bio-spira and other questions...

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thanew

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Nov 29, 2004
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Las Vegas, NV
ok.. question. I put some bio-spira into a tank that was about a week in.. it had some ammonia in it ~.25 or so the ammonia level has since spiked up to 3 or so as of this morning nitrites were down.. nitrates have gone up to around 20ppm but the ammonia is still high..

i guess what im asking is this normal?

becuase I thought it was supposed to "cycle" in 24hours.. the guy at the LFS said his friend had experienced success in 30hrs..

oh yeah.. I have placed some ornaments in the tank from a previous cycled tank and a biowheel from another tank in hopes to seed it (this was earlier in the week before the bio-spira)


another question -- i thought nitrates couldn't be present without the presence of nitrites ? am I correct in this assumption.. i've read the cycling papers and I am a science major (computer science :) ) but i am no good when it comes to chemistry so :(
 
Sometimes local tap water can have nitrates in it, so you could be starting with some nitrates. I bet you will see a surge in nitrites soon. Hope it goes quickly and smoothly for you.
 
Are there fish in the tank? Biospira is made to put in he same time as a fair load of fish, because the livie bacteria needs the ammonia to feed on.
My local water has 30 ppm nitrates, so let some tap water set out overnight, then test.
 
yes there is a fair load of fish in the tank... maybe I should add some amquel.. because it did say that if there is a bit of ammonia it would take a little longer to work its magic
 
If you have already added Bio-Spira, be careful of adding Amquel. On Marineland's website, they advise you to add only enough Amquel to initially treat your tap water. If you add any more, like when you see the ammonia spike, then you will probably just be killing the new Bio-Spira, and it's too expensive to kill! :lol: If you have a large fish load, try adding a bit more Bio-Spira instead of Amquel. The label says it is not possible to overdose. I added 1/2 teaspoon for 5 gallons. And also, keep doing your ammonia tests -- the Bio-Spira will catch up! I also agree that your tap water may have nitrates in it.

i thought nitrates couldn't be present without the presence of nitrites ?
Well, nitrites will come first. As they drop to 0, the nitrates will appear, and I like to see 20 ppm nitrates to know I'm cycled. You may see a higher level than that, if you have nitrates in your tap, or source, water.

I just put some Bio-Spira in a new tank on Saturday. On Sunday, I had .25ppm ammonia. Today, I had 0 ammonia. I also had 0 nitrites today. On my previous cycles with Bio-Spira, I did see a nitrite level of .25 after the ammonia dropped to 0. I'm just thinking that I missed seeing them this time when I did my test. Maybe the nitrites were .25 this afternoon, but by the time I tested tonight, they were 0. When I tested tonight, my nitrates were 0. However, I have two live plants in the tank this time. They keep nitrates very low. I will keep checking my tank every day, for another week or so, to make sure everything is ok.

This is my fourth time to cycle with Bio-Spira. My previous cycles went like this: Day 1, add Bio-Spira; Day 2, ammonia .25 ppm; Day 3, ammonia 0, nitrites .25 ppm; Day 4, ammonia and nitrite both 0 and nitrates 20 ppm.

So, don't worry if you don't see nitrates within 24 hours. You shouldn't get a big ammonia or nitrite spike. When I saw the .25 ammonia spike yesterday, I changed about 10% of the water without vaccumming the gravel. Today, the ammonia was 0, so the bacteria has caught up with the bio-load. Just don't add Amquel beyond the initial source water treatment. I used 5 drops of Amquel per gallon of tap water.
 
ah.. well i know its impossible to overdose... i just hope i didn't get a bad batch from my LFS.. i mean i don't fully trust them yet :| but they are the only place around here with it and i don't really trust the mail service to order some from bernie so :(
 
The first time I used it, I got it from an LFS. The LFS was about an hour and 15 minutes away, though. The other times I got it from Bernie. I'm not as far from him as you are, but I don't think that would be a problem. To be on the safe side, I would get it sent overnight if you can. Bernie packs it very well, with a little gel cold pack to keep it cool. I would get it sent to your workplace if you can, if you're not home to get your mail right away. When you get it, unpack it, and put the cold pack and the Bio-Spira in one of those insulated lunch bags. That will keep the Bio-Spira nicely cool/cold until you can get home and put it in your fridge.
 
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