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Moe36

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Aug 27, 2003
Messages
65
Location
Ontario
SoOoOo...I walk into Big Als today, and asked this employee...

Me: Hi, do you carry any Bio-spira?
Idiot: ....I dont think so....whats it for?
Me: I heard it speeds up the cycling proccess for FW aquariums, so I dont have to wait several weeks to add fish
Idiot: Why would you have to wait several weeks?....Im not sure what you mean by cycling...?
Me: :roll: *grin*...Its when...............(Im explaining the Nitrogen cycle)....{Im 15 BTW, he's around 25}
-....he's looking at me, like Im naked or something...
Idiot: *confused*....just add the fish now....nothing will go wrong...*confused*:?
Me: *Pi$$ed*....LOOK...do you have Bio-spira or not? :x
Idiot: Listen...I know what im talking about man...., you dont....I always added the fish without cycling or whatever...and nothing ever went wrong

....arg....just goes to show that most employees are the ones asking questions, not the buyer.

-Well, anyway...I just turned my back, and asked another employee....this guy was much more knowlegable. He said he doesnt carry it anymore, but reccomended a product called 'cycle'. He said, its just as effective. Anyway, does anyone here use it? Does it work? Its pretty cheap, comes in 3 sizes, and it said to add a capfull for every 10 US gallons.....Well,Thx for any info.
 
I have used Cycle in the past and all went well.That being said I don't use it right now as I ran out and just haven't got any new yet.Does it make a difference in cycle time?I don't know as I have never tried to cycle a tank without it.Couldn't hurt though.
 
I've only ever used Cycle, and have never had a problem. I think someone else swore by BioSpira and said that nothing else really works... But I've never used BioSpira.

I'm not sure if cycle is supposed to SPEED up the cycle (it certainly doesn't just do the cycle by itself like biospira may), but I think it is supposed to help colonize the bacteria, and should help in preventing fish loss when new fish are added. I use it as a safeguard, and have never had any bad experiences.
 
Oh, and for future reference: Cycle is concentrated bacteria, not an enzyme. Enzymes are designed (well, nature designed them, that is) to speed up processes, and no doubt an enzyme for nitrogenizing (nitrifying?) compounds would speed up the process of cycling. I don't think bacteria alone would do this.
 
Thx for the replies. How many drops would you add to a 20g? And when would you stop? Unttil Ammonia/Nitrite reach 0? ....I think the bottle only said a cap full/10g, everyday..., butnever said when to stop.
 
I've used Cycle and Bio-Spira. I can say with complete confidence IMHO Cycle is poo. I actually tested it straight from the bottle, and it registered about 100 ppm nitrates! It contains mostly heterotrophic bacteria, not a lot of nitrifying bacteria. Whats the diff? Nitrifying bacteria feeds primarily on nitrogen waste (ammonia, nitrites). Heterotrophics ONLY feed on nitrifying waste when there is no organic wastes. Sort of a secondary function if you will.

Also, recent studies have shown the bacteria we all thought did the ammonia/nitrite conversion in aquaria are NOT the right ones. The ones which actually do all the work in an aquarium are Nitrospiras and Nitrosospiras. The only product to contain them is Bio-Spira (heh, like you couldn't have guessed with the name).

With Cycle my tank still went thru the stages of the nitrogen cycle, with Bio-Spira it didn't. From the time I dumped it in my tank was fully cycled, and I have yet to see ammonia or nitrites even after 2 months.

If you're interested, you can read the clinical studies here: http://www.marineland.com/science/nspira.asp

Heh, and as for the petstore employees, thumbs up to you for walking in KNOWING your stuff! Imagine being a complete newbie and having to deal with that ignoramus? Those poor fish...
 
Well, there you go. It was Allivymar who swore by Bio-Spira and thought Cycle was complete rubbish.

But if you're using it and want to continue to, add 1 capful per day until the Nitrites go down and the nitrates up. Then from that point on, only use it when making water changes.

All signs point to Bio-Spira, though.
 
Heh yeah, twas me. And I have to admit, I normally don't swear by much; I'm always willing to try new stuff. But Bio-Spira blew me away (god, I sound like a frickin ad don't I LOL). I've cycled with fish (unintentionally LOL but I got lucky and they made it), have done fishless cycling, tried Cycle and Bio-Spira. And the Bio-Spira is number one on my list of best, safest ways to get a tank up n running in the shortest amount of time. Even fishless cycling is a distant second.

The only thing I would warn about is Bio-Spira MUST be kept cold; if it warms up the bacteria will keel over. Is why I recommend testing the water faithfully after using it, in case it got hot in shipping.
 
hhmm...well, should I try cycle? Or stick to the old ammonia injections? (what would you do?) :?
 
Ahhh, just noticed your up in Canada. Ack. I don't think Bio-Spira can be shipped up there (something about it being bacteria...oooo...evil!), so if the lfs's don't carry it, you may SOL. Darn. You can try the Cycle, but it may take a while. I would prob do a fishless cycle with pure ammonia, and use the Cycle with that. This way, if it doesn't work, the fish won't be affected. If it does, then the nitrogen cycle will go quicker and you'll be able to add fish sooner. Just be warned you may get nitrate readings from day one due to the Cycle product. Make sure you wait until ammonia and nitrites spike and reduce before adding fishies.
 
Try Bernie, seems to me someone mentioned he had shipped it internationally before (but I could be wrong).

http://www.fishstoretn.com

He was lurking around the other Bio Spira thread a couple of weeks ago (do a search) so maybe if he reads this, he can answer your question.

For what its worth, I used Bio Spira to cycle my 12 gallon tank and it worked great. :)
 
Thanks there Allivymar!! I can count on you to give the "straight" poop on this
bacteria topic.... as we've discussed it at some length.

To answer the Canada prob.... we do and can ship to Canada. I've learned not
to use the USPS though as they often experience delays through customs for some
reason. I use FedEx for Canada shipments (costs a bit more, but prob worth it)

How much depends on whether you use overnight or 2-day service AND your zipcode!! You can go to my site and punch in the info and it will calculate the
shipping for you. Then you can cancel if its too much or ??.

Hope that helps!

Bernie
 
*giggle* You said poop.

Good to know you guys DO ship to Canada; I know of some people who had problems getting Bio-Spira in the past. Nice to see someone up there got their head out of the snow.

*ducks n runs* LOL
 
Moe36, read my product review of BIO-Spira and then decide. There is a thread here (and on other forums) about it too that might be worth reading. Many have had success with Cycle and there must be variables involved so that Cycle aids in the cycling process, but I have found it to be snake oil and not worth it. I'd much rather go ahead and do a fishless cycle, personally. It builds character!
 
The products I use are StressCoat and/or easy balance as well as the chlorine remover. And while this is far from the popular method of cycle, I set up, add chemicals, wait about 24 hours and then toss ina coule of rosy reds and then watch them for a few hours. If all is well after that time, I go ahead and add my fish to the tank.

Best of luck to you!
 
Just a heads up missyintx, but thats not exactly cycling. The cycle we generally talk about here is the nitrogen cycle; when nitrifying bacteria colonise the fish tank and remove the deadly nitrogenous waste (ammonia and nitrites). A few hours is no where near enough time (using StressCoat and/or EasyBalance) to get those colonies to a level where they can deal with the fish waste (Bio-Spira is the only thing out there that instantly cycles a tank). Using fish to cycle a tank can take weeks to get things where its safe for em. Once your guys are IN the tank and have been there a while, that tank starts to cycle.

I'm guessing your method has worked for you, but I'm curious as to how many times you've done it this way, how long its been since the fish were added, what sort of fish survival rates you've had and what the water parameters have been.

You might want to read up on what I'm talking about; the krib faq explains it really well: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html
 
Bio-Spira/Cycle

I own a small LFS and so far have been unable to get Bio-spira. It sounds terrific and I am still trying to get it. I have always used cycle and have never had any problems. However....a real good way to get your tank up and running (and cycled) is to get your LFS involved.
This past Xmas we had a customer who bought a 36 Gallon bow front for his daughters Xmas present. We started his filter in one of our tanks two weeks before Xmas; Xmas Eve when he picked up the tank he also got enough gravel from our system, the "live" filter, and 25 gallons of our water (he brought clean plastic carboys). He also took some real nice fish.

The tank was up and running, with fish, when his daughter got up Xmas morning. No problems with the tank or the fish to this day. :p

I don't think the large Box stores would do this for you but a small locally owned LFS, with some customer service skills, should.
 
that sounds like a good idea for some but i stick with my rule of lfs water and gravel and thats that none enters my tank, way too manyu fish pass threw lfs tanks and there is too high of a chance for a disease, im not saying you dont take care of your tanks its just a rule of mine i dont even do it from my main lfs and they take just as good of care of there tanks as i do my own, i wouldnt suggest people too cycle there tanks from lfs water if any thing use a trusted friends gravel and filter media. JMO
 
Hi, Good rule. I agree with that in general. We always tell customers that after they have aclimatized the fish in the bag and mixed their water into the bag to net the fish out and dispose of our water. For a brand new tank, though, (and person does not want to go through the waiting game)......
 
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