Bio-spira, Cycle

[Guest]

No, with Stability you can put the fish in instantly, but you just have to dose the tank that first day and six more days with the stuff for the bacteria to reach optimal levels. Dose actually depends on tank size now that I think about it, I got about 20 doses on my 55g tank, but you would get more on a smaller tank and less on a larger tank. I just used it until I ran out the bottle to be safe, especially since I changed filters from the cheap HOB the tank came with to my 304 a week into doseing.

 

[Guest]

I don't need any right now, my tank is fully functional. I was just wondering for future reference. I didn't have any luck with the "cycle". But i just found it on the shelf. I refrigerated it after i opened it.
Honestly, i don't see how bacteria can live in a bottle unless it has some sort of food and an expiration date. I know how bacteria works, i am a science major, but I was just wondering about the bio-spira, how its packaged, how it lives in the bottle.

 

[greenmaji]

Seachem has instructions on how to use Stability on its site.. here is the link
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Stability.html
and yes you can add fish right away with this product.. If you have a way of adding ammonia without fish I would suggest you do that the first day.. give the filters a head start on things..
as far as how the bacteria stay alive.. I read in a article how they did this once but Im sending Seachem a question right now to get there answer to it.. Ill post it later..

 

[Pufferpunk]

Here's the research from Marineland: http://www.marineland.com/science/nspira.asp

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I've used Stabililty and followed the instructions to the T and still had to cycle the tank for about 5 weeks. I wish the lfs around here sold bio-spira.

 

[greenmaji]

Fishyfanatic.. did you have fish in the tank you were cycling from day one.. the bacteria need ammonia to survive.. and nothing will instantly cycle a tank no matter what anyone says..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Yes, I added fish at the same time. That's what the guy at the lfs told me to do.

 

[Jchillin]

I've decided to ask Seachem to identify the exact form of bacteria in their product since it's not mentioned on their website.

Bio-Spira states that their product contains Nitrospira.
Cycle states that their product contains nitrosomas and nitrobacter.

Let's see what happens.

 

[greenmaji]

how much bio-load did you put worth of fish into the tank.. a neon in a 55 wouldnt help much for example..
And we will see Bill.. I asked them if it need refigeration, if it went out of date, and how they kept the bactera alive.. if they answer my quesions and yours we should have right about everything covered..LOL

 

[Guest]

I asked them if it need refigeration, if it went out of date, and how they kept the bactera alive.. if they answer my quesions and yours we should have right about everything covered..LOL

I can help you with two of them. Its expires in four years from the date on the bottle and does not need to be refrigerated.

 

[Gunnie]

I've used Stabililty and followed the instructions to the T and still had to cycle the tank for about 5 weeks. I wish the lfs around here sold bio-spira.

I believe Bernie at The Fish Store is still a sponsor of this site, and he replenishes his supply weekly. He ships the stuff worldwide (at least where customs will allow it), and is very reputable.

 

[greenmaji]

Seachem Tech Support wrote me.. they answered my question with this...

"Some bacteria can survive most conditions in a spore state and some
do not go into a spore so they are very delicate and die easily. The
bacteria in Stability are in a spore state. They are held in a
stasis until the chemical responsible for their stasis is diluted.
This occurs when you pour it into the fish tank. They do not need
any food source well in stasis. 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, the bacteria convert to
vegetative state and can handle temp as low as 42º. Below 42º 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 180º - 200º. In the vegetative state the
bacteria can handle temps between 120º -
125º (some have even existed in this state up to 140º but is uncommon).

Stability has an expiration date listed on the bottle. It is good
for over 4 years from the date of manufacture and do not need to be
refrigerated.

I hope this information helps."

 

[Guest]

If you read over the thread, I already posted all this information. Still, thats cool you took the time to Email them and they got back so fast. I really think Stability is a good product, I was really happy how it worked in my tank.

 

[greenmaji]

they took a shot at explaining how it stays alive thats why I posted it.. sorry if you already explained it..

 

[Guest]

they took a shot at explaining how it stays alive thats why I posted it.. sorry if you already explained it..

You're right, that part was interesting.

 

[Bernie]

The key is NOT to refer to live bacteria as if it were just "one" commodity.

Their are many forms of bacteria ....some of which are nitrifiers and some are not; some are nitrifiers in FW aquariums ...some are not.

As Pufferpunk pointed out, you should go to the research page given
and provided by Marineland to help understand what distinguishes "Nitrospira" and "Nitrosospira" from the other bacteria
being sold on the market.

I would venture to say that NONE of the other products claim to be a
"live nitrifying bacteria in freshwater aquariums".....
Marineland has a Patent pending on that product.

I've tested many of the other products like Stability; Cycle Plus; Turbo-Start and quite a few others with discouraging and sporadic results.
If I could honestly say they were useful products....I would sell and ship them on-line right beside the Bio-spira; but they don't.

Bernie

 

[Guest]

Bernie, not to be disrespectful, but the fact is that people who are completely unbiased are having good results with Stability, myself included. Plus, its not as ridiculously marked up in price as Bio-Spira is and is not as fragile as well(for a product being trucked all over the country, thats an important consideration as well).

 

[Bernie]

No prob.... I just wanted to point out that the bacteria being referred to ARE different and should not be "lumped" together.

If the others were the same.... and had a good track record; I would sell them as well.....so I'm not really biased!
But I do understand that you may think I must sell only Bio-spira....not so.

Bernie

 

[greenmaji]

Im kinda wondering how a company can patient bacteria.. or is it the process in wich they keep it alive being patented?
Im still waiting for Jchillin to get a response from Sechem on what type of bacteria spores they have in Stability..
This is all kinda arbitrarary to me.. I use old methods of cycling tanks still and this is just interesting to me..
I understand that the bacteria can be of a different type.. Id like to know if they are though.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I am not biased and I used it and didn't have the desired results. Now that I have used it and it did nothing for me, would I use it again? No. So maybe now I am because of previous experience. But at the time I wasn't. So your comment Tony that people that are unbiased are having good results is not really accurate.