water change and Stability

[Airborne 82nd]

No fish or plants in tank cycled with Dr. Tim's for 3 months. I have been adding stability just before adding my new water. Is it OK to do it like this with fish in? Don't want to hurt my Oscar. Do you even need stability with fish in and cycled? I'm using a python not buckets.

Edit just saw a post by Yarnallicious so thought I would add this. Filter is a seachem tidal 75. blue course sponge on bottom the rest is filled to the top with Matrixs all new in Jan.

Thanks in advance

Airborne 

Edited April 2 by Airborne 82nd

[Lennie]

You don’t need to use bottled bacteria in every water change if you successfully completed cycling your tank. All you need is a water conditioner like prime during a water change if you use tap

[Airborne 82nd]

On 4/1/2024 at 9:43 PM, Lennie said:

You don’t need to use bottled bacteria in every water change if you successfully completed cycling your tank. All you need is a water conditioner like prime during a water change if you use tap

Thanks Lennie

Looks like I'm cycled my ammonia is 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 20 when I bring ammonia up to 2-3 ppm with Dr. Tim's 24 hrs. later ammonia 0   nitrites 0  nitrates go up a little I.ve done this 8 times in one week. I do use prime Is it OK to put it in just before adding new water with Oscar in the tank? I don't want the chlorine to hurt the fish. Does it work that fast. Have only used buckets in the past.

[Tony s]

Chlorine takes time to work on anything. Usually an hour or more even to kill bacteria. You can add it directly after removing the water. Usually for the size of your tank. 
 

knowing that chlorine takes a while is very useful in cleaning equipment and cartridges. You can use straight tap as long as you’re not soaking it. Should only take a couple of minutes to clean most anything. Running water is a great help.
 

Will you lose some bacteria, yes. Will you lose enough to have an issue, no. Bacteria also live in the substrate, tank side, and plants. 

Edited April 2 by Tony s

[Lennie]

On 4/2/2024 at 5:21 AM, Airborne 82nd said:

Thanks Lennie

Looks like I'm cycled my ammonia is 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 20 when I bring ammonia up to 2-3 ppm with Dr. Tim's 24 hrs. later ammonia 0   nitrites 0  nitrates go up a little I.ve done this 8 times in one week. I do use prime Is it OK to put it in just before adding new water with Oscar in the tank? I don't want the chlorine to hurt the fish. Does it work that fast. Have only used buckets in the past.

Dont worry. I always do my water change, add prime to my bottles or the tank directly, and fill them up with tap. I have never had issues this way and I have more than 20 tanks. I sometimes even add prime the last, after filling the tank with tap. Still no issues

share your oscar with us. Those guys are legit puppies. Today I saw one at my Lfs’s display. Lovely fish. We used to have them when I was a kid

Edited April 2 by Lennie

[Airborne 82nd]

Thank you both for all the help.  This is a great place to come for help. I got my nitrates down to 0 at midnight Oscar and pleco should be here at noon.

[jwcarlson]

As stated above, there's no reason to keep using Stability or anything like that routinely once you're cycled.  I would suggest that you're never really cycled until there's fish in the tank, but that's a different discussion.  You should have a great head start at this point.  

Regarding water changes and prime.  I change 90% of water in my discus tank, dump the prime into the little bit of water left over, and then pump the water into the tank and they're completely fine.  There's no need to dechlorinate and wait for it to act.  Chlorine at tap water levels isn't something that just instantly kills anything.  When I have forgotten to dechlorinate the fish usually seem a bit off over 20-30 minute timeframe and then will be gasping at the surface within the hour.