Bio-Sripa instructions

[Dan the Fish]

Hi again all
i have some questions about bio spira.
i have had my tank almost a month and a half and no signs of nitrites or nitrates just ammonia and im doing the fish cycle. So as some sort of last attempt i got this stuff to cycle my tank and need to know, from your experiances how and what conditions are best for the biospira to be successful??

:help:

[Holly9937]

I don't think any special conditions are necessary for it to be successful, other than the stuff being stored/transported correctly, and adding the fish at the proper time!! Maybe I'm missing something :laugh: !!! Hope it works well for you though, I know it can be frustrating looking at an empty tank all that time!!

[phanmc]

Since you have fishes already you can add Biospira right away. If you have a small fishload you may want to add your desired fishload and the Biospira at the same time, the Biospira packet has enough bacteria for a full stock at the recommended dosage. Pay attention to your water parameters for the first few days, if nitrites or nitrates are present by the second or third day then the Biospira worked.

[Roan Art]

One more note: it takes about 24 hours for the all of the bacteria to adhere itself and until then some of it is free-floating in the aquarium. Doing waterchanges during that 24 hour period will remove some of the bio-spira and your tank may not cycle.

Happened to me :( Correction: STILL happening to me. I've continually doing water changes and adding Bio-Spira. It's possible I got a a couple of badly stored batches of Bio-Spira, however my LFS does store the stuff correctly. If it's bad then it was probably bad before THEY got it.

Is there any way to tell if the stuff is bad or not so that I can go back to the LFS and let them know?

Roan

[Dan the Fish]

Is there any way to tell if the stuff is bad or not so that I can go back to the LFS and let them know?

Roan


thanx for the info
the only way ive heard to tell if its bad is if its warm or expiration date is old, ive also heard it only lasts six months in that package.

[Jericho]

Also it was said in another thead here that it is ment to be used with a tank that has a bio-wheel on it. The person said they tried to cycle their tank with it and it did not take, but when they put a bio-wheel in their tank was cycled within 24 hours.

[Dan the Fish]

:( Well im crossing my fingers becuase i only have a whisper biobag filter.

[Blanch]

How lucky you are! We do not have this product biospira in Greece... I have heard that it works miracles...
:confused: Excuse me if my english is not so good...

[phanmc]

Biospira doesn't require a biowheel, it does require some form of biofiltration (an area where the bacteria can colonize) to be effective. Most filters these days have some form of biofiltration slot available for media like the biowheel, biobags, and bioballs.

[AlbinosRule]

When using bio- spira it is also wise to remove any carbon filtration.

[Xielos]

I read you pour the bio-spira right into the water, but wouldn't it make more sense to pour it onto the sponge part of the filter?

[TEES_91]

When I set up my 55 gal I used Bio-Spira and I had to use 2 pks since each pk is for 30 gals. They told me to use one in the tank and the other in my filter (Emperor 400 bio-wheel)

[Domandred]

I've used/seen Bio-Spira twice now. Both times got a bacteria bloom.

First time I saw someone use it and poored it directly into the water in a tank that had fish in it and high ammonia concentration. They had purchased the tank and fish for a decoration at a store without knowing anything about the nitro cycle. Massive bacteria bloom. Fish survived but they were doing 50% water changes daily in a 180G tank till the bloom cleared up. Took about 2 weeks.

Second time was when I used Bio-Spira. Had a tank set up, put in water, bought a few fish and was going to go buy some Bio-Spira but the only store in my area that sold it was closed. Had to wait for two days. I put the Bio-Spira in my filter, and none directly in the water. I also got a mild bacteria bloom that STILL hasn't cleared up and it's been a month now. Fish are all fine, but it's annoying as all heck cause my other two tanks that I didn't use Bio-Spira on are crystal clear. Fish are all a-okay and water tests are just where I want them, just got the mild white cloudiness. Water changes don't seem to be helping.

The only difference I can think of on my tanks is there is a full bubble wall in the back of the Bio-Spira used tank. I *think* that the bubble wall is causing currents that don't allow the bacteria to settle. Also other the person I mentioned that used Bio-Spira also did not have a bubble wall. I'm going to attempt no-current for a few days and see what happens there.

Bio-Spira from what I have found work GREAT as long as it is stored and transported properly (I even brought the stuff home in a cooler just to be safe), but the tendancy to bacteria bloom on an existing tank seems to be high. Next time I use it I'll try on a tank will little to no current and add it on setup with the fish instead of after the fish are in the tank.

[phanmc]

Adding the Biospira to the filter instead of the water may help speed up the process a little, but you won't notice a difference really. The bacteria will eventually settle onto a surface and colonize it within 24hrs, once they settle in they will pretty much cover all surface area within the tank and filters.

[happychem]

If you have enough filtration, it shouldn't make a difference whether it is added to the filter or water.

While carbon isn't needed in the regular operation of an aquarium, whether or not it is in the filter when BioSpira is added is irrelevant. Carbon doesn't remove ammonia. The only downside is that, while it has a lot of surface area to colonize, once the pores become clogged, carbon becomes a useless, but pricey, rock. By that point all the other filter media will be saturated with bacteria.

You don't need a biowheel. While they are, in principle, designed with nitrifiers in mind, I've yet to see proof that they are required or necessary to successful operation of an aquarium. If you need a biowheel to provide the bacteria with O2, you have serious problems with the O2 level in your tank.

Your english looks fine to me, Blanch ;)

[Roan Art]

Second time was when I used Bio-Spira. Had a tank set up, put in water, bought a few fish and was going to go buy some Bio-Spira but the only store in my area that sold it was closed. Had to wait for two days. I put the Bio-Spira in my filter, and none directly in the water. I also got a mild bacteria bloom that STILL hasn't cleared up and it's been a month now. Fish are all fine, but it's annoying as all heck cause my other two tanks that I didn't use Bio-Spira on are crystal clear. Fish are all a-okay and water tests are just where I want them, just got the mild white cloudiness. Water changes don't seem to be helping.
Blargh, this is what's happening to me as I write. Out of curiousity, what size is the tank?


The only difference I can think of on my tanks is there is a full bubble wall in the back of the Bio-Spira used tank. I *think* that the bubble wall is causing currents that don't allow the bacteria to settle. Also other the person I mentioned that used Bio-Spira also did not have a bubble wall. I'm going to attempt no-current for a few days and see what happens there.ROFL! I just plugged my wand back in thinking that it might be that I unplugged it :)

I'm wondering if it may have to to with tank size? I used Spira on all my other tanks : 20gal, 10gal, and 6gal and had no problems at all. It's my 36gal bowfront that I'm having trouble with.

Roan

[Domandred]

I'm wondering if it may have to to with tank size? I used Spira on all my other tanks : 20gal, 10gal, and 6gal and had no problems at all. It's my 36gal bowfront that I'm having trouble with.

It's a 25G tank that I'm having problems with. Kicked off the bubble wall overnight and it cut down the cloudiness slightly. I determined that part of the cloudiness was actually very very small bubbles floating around. Still waiting to see if the rest settles or not.