Stress Zyme vs. Bio Spira

[Japola44]

I was wondering what the difference between the two is? I recently got a bottle of Stress Zyme to use in my 55gal and my 20 gal. I was going to get Bio Spira but no one carries it not even petsmart. Both say they contain live bacteria. I made sure not to get a porduct that only supplements in bacteria growth, but insted has bacteria. Is one better than the other? I recently found a site that ships bio spira; so, should i order that instead?

 

[Zagz]

Bio spira carries actual live bacteria,it must even be refrigerated, stress zyme does not. Stress zyme will not help in the cycle of your tank. You can order the bio spira or do a fishless cycle with ammonia.

 

[Guest]

both stress zyme and the cycle claim to have live bacteria... and it does, only it is in a spore form and well... they are pretty much useless products. Bio-spira is the only one that anyone really seems to have luck with.

 

[greenmaji]

stress zyme claims to cycle your tank????? its a slime coat additive as far as I know.. ie its not the same class of product..
if you want a slime coat additive get the stress zyme
if you want a product to cycle your tank get bio-spira..

 

[crazycat]

except be careful with biospira--don't rely on it to completely cycle the tank--even though that's what it says it does. i tried it and i didn't get "instantaneous" results--although i'm sure it helped--sort of...

 

[coolchinchilla]

stress zyme claims to cycle your tank????? its a slime coat additive as far as I know.. ie its not the same class of product..
if you want a slime coat additive get the stress zyme
if you want a product to cycle your tank get bio-spira..

Are you thinking of stress coat? Stress zyme does claim to assist with cycling your tank so it is similar in class to biospira. Stress coat aids in the slime coat, dechlorinates, etc.

 

[Toirtis]

both stress zyme and the cycle claim to have live bacteria... and it does, only it is in a spore form

Um...no...not in any form, actually....except dead form.

 

[azn_fishy55]

Yeah,according to greenmaji's description,I think your talking about Stress Coat.I used Bio-Spira and listened to the LFS(I thought I was smarted enough not to listen XP)that it would instantly cycle my tank over night.HTH

 

[Guest]

both stress zyme and the cycle claim to have live bacteria... and it does, only it is in a spore form

Um...no...not in any form, actually....except dead form.

LOL.. so that's why it doesn't work I got conned into cycle once and it didn't do a darn thing so now i just rely on real bacteria out of my already seeded tank. But according to the manufacturer of cycle their bacteria is in "spores" which is why you don't have to refrigerate it until after it is opened.

 

[Japola44]

well seeing as i bought stress zyme yesterday...i used it. It seems to be working? I have been testing my 55 gal's water everyday sense i set it up. It wasn't until a week later my ammonia tested at .25ppms, after i put fish in thinking i had instantly cycled it by seeding it with my 20 gal's filter. The bad timing of the ammonia peak was when i had been using antibiotics in my 20 so no more bacteria... So, in search of something to help my 20 regain bacteria after i finished medicating, and to look for something to help my poor fish in the 55 gal i got stress zyme. The only thing available. I put in 20 more ml than suggested for my tank tested the water .25ammonia, 0 for everything else. This morning my test read .25 ammonia, .25 nitrite, 5 nitrate

Did it work? I think so...
Coincidence? maybe...

 

[Jchillin]

No, it didn't work. The fact that you have the same amount ammonia is a testiment to that. Truth be told, these products (all other than Bio-Spira) do not contain live bacteria, which is the only thing that can help/assist with a cycle.

 

[Japola44]

but wouldnt the rise in nitrite and nitrate mean that there has been some bacteria growth?

 

[Zagz]

No IMO that is a coincidence, the nitrites would be showing up about now. Nitrate readings can be inaccurate with nitrites in the water.

 

[Japola44]

alright well i will keep an eye on the water levels then...

 

[TankGirl]

A rise in nitrite will occur naturally as part of the cycle in the presence of ammonia, even if you add nothing. With the addition of live bacteria you should not see any nitrite or ammonia, only nitrAte, indicating that you have colonies of the bacteria that are filtering your water.

The addition of live bacteria (Bio-Spira) without adequate ammonia (too few fish) to feed the quantity added will result in a slight ammonia and nitrite spike, giving you an accelerated cycle but not the "instant" one you expect.

 

[Codefox]

Why would too much bacteria for the fish in the tank result in a ammonia and nitrite spike?

 

[Japola44]

i think its because the bacteria would die off with not enough to eat? Maybe the decay of the bacteria would cause a spike...idk. I tested my water today and the ammonia had rised to .50ppms my poor fish i did a 20% pwc to try and help them out poor guys. the nitrite and nitrate were both the same. the pH also dropped to 7.4 I think alot of thje problem is on the half of the tank where the filter isnt there is a lot of debris that doesnt get sucked up i think i will get a powerhead to help kep the water moving around

 

[TankGirl]

Why would too much bacteria for the fish in the tank result in a ammonia and nitrite spike?

The live bacteria come out of the little packet warmed up and looking for food. The guidelines on the package are for a fully stocked tank. So if you use the amount of Bio-Spira to treat a 30-gal tank because that is the size tank you have, yet you have 4 zebra danios in there alone, then all that extra bacteria will die off and become a waste product in the tank, producing ammonia. In the above case you would use enough Bio-Spira to treat, say, a 5-10 gallon tank, even though you have 30 gallons of water.

That's why it is important to use Bio-Spira for a fully stocked tank - you will have enough bacteria to support all of the fish, and not have to add them slowly while you try to build bacterial colonies, and you are not wasting this relatively expensive product.

I don't know if I am explaining it well, but the confusion about it results in disappointed aquarists, when in fact if the product had been dosed correctly for the quantity of fish and not the quantity of water, results should be an overnight cycle, with no ammonia and no nitrite. I don't think the package instructions are clear on that, or at least they weren't the last time I used it.

If you have other tanks, however, then you already have your own colonies of bacteria, and as long as you seed the new tank with enough bacteria for the bioload you are adding, then it works overnight just like the Marineland product. I do it all of the time and don't "cycle" tanks traditionally anymore because of the seed material I have available.

Japola44 - you are on the right track with your water changes, and a very small PWC every day might be in order. The excess debris could be causing acidification as it decays and causing a pH drop, which can be corrected with PWCs if your tap is closer to your target. Salt added to your tank will help a lot with nitrite poisoning, as will splashing of the filter return water and/or a bubble wall to help oxygenate the water. Good luck.