Bio-Spira

[Khabbral]

Does it work and where can I buy it? If I had some would I be able to have fish safely in 3-4 days? I heard about someone name Bernie selling them, can I buy some from him?

 

[aquazen]

Alot of people like Biospira. I've never used it, so I can't say much about it. But I do use Seachem Stability, and it has worked for me. You can drop in fish from day one. Bigal's online is the cheapest place I've ever seen it, even with shipping. Don't know where to get Biospira though.

Hope this was at least informative.

 

[Khabbral]

So I can put in fish from day one without cycling?

 

[SoylentGrundy]

Those products do help with shaving off cycling time, but there is no real "magic potion" to add to water that works better than simply being patient. So long as you dont add a bunch of fish to a new tank, you should be alright. Just add a bit at a time and you should do well.

 

[Sara]

You can't buy it in Canada, Khabbral. If you're willing to pay for shipping, you can get it through Bernie at The Lighthouse, who is a member here.

http://www.fishstoretn.com

 

[BASSNMAN]

The basic process for breaking in a tank requires ammonia, either added in a fishless cycle or from fish waste. Once the ammonia builds up, bacteria starts to form that converts the ammonia ti nitrite. At this point, additional bacteria developes that convert nitrite to nitrate. You remove most of the nitrate when you do water changes. It takes time for these bacteria to form and grow. Biospira is live bacteria. You need to add fish at the same time to provide food for the bacteria. It is the only thing I have tried that actually works. Yor tank stil cycles but without spikes and much quicker.

 

[TomK2]

Yor tank stil cycles but without spikes and much quicker.

Can you be more specific? What size tank, what fish load, and what kind of NH3 and NO2 levels after adding Bio-Spira and fish? I keep hearing praises for this product, but I would love to hear a more technical review.

 

[PK Tester]

TomK2, I'll find you a forum that did a study.

if I remember right the NH3 didn't even register and neither did the NO2

 

[PK Tester]

Ok here is the link

http://www.aquaria.info/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=7372

Same forum Bernie is good contributing member of!

Look at the difference between those that added BIO-Spira + Fish and those who add FISH than LATER BIO-Spira...

 

[TomK2]

Look at the difference between those that added BIO-Spira + Fish and those who add FISH than LATER BIO-Spira...

I followed the thread for about 10 pages..when people started arguing I had to stop. It is very encouraging. It would seem that most of the early users of B-S followed thier tanks out over a month, and even used it on a second tank. I had a little trouble figuring out what their bio-load was, since I wasn't familiar with many of the fish. But it would seem that they used at least one inch of fish for each 5 gallons, and maybe more. I am currently 18 days into a new tank, stocked with 1 inch per 5 gal, and NO Bio-spira (the old fashioned way!) - and still have all zeroes. I will post the data after 45 days or when I have nitate>5.

Thanks for the link, it answered my question! Now the big question is if I can do the same thing without Bio-spira. Then you just have to decide which camp you are in - immediate gratification = Bio-spira, or patient waiter = low bio-load cycling.

 

[Medusa Head]

Those products do help with shaving off cycling time, but there is no real "magic potion" to add to water that works better than simply being patient. So long as you dont add a bunch of fish to a new tank, you should be alright. Just add a bit at a time and you should do well.

Totally not true. With Bio Spira, you add a full fish load + Bio Spira to a new tank and you are already 100% cycled. It's been proven time and time and time again. It's statements like this that perpetuate disbelief in the product, which is why you can't buy it from places like Petco and Petsmart.