Salt Water Bio-Spira??

[adiliegro]

Anyone use it? Two days ago I loaded my tank with Sand (Agrag Alive), LR (about 10 pounds - 20 gal tank...I KNOW I need more LR, but this is what I got) and salt water from the tank that my Tang and Clownfish came from. I put in a package of Bio-Spira and the fish. My nitrites are at .25, my ammonia is at .25 and my nitrates are at .40. is this stuff working like its supposed to? My ammonia has dropped from .50 and the nitrites went up a bit and the nitrates DOUBLED overnight in response to the nitrites. How long before this puppy cycles out?

PH is 8.2 and salinity is at 1.025.

 

[quarryshark]

IMO, not worth the packaging its put in. I tried in in a small qt tank and it did nothing.
If you can easily move the fish back I would until it cycles on its own.

 

[lando]

Do you still have the tang and clown in the cycling 20 gal.? If so, I still suggest you take them back. Bio-Spira is not worth the $$. It is expensive and does not really work all that well. I am not surprised you are not seeing results. Just give it time and let your tank cycle properly. It will be much better in the long run...Lando

 

[quarryshark]

I hope this is a qt tank. If not, it is way to small to house a tang in. Tangs need lots of swimming room (at least a 75 gallon system).

 

[Bernie]

Just thought I'd "butt" in here with a comment or two.

Often the addition of un-cured live rock can cause an increase of ammonia and/or nitrites simply due to some expected "die-off"!!
This should NOT be attributed to non-functioning Bio-spira.
We have many,many customers who have used SW Bio-Spira successfully
when used correctly.

Bernie

 

[adiliegro]

Actually, the Bio-Spira did the job. I just checked my levels again, and for the 2nd day in a row, Im at -

Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - .25

The bio-Spira cycled this tank in under 5 days. Awesome product.

 

[lando]

Bio-spira may have gotten your tank ready in only a few days, but the main question is about it's longevity. It may be a good way to jump-start a cycle but this not mean the tank is ready for a full bio-load. Cycling natually is still the best way to go. I would still keep an eye on water parameters, as they are likely to change over the next few days and/or weeks depending on the bioload of the tank.

 

[quarryshark]

I would bet the tank cycled on its own. With the tang in there, the bioload will someday get out of control. A 20 is way too small to house a tang for anything other than qt.

 

[gozetec02]

Biospira IMO works great. What it does is speed up the cycle process into a matter of about 3 days rather then 6 weeks. So the levels drop and rise dramatically in a short period of time. Well worth the money I say if you want fish right away.