Using Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability Together

Aquariums are complex and delicate ecosystems. There are tons of invisible microbes and chemicals lurking in the water, and each can affect your fish in different ways.

These elements, especially toxins, bacteria, and pH levels, can either make or break your tank.

Ammonia poisoning, or “new tank syndrome,” is one of the many pitfalls of poor water control.

That’s why testing kits, and most importantly, emergency water treatments, are your friend. To keep your pets safe, you should always have a trusted water conditioner on hand.

Some of the most popular recommendations in the hobby include Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability.

You might have already heard about these before. These are among the best conditioners out there when it comes to emergency ammonia control.

But their uses go far beyond that. Keep reading to discover the benefits and uses of these products.

What is Seachem Prime?

Seachem Prime is a top-quality water conditioner. You can use it to chemically detoxify chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and heavy metals from the aquarium water.

Not only that, but this product is up to five times more concentrated and potent than any other competing products on the market, all while having no impact on water pH levels.

Seachem Prime is best used during tank cycling, especially if you’re going for a fish-in cycle.

The binder in this product renders ammonia and other waste by-products non-toxic to fish. It’s useful to prevent ammonia toxicity and new-tank syndrome in fish.

Dosing this conditioner can also increase the efficacy of aquarium bio-media.

Another great plus of Seachem Prime is its suitability for freshwater and marine environments.

You can safely dose this in a saltwater aquarium without over-activating protein skimmers.

What is Seachem Stability?

Seachem Stability is another highly-effective water conditioner. It also helps guard your fish against toxic chemicals in the water but is mainly used during tank cycling.

But the formula and action of Seachem Stability are different from those of the previous product.

Seachem Stability contains live microbes and acts like a tank stabilization system. You use it to introduce the nitrifying bacteria to the tank, thereby speeding up the tank cycle process.

In other words, this conditioner helps you establish biological filtration in your aquarium.

This product contains a combination of aerobic, anaerobic, and facultative bacteria that will quickly colonize your tank and break down toxic by-products like ammonia and nitrites.

This helps you avoid one major problem in new aquariums— sudden fish death due to ammonia poisoning.

The bacteria in Seachem Stability remain stable and highly effective in most aquarium settings, irrespective of water temperature, pH, bioload, hardness, or salinity levels.

This product is efficient for cycling freshwater and marine aquariums alike, and it’s 100% safe for all tank inhabitants, including fish, plants, and coral.

Is it Safe to Use Seachem Prime and Stability Together?

You can safely use these water conditioners together. Combining them will make each product more effective.

Both products help you maintain high water quality, albeit through different means. Use both of them; you’ll cover all your bases and rip the benefits of both chemical and biological filtration.

Seachem Prime helps you chemically stabilize and detoxify chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrites, and more. The main active ingredients in this product are hydrosulfite salts and bisulfite.

These chemicals have no effect on bacteria but bind to toxins in the water, rendering them non-toxic to fish. The bound waste products like ammonia and nitrites remain available to the bacteria in the tank to consume.

As a bonus, the dechlorinating action of Seachem Prime will protect the bacteria in Seachem Stability.

Even a tiny amount of chlorine in the tank could otherwise kill the good bacteria, letting you with an uncycled tank.

Seachem Stability contains mainly bacteria— billions of microbes of four main species, to be more precise.

These bacteria consume organic waste by-products like ammonia and nitrites— the stuff that Seachem Prime makes more readily available for the microbes in the tank.

Given the ingredients in these two conditioners, neither product will negatively interact with one another.

There are no dangerous cross-reactions, and neither conditioner will render the other ineffective.

Seachem Prime even makes the bacteria in Seachem Stability remove waste more efficiently.

How to Use Seachem Prime and Stability Together?

These two conditioners complement each other well. They also work better when used together, giving you the best chemical and biological filtration for your tank.

Combining these products is a good idea if you want to keep your fish extra safe from ammonia and nitrites.

If you want to give this combo a try, there are two great ways to do so:

– During Water Changes

You’re likely to get rapid fluctuations in water chemistry during water changes. Removing old water and rinsing the substrate and filter media can eliminate some of the beneficial bacteria in the tank.

Depending on your source, new aquarium water can also be rich in chlorine and heavy metals, two things you don’t want in your aquarium.

So, this is the best time to dose your aquarium with some chemically and biologically-active conditioner.

To combine Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability effectively, you need to get the proper dosage. Follow the instructions for each product separately.

For Seachem Prime, you should use one cap (roughly 5 ml) for every 50 gallons of water or 1 ml for every 10 gallons of new water added to the tank.

This quantity should be easy to measure, as each cap thread is the equivalent of 1 ml of product. It’s best to mix the conditioner into the new water before filling the tank back. So, Seachem Prime goes in first.

After that, it’s time to pour in the live bacteria. Dosing instructions state that Seachem Stability works best when used in a ratio of 1 capful per 20 gallons.

All you have to do is dose this amount every time you complete a water change. It’s best if you add the bacteria after using Seachem Prime.

It doesn’t matter if you use Seachem Stability directly in the aquarium or before adding the new water to the tank.

– During Fish Tank Cycling

Another good opportunity to use both water conditioners is when cycling your tank. Under normal conditions, cycling a new aquarium takes six to eight weeks.

You need time to let the beneficial bacteria grow and colonize the tank. It’s a slow process, but luckily, you can do a few things to speed it up.

I’ve written at length about how to complete the cycle faster. Some of the most important steps include dechlorinating the water, maintaining stable pH, and increasing the number of beneficial bacteria in the tank.

A combo of Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability will help you do all of that.

On the one hand, Seachem Prime will let you establish the perfect water chemistry to support a healthy bacterial ecosystem.

On the one hand, Seachem Stability will kick-start the nitrate stage in the nitrogen cycle, cutting the waiting time down to just seven days. Of course, you’ll have to dose these products correctly for optimal results.

Here’s how:

Seachem Prime goes in first to prep the water. The dose remains the same— 5 ml for every 50 gallons of new water (or roughly 1 ml per 10 gallons).

Fill the new aquarium with water and then dose the conditioner. Also, remember to use an additional dose each time you change the water.

Once the water chemistry is right, you can add Seachem Stability. Remember to turn off the aquarium lights during the nitrogen cycle. Bacteria multiply best in dark environments.

The first dose when cycling a new tank is 5 ml for every 10 gallons of water. After 24 hours, you’ll continue to dose 5 ml per 20 gallons every day for seven days straight.

And voila! Your tank is cycled in only a fraction of the usual time.

Conclusion

Water treatments are a quick and effective way to solve emergency issues like new tank syndrome.

Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability are among the best products for that. These conditioners are good to have on hand for other reasons, too.

You can use Seachem Prime to treat ammonia, but also nitrites, chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals.

It’s a very versatile product suited for most aquarium emergencies. Seachem Stability also provides ammonia and nitrite control thanks to its live bacteria cultures.

This product can replenish bacteria after water changes or speed up the nitrogen cycle when starting a new tank.

The greatest thing about these products is that they’re specifically formulated to work together. There are no cross-reacting ingredients. The Prime conditioner creates the perfect environment for Seachem Stability to work to its full potential.

For the best water quality, you can combine these conditioners when cycling your tank and every time you do a water change.