Need Bio-Spira retailer

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Necronius

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 5, 2003
Messages
18
Location
Speers, PA
I have a bit of an emergency. I have very high ammonia levels, and even after a water change and a dose of ammonia remover, the levels are still very high. I have asked around and so far everyone has told me to add Bio-Spira to my tank, but I do not know what retailers carry it. I cant even find an online retailer with it. Does anyone know of any online retailers that sell it? Any information is appreciated.
 
Just a FYI Necronios:

Ammonia removers don't actually remove ammonia. They convert it into a non toxic form. Most ammonia tests can't tell the difference and just register ammonia (like the Nessler tests). See if you can find a salicyte (sp?) as it will be able to tell the diff, cause I'm guessing its registering the converted ammonia. Are your fish showing signs of ammonia poisoning?

Good luck.
 
Necronius said:
I have a bit of an emergency. I have very high ammonia levels, and even after a water change and a dose of ammonia remover, the levels are still very high. I have asked around and so far everyone has told me to add Bio-Spira to my tank, but I do not know what retailers carry it. I cant even find an online retailer with it. Does anyone know of any online retailers that sell it? Any information is appreciated.

I just ordered some from The Fish Store in Tennessee. He has a website where you can order it (http://www.fishstoretn.com) but it sounds like you need it overnighted, so I'd call them. The number is 888-411-7913.

I had mine overnighted due to the hot temperatures in Arizona, I didn't wan't it sitting on a hot mail truck for several hours.

Good luck!
 
Thanks folks, I appreciate the info.

After I posted this, I remembered reading about the whole ammonia/ammonium situation. I am going to buy the correct ammonia test tomorrow. I still think I'm going to order some Bio-Spira. Better safe than sorry.
 
So how does it work, do they send it with an ice pack in the box LOL ?

It seems strange that if marineland is requiring retailers to buy dedicated refrigerators (which is what my lfs told me, and why they aren't carrying it), they'd let a retailer mail the stuff!
 
I just received mine. It was packed surrounded by some little gel packs that I assume were frozen in the beginning as there was a lot of moisture in the package. This was in a plastic bag that was taped closed. It was then wrapped in foil, and then in a layer of insulating fiber.

Bernie is obviously going to great lengths to make sure the product doesn't get too warm. He isn't charging a whole lot extra for all this either--mine was $1 over the actual cost of postage. Very reasonable handling charge for this kind of packaging.

I did pay extra to have mine shipped overnight, as I didn't feel that anything short of dry ice would keep it cold for long in the Arizona heat. But the product was relatively cool when it arrived and I immediately unwrapped it and put it in the fridge.

Personally, I would recommend paying the extra $12 for overnight delivery if you need this stuff. Obviously, the less time its out of refrigeration the better and if you're going to spend the money for the product, you may as well go all out. I wish I could have found it locally but I called every fish store within a 100 mile radius and NOBODY carried it (some had never heard of it).

Just my two cents... :?
 
I wonder if marineland knows he's shipping it!

Nobody in my area apparently carries it either (well i couldn't find anyone)...my very reputable lfs told me their reason for not carrying it, was that marineland wanted them to buy some new specialized fridge, rather than use the one they already had....seems like they are very particular about guaranteeing a live product!
 
I wonder if marineland knows he's shipping it

They couldn't care less if he is shipping it or not. They just want to make sure you have all the necessary material available to begin selling the product. Anything else is up to the individual lfs.

Here is the deal with Bio-Spira. I called Marineland one day and inquired about the product and what I would need to purchase if I would like to sell the product. They told me that to startup, I would need to purchase the $600 fridge and then they would offset that cost of the fridge with an equal amount of the different size packets of Bio-Spira.

It's actually not a bad deal. If you could market it correctly, you could easily sell one packet with each new aquarium deal you sold.
 
Bernie is the owner of my local shop and he got in on the Bio-Spira during the initial release of it. I believe at the time MarineLand had a program where you bought a certain amount of product-- and they gave the fridge to you (it looks like a small fridge a college student would have in their dorm room). I didn't know you had to purchase it now. :?

It's a shame more stores can't (or won't) carry this stuff.
 
You're right VC, it is a shame. It seems to make more sense to me that Marineland could simply print a STRONG WARNING on the label that the consumer should not buy the product unless it has been refrigerated. Most LFS already have a fridge, it's just not the one Marineland is "selling".
 
well, from what i chatted about with my lfs, they just don't have the up-front cash for the set-up, which is probably something that's true with a lot of small businesses.

They are happy to dispense good advice on cycling your tank for free though! ;)
 
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