Your thoughts on Bio-Spira

[newlywed]

Okay, to recap...here's my situation:

I set up my 55 gallon tank last weekend with a couple of live plants. On Monday, I added 6 tiger barbs. They are very happy! On Tuesday, I added a red tail shark and yesterday I put in 3 gold barbs. I've checked my water daily and it has not started to cycle. I finally found a lfs that carries the Bio Spira but am having a hard time convincing my wife that we should get it. She thinks that the tank will eventually cycle itself but I'm getting impatient and want to add some corys and some clown loaches and some others eventually. If I do not buy the Bio Spira, when can I expect the tank to cycle fully? And, can I continue to add a few smaller fish here and there until it does?
What are the arguments for buying the Bio Spira? Can I use the Bio Spira without loading the tank up? I really do not want to introduce all of the fish at one time. If there are not enough fish in the tank, will the introduced bacteria just die without any ammonia to eat? I'm just confused as to how the stuff works.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[ChileRelleno]

You basically at this point have three choices,
(1) Get the Bio-Spira and seed the tank, NOW! I would myself would double dose it and not get any more fish till it is matured.
(2) If you have a friend with a "healthy" mature tank/fish, get some mature substrate or filter material and seed your tank.
(3)Get ready to do daily water changes and closely monitor the water chemistry. And possibly have your fish get ill or even die from the stresses of your tank cycling.

No matter what at this point your going to need to monitor your water chemistry very closely, do you have the necessary test kits?

 

[newlywed]

I do have a very good test kit and check the water daily. I'm prepared for the consequences of doing a fishy cycle. I may just pick up the Bio Spira so as not to stress out the fish from the high ammonia levels of cycling.

So, what else is there to know? What other experiences have you forumers had? I'd like some more info and advice!

 

[Gunnie]

If you want to add more fish, you will need the bio spira. I'm not sure how well your tank will cycle with the fish you already have, but I would not add any more. Bio spira is an excellent product, and if you bought a double dose for your tank, you could probably add your full bio load of fish. Bio spira is not meant to be used this way though. It's meant to be added at the same time you add all your fish. It would be good to have it in case you do run into a problem with cycling where you are doing daily water changes just to keep the ammonia levels down. I experienced this, and temporarily moved my fish, completely drained my tank, refilled it, and started over with the bio spira.

 

[newlywed]

I'm a bit confused...someone please offer more info. I've done a lot of reading and I understand the nitrogen cycle. Gunnie says

I'm not sure how well your tank will cycle with the fish you already have, but I would not add any more

So, how do I get my tank cycled? I thought you added a few fish, waited for the ammonia levels to rise, then watch the nitrate and nitrite levels raise t ensure that the tank was cycled. If the fish that I currently have will not cycle my tank, how do I cycle the tank without adding more fish?
I thought you had to have fish pee and poo to create ammonia and thus good bacteria? I bought a few potted plants from the lfs to get a bit of good bacteria in my tank. People doing a fishless cycle recommend doing that. So, I thought that it would also help during a fishy cycle.
I was also under the impression that by adding the Bio Spira, I was simply adding the good bacteria. I also thought that these bacteria only live for 24 hours without anything to eat. So, I guess I need to do a bit more research about the product. I would be willing to add 3 clown loaches and some corys when I put the Bio Spira in the tank, buy why a double dose? My fish are showing absolutely no signs of stress! The water is dechlorinated 76 degree tap water that has been running in the tank for over a week. I've tested it each day and no signs of ammonia. How long would this last? Is it a potential time bomb?
I am not draining my tank and starting over. So, what should I do next?

Thanks!

 

[ChileRelleno]

Are you using anything such as Ammo-lok or Amquel, if not then go get the Bio-spira....
Sure its exspensive, but it beats stressing your fish out running thru a cycle.
Yes, your tank is a potential timebomb for your current fish. It takes very little ammonia and nitrites to be harmful to your fish, as in anything over zero (0) ppm. As you already know running thru a cycle involves elevated levels of these toxins for an extended period.
I would just get the Bio-Spira and be done with it.
To help my tanks I also use Cycle for maintenance.

 

[Christmasfish]

I've thought about using it...but most of my tanks are advance to the fish.
My fish for christmas had to ride through the cycle. And I always have one newcomer Qt up and running with shrimp and snails as company.

 

[Endgame319]

Are you sure your test kit as working? If your tank has been set up for more than a day you should at least get small readings of ammonia...

 

[newlywed]

The test kit is brand new...bought it the same time I bought the tank last weekend. I check the water everyday and so far nothing.

I am not using any ammo-stuff because I do not have any ammonia. I do not want the fish to stress out through the cycling process. That's why I was asking about the Bio Spira. I also thought that maybe the bacteria would build up gradually with having so few fish that the tank would cycle without the fish really noticing. That's really my question. How long to cycle the tank this way? And...can I do it without harming the fish? If not, I would like to add the Bio Spira since I do have access to it. But want to use it correctly and not waste money on a product that does not work because I am not using it as intended.

More advice needed!!!

 

[Thaiboxer]

I can't believe that your tank isn't spiking Ammonia yet... I cycled my 55 gallon a year ago with 6 zebra danios, with is a much smaller load than you have now.

I also have a 15 gallon that is spiking nitrites with just 1 small pink-kisser gourami. It shouldn't take any more than what you have to cycle that tank!

Be patient!

 

[TankGirl]

In the articles section I wrote one about Bio-Spira, so check that out, but I think you have the main idea.

Once there is ammonia present in the water it is harder for Bio-Spira to do its job. I have used it in this way, to arrest the affects of an accidental mini-cycle, but it takes a day or two to work. I too am surprised that you are not registering any kind of ammonia. Does your filter contain any kind of white (ammonia removing) particles mixed in with carbon?

You can certainly keep on like you are, and eventually the tank will cycle. Like has been said, you need to monitor ammonia, nitrite and nitrate daily, which it sounds like you are doing. When you do a fishy cycle it takes longer since you need to do water changes to protect the fish, which reduces the available food for the bacteria you are trying to grow. It will happen, though, and those barbs are relatively tough so they might do okay. Are they really tiny ones? That might explain why you are not getting a reading yet - I have seen some really wee little ones for sale recently, compared to how they will eventually get.

It is up to you. If you DO decide to go with BioSpira you will need to double-dose, as mentioned, and it will be a decent expense, but then I would go ahead and get your other fish at that time.

Good luck!

 

[newlywed]

Thanks for all the info! I do have a mixture of carbon and ammonia fighting crystals in my filter. I run an Emporer 400 and this is what was recommended for as the filter media. Could this be why the ammonia is not registering? Could this impede my cycle? Maybe I'm trying to take care of too many things. I wanted to use the blend to remove any ammonia so the fish would not die but instead may be slowing the cycle since there is nothing for the bacteria to eat.

I'm taking a water sample to my lfs today to get it double checked.

Also, I have not done a water change. I've had fish in the tank for 7 days now, when should I do my first water change?

The barbs are very small. The 6 tigers range in size from approx 1.5" to .75"
I purchased a small red tail shark simply because I didn't want him to eat any of the barbs. I'm not sure if he would have, just didn't want to chance it.

The gold barbs are also very small. They are approx 1" each. So, I have 10 very small fish in my 55 gallon tank. The tank also has a few live plants.

I guess I'll wait and see what the lfs says about the water parameters. There is always room for human error, but I check the water every day and nothing changes.

Should I remove the media cartridge? I am only using one right now, not both.

Thanks again!

 

[TankGirl]

I would remove that carbon/ammonia removing mixture, but that is because I am impatient! I'll bet that is why you are not getting a reading, plus the fact that these are really very small fish right now.

Alternatively, you can leave things alone and wait it out, with careful monitoring. If it has only been a week and you have no measurable ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, I would not do a water change yet, as it will slow things down. Keep those first two low for the sake of the fish, once they show up.

 

[newlywed]

Thanks TankGirl! I'm going to leave things as they are. The lfs confirmed my test results and said that with 55 gallons of water, the little fish would take a while longer to produce enough ammonia to cause a spike. Plus, with the plants and the crystals, it'll take a while for ammonia to show up in my tests. I'm just going to be patient and leave things alone unless someone else can give me a really good reason to change things. The fish are all very happy and get along just fine. I do not plan on adding any more fish any time soon. The next addition will be a few corys but I'll wait a few weeks before adding them.

 

[TankGirl]

Sounds good to me! Best of luck-

 

[newlywed]

Thanks for your time! I appreciate your responses.

 

[Overstocker]

I have used Bio Sira on a 20 and a 29 gal tank and it worked great. I got impatient for the cycle to finish. To impatient to keep testing and doing minor water changes to keep from killing my first few fish. Bio worked as advertised! 24 hours on the 20 gal and 48 hours on the 29 gal. and have never seen a bit of ammonia or nitrite since.

Total cycle time for the 20 gal was 4 days and 10 days for the 29 gal. Bio Spira really did the trick.

 

[newlywed]

Thanks for the response overstocker...a few questions for ya!
1. Were you mid cycle when you added the BS? (hate to keep typing Bio Spira)
I am 9 days into the cycle, 7 of which involve fish.
2. Did you use a double dose? I'm still confused as to why I would have to use a double dose.
3. What were your water parameters when you added the BS? As of yet, I have no detectable ammonia in my water. I'd like to keep it that way so the fish do not get stressed out. Even though they are small inexpensive fish, I've grown attached to them and would hate to lose them. I get up each morning and do a quick head count before everyone wakes up! I'm paranoid about my fish dying!

Thanks again!

 

[Kwenbee]

I couldn't find any bio-spyra to cycle our 20 gallon tank. I took some substrate out of my cycled 10 gallon, and had to do water changes only for about four days (no ammonia reading at all, but nitrite spike). Today, it was normal.

Without the bio-spyra, you are looking at daily water changes and tests. It's a pain in the butt, but if you don't you'll lose fish. Trust me.....I definitley know that!

If you don't have access to a cycled tank, go get the bio-spyra. When I install my 55, I will probably use the stuff rather than have to do ANY water changes.

 

[TankGirl]

Regarding the "double-dose" advice: when I have used this stuff in a tank where fish were already present and there were detectable amounts of ammonia and nitrite the BS did not work at all unless I double-dosed it (I thought I had a "bad" batch but I have not been the only one to have this happen) and Marineland is very clear that it works the best when there are zero amounts of ammonia and nitrite the bacteria slowly build as the wastes build. I am not sure why this is, but when there is already waste present in the tank it takes more to do its thing.

We are operating on the assumption that, just by virtue of the fact that there have been fish in this tank for a week, there are some levels of ammonia and possibly nitrite. If there are not, there really ought to be something showing up here in the next day or so.

Based purely on my experience with this product if it is a tank that has had fish in it at all I double-dose.