At Wit's End: Why Isn't Bio-Spira Working??

D

dimsem

Getting Feet Wet
Dec 25, 2004
43
0
0
Norfolk VA
Lst Saturday I set up a new aquarium, my first. I added my fish and a packet of Bio-Spira that I had ordered from The Fish Store. I had put the BS in the fridge when it arrived. It seemed pretty cool when it got here, although it was cold outside; I had no way to judge whether it had stayed cool throughout shipping or whether it might have warmed up and cooled off again. After a few days, I was seeing no nitrates and the ammonia was getting higher. I went to a LFS I had discovered that also sells BS and got a second dose. They seem like a pretty professional place, and they pulled the BS out of a fridge for me. That was Wednesday morning. Now it is nearly 48 hours after I added the second hit and still nothing. Nitrates are at zero or very close to that. Ammonia is getting high, maybe about 1 ppm. It seems like the BS should have worked by now. I can't see the point of getting more; I have to trust all of those people who say it is great, but the only thing I can think of is that both packets I bought got too warm at some point. Well, I don't have any other sources of it to try. Is there anything else that might have kept the BS from working? I used Amquel+ to dechlor my water at the outset, but the BS seem to say that is okay. They just say not to keep using it, and I haven't. Is there still hope that the second dose of BS will kick in, or should it have done so already if it was going to?
 
Last edited:
Everything that i have read about the product says that it should work the moment you put it in your tank. I'm thinking you got two bad packets somehow.
 
I'm willing to believe that. I just don't have any place else to try, though. I sent an e-mail to Marineland to get their input.
 
Bad Bio Spira

I would have to go with the bad bag theory also. I cycled my 29 gallon with a bag and had no problems with any spikes of any kind. I started with:
2 Albino Corys
6 Neon tetras
1 otto
2 Guppies
3 ghost shrimp
True, it was not a very load but ammonia, nitrites and nitrates stayed at zero.
 
This stuff isn't so sensitive that it could have been killed off in the car on the ride home, si it? Did I need to take an ice pack to the store???
 
2 dwarf blue gourami, 5 tetras, two small leopard corys. I added the first hit of BS immediately before adding the fish. The fish were already in their for the second hit. I have an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Test Kit. The only plants are plastic.
 
What size tank do you have? You might be able to get by for now with just water changes to keep your ammonia in check. The possibility is small but you may have an old test kit with expired reagents. Its been known to happen. Do you have an lfs you can go to and have your water checked?
 
Dimsem, please keep me posted if you write to Marineland. I am curious as to how on Earth they would go about trying to make this right, especially in the case of someone who very well may end up cycled before there is a response.
 
Which ammonia test do you have in your master test kit? If it's a 1 part test, and the colors go from yello to orange, then your ammonia readings may be off. The 1 part test will show a false positive for ammonia if you used amquel. The 2 part test that goes from yellow to green will show you a true ammonia reading. The 2 part ammonia test comes in the new master test kit that also contains the nitrate test. Is this the one you have? I am at a loss here with your bio spira, and hope that something as simple as a false positive is the problem. Do you have any nitrites?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom