Bio-Spira question...

[deli_conker]

How quickly should that stuff work? I was under the impression that it would be rather quickly.

I started my 55 last Sunday with 8 small africans and 3 oz of Bio-Spira.
One week later my ammonia is around 1.0 and no nitrites.
The test kit (ammonia) says that it is a salicylate based test, if that makes any difference.

I have a 10 gal that has no fish in it, but is cycled. The HOB filter won't go on the new tank so I stole it's bio-wheel and dropped it in the 55 gallon. I was also thinking about using the filter/carbon insert (6 months old) if I can figure out a way to put it in so they won't mess with it.

 

[Allivymar]

Bio-Spira works instantly. That being said, just like any other product its possible to get a lemon. If its exposed to fluctuating temps, the bacteria will keel over, and with shipping and storage at the lfs thats a possibility.

However, the ammonia levels are pretty low. I don't know whether thats a result of the small bio-load, or the Bio-Spira, but my guess is the Bio-Spira IS working, just not as well as it should be. Are any nitrates registering? That would be a better indicator of the Bio-Spira's viability.

 

[deli_conker]

I'll try that later on today after I go out into the snow and pick one up. I have the Aquarium Phamaceuticals Master Freshwater Test Kit, too bad they didn't think that a Nitrate test should be included...

 

[tkos]

Is the salicylate based test the one that knows the difference bewteen ammonia and ammonium? If not you could be getting a false positive.

 

[TankGirl]

Some dechlorinating products will give you false positive ammonia readings, but like Allivymar mentioned you need to know nitrate levels, and that is a test you will use often after your tank is cycled. I have had Bio-Spira "fail" with the full bioload of fish added and everything else being right on, but I then added more Bio-Spira and within 24 hours the tank was cycled. I have since started getting it from a different store and not had a problem, so handling may have been a factor.

 

[mgkaelen]

i used bio spira and it took 1 day to get the ammonia down to 0 and about a week to get the nitrates /nitrites to a safe level to enter fish into the tank..... i thought it was supposed to be INSTANT, however 5 days was good enough... as long as it worked since it was $$$!!

 

[deli_conker]

Is the salicylate based test the one that knows the difference bewteen ammonia and ammonium? If not you could be getting a false positive.

I tested water from the tank and water from the tap and they both looked about the same (glad I don't drink from it). I can only assume that the water is ok because of the way my fish act. And I think that I might just test the water coming out of my Brita as well...

What's the difference between ammonia and ammonium?

I still have to pick up a nitrate test, my lfs doesn't carry the one I want so I am having to shop around for it. I'll probably get it after work tonight just to be certain that everything is ok.

 

[deli_conker]

Picked up the nitrate test and if I have nitrates (last water change was last Saturday) then there isn't much in there. The test gradients are in 5 ppm. My results were somewhere between 0 and 5 and I would say that it look a lot closer to 0 than 5.

My ammonia (ammonium)? is around 1 from both the tap and the tank
nitrites are nil
nitrates are most likely nil

I'm thinking about letting it go past the normal water change day (Saturdays) and see if any nitrates show up. The fish are behaving normally so until I see a raise in ammonia or a change in thier behavior I think I'll just watch and wait...

 

[TankGirl]

I would really think with all those Africans in there you would have trouble keeping it below 20ppm, if not higher (they are pretty small, though, if I remember correctly). I would wait and test again, like you say. Are you still showing no nitrites? With Bio-Spira in there you will want to hold off on water changes until you get higher readings of nitrate, to give it a chance to latch onto surfaces in the tank and filter.

 

[deli_conker]

Sounds like a plan to me.

I'll just test the water every day and not make any changes until either I see a definitive spike in ammonia/nitrites/nitrates or a sudden behavioral change.

Thanks all...

 

[deli_conker]

Tested the water last night and got the following results...

Ammonia ~.25 ppm
Nitrites 0 ppm
Nitrates ~5 ppm

Looks like I'm home free. I'll test again tomorrow just to be sure, but I think it's cycled. That would be about 2 weeks using bio-spira AND doing small water changes in between (sorry, I like fresh water and don't mind changing it).

Thanks all...

 

[TankGirl]

If you are cycled then you will read absolutely zero ammonia. I am not certain where you are in the cycle, but if you can detect any ammonia at all you are not there. I would not do any water changes until you either read higher ammonia or higher levels of nitrIte or nitrAte, and give things a chance to settle in.

 

[deli_conker]

I agree, but my tap water shows up with about the same results as my tank with the ammonia test. Somebody wrote earlier about the posibility that my test picks up ammonium as well as ammonia. I'm still researching what the difference is...

Until that point I'm going to "stay the course" and not make any changes until I am sure of the condition of the water.

 

[TankGirl]

Okay well that does explain it. You can do an experiment and test your tap for ammonia, then treat a quantity of water with the proper amount of your dechlor, and test that for ammonia. Usually if your ammonia test is sensitive to the dechlor you will see rather high levels of ammonia when you do the test, and then you know not to really trust the ammonia test kit for your aquarium water. If you use a Nessler ammonia test kit, you will get false positive results.

Overall, though, it sounds like things are pretty stable and everyone should be fine in there!

 

[William]

Wait 24-48 hours after dechloring and test ammonia

 

[deli_conker]

Happy day, happy day...

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5-10 ppm

I have lots of extra filter medium to start another tank with too...