Bio-spira, Cycle

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Ok, when i first started my aquarium 3 months ago, I bought Cycle, which is supposed to be like Bio-spira, its supposed to be like putting the bacteria directly into your aquarium.
Well, using the cycle and 3 zebra danios, it still took me about a month to cycle my aquarium. I plan on doing fishless cycle's in the future, but i was just wondering, does that bio-spira really work? IMO the cycle was worthless.
 
Actualy cycle just speeds up the process supposedly, biospira is the one that puts the beneficial bacteria in the tank

They both don't do the same thing..
 
I did the same thing tried Cycle Nothing really seemed to work . I tried Bio-Spira and tank had cycled in little over 2 weeks with fish.(no dangerous levels at all) As long as the bio-spyra was kept refrigerated the whole time it should give you excellent results. Just buy from a reputable LFS. IMO it is worth its weight in gold. HTH
 
SeaChem Stability worked great for me, and its way cheaper than Bio-Spira. It claims to actually put the bacteria in your tank.
 
If it isn't refrigerated, there is no live bacteria in it. Bio-Spira should instantly cycle a tank, as long as you stock it immeditatly--not 2 weeks.
 
Pufferpunk said:
If it isn't refrigerated, there is no live bacteria in it. Bio-Spira should instantly cycle a tank, as long as you stock it immeditatly--not 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

Can you explain this statement? Bacteria can live at room temperature for years in the right solution of nutrients.
 
I agree with pufferpunk. Bio spira is the actual bacteria you find in a cycled tank. It should be an instant cycle. Every time I have used it (3 times), it was instant. I had nitrates within 24 hours and no ammonia or nitrites. You must follow the directions exactly, and your bio spira must have been properly handled from when it was shipped from Marineland. A reputable and knowledgable dealer is the key. Where are you located in Florida? If you are close to me, I might be able to get you some from the dealer I use next month?
 
I'm not suggesting Bio-Spira does not work, just that SeaChem Stability does too, and that PufferPunk's staement that "If it isn't refrigerated, there is no live bacteria in it" is wrong information, no matter how many people agree with it. :roll: A la JChillin, lets check their website:

http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Stability.html

Specifically, read this FAQ:

"Q: What is the temperature tolerance of the bacteria in Stability™?
A: The bacteria in Stability in the spore form (basically the preserved bacteria in the bottle) can live through freezing temperatures as long as the water is allowed to thaw naturally without the use of a heating element (if a heating element is used then the more drastic change in temp and pressure will kill the bacteria).

Once Stability is dosed to an aquarium (diluted in an aquarium), the bacteria convert to vegetative state and can handle temp as low as 42† F. Below 42† F the majority of bacteria will die but some will convert back to the spore state which can handle low temp/freezing (see above). Once the water thaws and warms naturally, they will convert back to vegetative and do what they are intended to do.

In the spore form the bacteria can tolerate temps between 180† - 200† F. In the vegetative state the bacteria can handle temps between 120† - 125† F(some have even existed in this state up to 140† F but is uncommon)."

:D :roll:
 
The fact is, Seachem, Cycle and several other products provide Nitrobacter, what was then thought to be the final bacteria in the nitrogen cycle. MarineLabs Bio-Spira apparently contains a totally different strain of bacteria that as per MarineLabs, scientist's in the past missed. This bacterial strain is known as nitrospira. The claim is that nitrospira is the actual end product, is far more stable than nitrobacter and can instantly cycle a tank.

So, we're talking about two different bacterial strains and two different methods of cycling a tank using additive bacteria.
 
Just my two cents, when I used bio-spira ammonia went to .25 for one week with nitites in 24 hours , tap water can have measurable nitrates, A fuuly cycled tank should have 0 ammonia 0 nitrites 10 nitates. thus it is not instant by any means. juast not toxic t the fish.
 
Jchillin said:
The fact is, Seachem, Cycle and several other products provide Nitrobacter, what was then thought to be the final bacteria in the nitrogen cycle. MarineLabs Bio-Spira apparently contains a totally different strain of bacteria that as per MarineLabs, scientist's in the past missed. This bacterial strain is known as nitrospira. The claim is that nitrospira is the actual end product, is far more stable than nitrobacter and can instantly cycle a tank.

So, we're talking about two different bacterial strains and two different methods of cycling a tank using additive bacteria.
Click to expand...

Regardless, Stability DOES have live bacteria in it, and from my experience, does work perfectly in cycling a tank. In fact, I have never heard of ONE user on these boards or otherwise that did not have a sucessful cycle with Stability. At a fraction of the cost of Bio-Spira and without having to worry if your LFS or the shipping company handled the Bio-Spira correctly, I'll take the Stability ever time.
 
Tony...perhaps you are thinking that I'm against Stability. I'm not in anyway. I just wanted to get the facts about the two out so this thread will have value. I think we agreed on this issue regarding "Cycle". Neither Stability nor Cycle make the claim that by using it, your tank will instantly cycle...only Bio-Spira. That is the difference I wanted to point out.
 
Jchillin said:
Tony...perhaps you are thinking that I'm against Stability. I'm not in anyway. I just wanted to get the facts about the two out so this thread will have value. I think we agreed on this issue regarding "Cycle". Neither Stability nor Cycle make the claim that by using it, your tank will instantly cycle...only Bio-Spira. That is the difference I wanted to point out.
Click to expand...

I don't know a thing about Cycle, but I do know that Stability does claim that the tank can instantly be stocked, so in essence they are saying its will instantly cycle your tank. I still put my fish in over the course of about two weeks to be safe, but thats pretty close to an instant cycle.

"Fish and other aquatic species may be introduced at any time as long as dosage is maintained for 7 days."
 
Pufferpunk said:
How much does a 7 day dose of Stability cost, compared to the 1 dose of Bio-Spira?
Click to expand...

One bottle, which contains way more than 7 doses (I'm guessing about 20) costs $10.99.
 
As a member who has not used either of the two products, this thread is confusing me more than it is helping. I have read that bio-spira will instantly cycle a tank and let you put in fish right away. I have also read that if you put in a lot of fish at once that sometimes there needs to be another dose of bio-spira put in because of the increased bio-load. Stability is new to me. So, can this be cleared up. Is it possible to dose the aquarium with Stabilty have it cycle the tank instantly, and put in fish right away and not have to worry about the ammonia? Or do I need to keep that up for 7 days and then put in fish? I think the thread got a little offline there.
 
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