cycles... Lana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Stop feeding for a day or two to eliminate any excess waste. If you have a well cycled tank, take out the sponge/filter floss what ever you use and rinse it out right in the tank, It will look like crap for a day or two but it will work. Also if you are running canister filters with spray bars you can plumb your spray bar down about 2 inches from the bottom of the tank and aim it up toward the surface at about a 20 degree angle. That will move your water up from the bottom of the tank and you will have no need for a air stone. Your second filter you can have the outflow at the top of the tank at about a 45 degree angle down toward the front of the tank, this will create a circular motion of the water. Hope this helps and your fishy friends make out ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popik Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Why are you using alot of Prime? You need very little, like a few drops for a 10 gallon tank. "Dosing heavily" like you said, is probably killing your fish. And let me guess, every time you do a water change your adding more and more prime right?Boom :boom: Kind of harsh for a guy just looking for some help Boom. I dont know of the effects from constantly overdosing with Prime but if you read the directions a dosing of 5 times the recommended is right there on the label if you run into a spike. I've had others on this site and even from an LFS recomend a heavier dose up to 10 times in an emergency or for a hurt fish even! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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