Another question re Bio Spira.......

[TXFish]

Hi All......

Got a 20 gall that I'd started cycling with 3 Platies. It had been cycling for less than a week when I ordered Bio Spira.

My Bio Spira arrived on Friday. I put it in the fridge until I did a 50% water change & got the rest of my fish. I added the Bio Spira & remainder of the fish on Saturday. Tank Inhabitants are currently 8 Lemon Tetras and 5 Platies.

Those of you with Bio Spira experience........what should I expect as far as water parameters go? It's been 2 days now, & it looks like the ammonia levels are climbing ever so slightly as of this morning--the color in the tube looked to be somewhere between 0 and .225 ppm (next color down on the AP kit). I think I'd read that I might get a slight ammonia spike--how much higher would it go?? The fish are fine now, but I'm just trying to get a game plan together so I can act fast if any start stressing.

The store that I got my fish from had Bio Spira so I picked up another package "just in case" this one I'd ordered might've gone bad during shipment. It's on stand by in the fridge, but should I use it?

Thanks!

 

[Jason the Lost]

Mine took about a week to start any noticeable cycling in a fully loaded 20 gallon. Just monitor the ammonia, I wouldn't do any PWC's for at least 3 days, a week if possible. It doesnt sound like you have a large Bioload so it will probably be over a week before you start seeing significant nitrates.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Test the Nitrate and Nitrite levels in addition to the Ammonia. In a cycled tank, Nitrates will be present.

 

[DevinJM]

Bio Spirea is over glorified like all other bacterial additives and you are better off spending you money on more useful things. Sure, they add bacteria but they can also be harmful to the bacteria that naturally grew in your tank. I have not used a bacterial additive in any of my tank for the last year, and I have a 44, and a 20 and take care of a 65 at my school.

 

[Todd2]

I experienced no ammonia spike when I added my Bio-Spira. The ammoina spike that your experiencing now could be ammonia "left over" from when you started your cycle. Its possible. I would keep doing water changes until the ammoina is gone.

 

[TXFish]

So I should still expect the tank to fully cycle even with Bio Spira?? Is it just an accelerated cycle? At what point do I conclude the BioSpira failed and I need to take drastic measures?

I have been testing Nitrites & Nitrates in addition to the Ammonia, the Nitrites are at 0, but what was confusing was that the Nitrates looked darker than the yellow (zero reading) on the AP color card. Could be that I'm misreading it. I wouldn't think that Ammonia and Nitrates could be present together (??) (Nitrate readings in my tap water are 0)

Thanks again.....

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You could be showing ammonia and nitrates. Does your water company use Chloramines or Chlorine?

Try re-testing Nitrates. Follow the instructions very carefully. Alot of people don't shake long enough which causes false readings.

 

[Todd2]

Bio-Spira is basically an instant cycle. You add ALL the fish and ALL the bacteria at once. The cycling is done from that point on.

Do you mean you have .225 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, and 0 ppm nitrate? Something that explains this would be that at the begining of your cycle your ammoina spikes THAN your nitrite spikes THAN your NITRATE spikes last. You only experienced 1 week of your cycle, not your entire cycle. This explains why only your ammonia spiked a little. I think I answered your question.

 

[TXFish]

Fishyfanatic......I'm actually not sure whether my water company uses chlorine or chloramines. I tested my tap water when I set the tank up just to get baseline readings and everything was at 0. Aside from that, Nitrates & Ammonia would not exist at the same time in the Nitrogen cycle, correct?

Todd2, I did a 50% water change & tested the water before adding the rest of the fish & the BioSpira--Ammonia was at 0. It was barely measurable prior to that water change, anyway. I would like to think it's just "leftover" but I suspect it's not........which is why I'm asking about the Bio Spira. It seems there have been varied experiences with it since it seems to have worked instantaneously for you.

So at this point, is it safe to assume the BioSpira was a bust & I've got 8 (or more) long weeks and LOTS of water changes ahead of me until this thing cycles on its own?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Ammonia can be present at the same time as Nitrates. An increased bio-load in the tank, a dead fish, overfeeding, they can all cause Ammonia readings while there are Nitrate readings.

The reason that I wonder if they use Chloramines is because if they do, it will give a false ammonia reading.

Keep testing your water daily and see how it progresses.

 

[Skyrmir]

I've used Bio-Spira a few times now and something I noticed is that it's a serious O2 pig. It's not likely to suck up all your O2 or anything, but if there isn't enough in the water, then it just doesn't work for squat. My bio-wheel filter wasn't quite enough by itself, but adding in just one airstone into my 30 gallon and poof insta-cycle. (Well within 24 hours anyway), Ammonia from .5 down to 0, nitrites from 1 to 0 and nitrates to around 5-10. All overnight.

Most likely depends on what's in your water and conditions to start with, but for me the air-stone made a huge difference. Now if I can just be happy with my substrate and stop reloading my tank, life will be easier...

 

[Jason the Lost]

Bio Spirea is over glorified like all other bacterial additives and you are better off spending you money on more useful things. Sure, they add bacteria but they can also be harmful to the bacteria that naturally grew in your tank. I have not used a bacterial additive in any of my tank for the last year, and I have a 44, and a 20 and take care of a 65 at my school.

Its sounds like you're talking about adding it to an established tank. If you have a brand new tank how can it harm bacteria when there isn't any? On my 20 gallon I had added too many fish before I found this forum and knew about the cycle...was having Amonia problems, added Biospira and was cycled in 3 days...doesn't sound overglorifeid to me.

 

[Jason the Lost]

I added Biospira to my 55 that’s 2 weeks old. I fully stocked it and added the Biospria Saturday. Its already showing low nitrates with no significant Amonia spike 3 days later.

 

[TXFish]

Thanks again for the replies & the input! Ammonia dropped to 0 today, Nitrites are up at .25. The ammonia never went higher than .25. At this rate, I imagine I'll have a cycled tank by the end of the week. All of the fish are doing fantastic (well, they think they're starving to death)......never showing any signs of stress. Still watching the parameters closely, but so far so good!