In need of bacteria!

[knewby]

Has anyone seen this stuff called biospira on the net? I can't seem to find it in any of my LFS and I guess I'll need to order it. Does anyone know of any sites that sell this stuff? Cheap too!

Does this stuff live up to the hype? How fast does this cycle a tank?

[jules]

Try Big Al's Online or Mops.ca

Good Luck

[RyanH]

The jury is still out on that stuff. IMO you are better off just doing a fishless cycle.

[knewby]

Nope, neither of those sites carries it.

Thanks for the links though.

[JPW]

I have never ordered from this on-line shop, but I got it off another fish forum that uses this product, and has good feedback on this company.
good luck

http://www.fishstoretn.com/

Jim

[knewby]

Thanks, I found it. But how long does it take this stuff to cycle a tank? Less than a week? More than a week?

[susankay1]

I have used it successfully. It only took about 1 1/2 days to cycle a 90 gallon tank for me. Be sure to keep an eye on your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates after you add the fish, of course. I got mine from Aquabid. HTH Susan

[knewby]

Thanks for the info!!!

[KARINA]

Susan does it mean that you didn't detect ammonia spike if it took you a day and a half to cycle? how about nitrates? I just put it in two tanks both shown 0.5ppm ammonia no nitrites no nitrates the 90 gal with 5 fish in it shown 0.5 ppm after two days and the 30 gal with just two adult discus in it shown after one day 0.5ppm

[susankay1]

No, I had no problems with ammonia, nitrite or nitrate but Biospira is a live bacteria and it has to be kept cold. If at sometime in shipping or storage, it gets too warm, it can die off, so I keep an eye on my levels for a week or so just to make sure that it is working. HTH

[knewby]

I don't understand what y'all are talking about.

[KARINA]

it might not work in my tank i put biospira together with the fish in the tank but after one day i realized i had a little ammonia reading 0.5ppm it could be that the bacteria die off in the mail box i assumed it was there for a couple of hours Suzan, and one more thing do you think that tap water mixed with aged could slower the process for a bit?

[Carol_Roberts]

If there is chlorine in the tap water is sure could.

[Gunnie]

Nosenuggets,
As stated in another post, I am new to discus but not new to bio spira. I have used it 3 times with excellent results, and never saw an ammonia spike. It's the actual bacteria needed for a cycled tank, so in theory, when you add the bio spira, and immediately add your fish, the tank is cycled. However, if you are using it for a discus tank, and it's not an emergency situation, it may not be cost effective for you to use it, and fishless cycling may be the way to go, because I have always been told that the bacteria takes at least 2 weeks to settle somewhere in the tank, and if you start doing water changes right away, you will probably take a lot of it out. Whenever I have used it, I never changed water or did a gravel vac any earlier than 2 weeks later. If you do decide to get some, you have nothing to worry about when you buy it from Bernie at www.fishstoretn.com (http://www.fishstoretn.com). That's where I have always gotten mine because I can't buy it locally. His bio spira is very fresh. He probably sells out every 2 weeks. I only knew Bernie as my Omega One and bio spira supplier online until last weekend when I attended "the gathering" at his store on 1/31/04 (what a blast!). He is now my friend, and I highly recommend him.

[Kevin11d]

Gunnie: Did you type something wrong for that website wwwfishstoretn.com? I can't get in to it.

Kevin

[Wahter]

Gunnie: Did you type something wrong for that website wwwfishstoretn.com? I can't get in to it.

Kevin


heh heh - you gotta catch that the "dot" was not in the URL link after the "www"

Try it again here: http://www.fishstoretn.com

[Gunnie]

Sorry, forgot a dot. Let's try this again:

www.fishstoretn.com (http://www.fishstoretn.com)

Let me know if it still does not work.

[knewby]

My tank only has a penguin power filter with two bio wheels. It is a barebottom and I think that without gravel, the bacteria only have the bio wheels to populate. Should I add a sponge filter to add extra biological filtration?

[RyanH]

I think that is a good idea.

[knewby]

Could I survive without the sponge?

[Carol_Roberts]

AS long as you do daily water changes and keep food out of the filter you should do fine.

[knewby]

Cool. How long should I wait before I do my first water change in order for the bacteria to be settled in?

[Carol_Roberts]

Wait for the bacteria to settle in where? It's already on your biowheels, right? Do water changes everyday.

[Nightowl]

Bio Spira works. Karina, 0.5 ppm ammonia is no big deal ...keep PH around 6.8.
Just a reminder, some ammonia neutralizing agents can kill Bio Spira bacteria.
Also, got it straight from Marineland: its not that Bio Spira has to stay cold, it just can't get warm or freeze. Yes, its ideal to keep at 40f, but it doesn't die immediately if at 65f either. hth J.T.

[knewby]

Cool. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

[knewby]

I just bought some bio spira for my 40g, but the 1oz package says it only covers 30g!!!! Will this be fine if I give the bacteria enough time to grow?

[Nightowl]

Doesn't work as well if underdosed, but do you know exactly how many gallons of water are in your 40 gal. tank? It would help get things going, but might not work as claimed. J.T.

[knewby]

Are you saying that I need to spend another $15.00 and buy another package of that stuff?

[Nightowl]

$15.00!!!! Man, that's steep....and Marineland is in California.....we sell it for $6.99.

We sell the 3oz., 90 gal dose for $11.99.

I wouldn't buy more at that price, but that's up to you. Maybe you should shop around. J.T.

[knewby]

I know my only LFS is overpriced, but I don't want to drive an hour just to pick up some fish food.

[Amadhunter]

I just used two 1oz pkgs in a 75. It's a little "underdosed" but performed wonderfully! After 24 hours, zero ammonia, zero nitrites.

[KARINA]

it should be 1 oz pkg with biospira for every 30 gal Amadhunter

[KARINA]

nightowl yes i was thinking that about ammonia too but now after the day 9 of having biospira in the tank shouldn't I have by now nitrates readings instead of nitrites ?

[susankay1]

Nose, check out this website. I bought some biospira from this guy off of Aquabid and he sells it through his website too. Great to deal with, fast shipping, takes paypal.
photosyntheticaquatics.com
HTH Susan

[Amadhunter]

it should be 1 oz pkg with biospira for every 30 gal Amadhunter


Yes, I know. That's why I said "under dosed" ;) But, it still worked wonders with the 75 I was trying to get cycled. That was my point. :)
I went to the site you posted, but I can't find the spot there to order the Bio Spira. Is there some other contact there to get it? I want more!! LOL
Thanks for the info.
:)
Darren

[DiscusinDaytona]

I have used a product called Nitrex with amazing results. Cycled a 80 gal tank in 24 hrs. :)

[Kevin11d]

Will my new tank be fully cycled if i put biospira and an existing sponge filter without any fish?

[Gunnie]

That's the point of bio spira. It's supposed to be an instant cycle. You can put it in there with a sponge filter, but if you don't add fish within 24 hours, the bacteria starts to die off from starvation. That's why you add it immediately with a full load of fish.

[usdiscus]

Funny how we try to rush what should be very basic....let your tank recycle on its own, keep aged water on hand. When a emergency happens, you wont be running around trying to add fish in a brand new tank of water.
As to all so called fast bacteria products, they really are nothing more than DORMANT bacteria. Bacteria need oxygen to be alive and if its in a bottle of liquid, there is none. How long has it sat on the shelf determines how it will function, if at all. You would be better off speeding the process using ammon. or having a bunch of sponge filters sitting in heated water with 1 or 2 fish in it to be used as needed. Tim