Bio-Spira and Bio-Safe

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icecubez189

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Feb 15, 2006
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After much thought and research, i've decided to go the way of Bio-Spira instead of fishless cycling, it'll be much faster and less complications for me. I've read about Bio-Spira, and it seems the majority of people have had success with it. (most of the stalled cycles were the result of bad batches of bio-spira packs, maybe they weren't refrigerated well?) so im going to go with it as well. Just a few questions before i do:

1. Currently, my tank is already setup, and i treated the water with API's Ammo-Lock. Roan Art pointed out to me that if im going to use Bio-Spira, i should use it in conjunction with Bio-Safe or Prime as water conditioner. Will i have to empty out all or most of the water in my tank and start over again with new water?

2. How easy is it to get Bio-Safe and Bio-Spira in the same store nowadays? i checked most websites and they dont carry it, only a select few i've seen so far. I've decided to purchase these in store, do you think PetCo or Petland discounts will have them? I also went to Marinland's website and used their retailer locater and a couple near my neighborhood showed up, im planning on calling them and asking.

3. Once i add Bio-Spira, do i add fish immediately afterwards, wait 24 hours, or do tests until i see ammonia and nitrite spike then drop then add fish?

thanks!
 
Just to be safe, I'd drain the tank and refill it to remove the ammo lock. If you already have ammonia in the tank, you need to have the water as close to zero ammonia as possible anyway. Bio spira is meant to be added to a new tank of water and not one with existing ammonia or nitrites. It will still work, but will have to play catch up, and if there are fish in the tank, it may not catch up fast enough to keep from killing your fish.

Add it immediately after adding fish. The bacteria is hungry coming out of the packet, and needs a food source right away. It will start dying off as soon as you add it without a food source. I'm not sure if the bio safe will always be available with the bio spira but it should be. Prime is pretty easy to find if it isn't.
 
Gunnie said:
Just to be safe, I'd drain the tank and refill it to remove the ammo lock. If you already have ammonia in the tank, you need to have the water as close to zero ammonia as possible anyway. Bio spira is meant to be added to a new tank of water and not one with existing ammonia or nitrites. It will still work, but will have to play catch up, and if there are fish in the tank, it may not catch up fast enough to keep from killing your fish.

Add it immediately after adding fish. The bacteria is hungry coming out of the packet, and needs a food source right away. It will start dying off as soon as you add it without a food source. I'm not sure if the bio safe will always be available with the bio spira but it should be. Prime is pretty easy to find if it isn't.
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nope i haven't gotten the fish yet, so i guess im going to have to drain the tank and add new water, thanks. so do i add bio-spira first then fish or fish first then bio-spira? i heard your suppose to wait 24 hours after adding bio-spira then add fish and then i've heard people wait as much as 3 days before adding fish, should i monitor the water parameters after adding bio spira, or it doesn't matter?
 
The directions on our stated to add the fish at the same time we added the product. On the off-chance the product you end up using is slightly different--there's a very easy solution. Read the directions. :)
 
Gunnie said:
Add it immediately after adding fish. The bacteria is hungry coming out of the packet, and needs a food source right away. It will start dying off as soon as you add it without a food source. I'm not sure if the bio safe will always be available with the bio spira but it should be. Prime is pretty easy to find if it isn't.
Click to expand...

You know, I always wondered about that too. If the bacteria are all hungry, then shouldn't we have ammonia in the tank already to accommodate them?
 
Alestro Bakai said:
You know, I always wondered about that too. If the bacteria are all hungry, then shouldn't we have ammonia in the tank already to accommodate them?
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High ammonia levels (over 5ppm) may have a negative effect on the nitrifying bacteria and can stall the cycle process. Considering that Bio-Spira is recommended to be used with a reasonably full fish load, having extra ammonia in the water may push the ammonia level into the excessive range.
 
Yep, 5ppm is too much, that makes sense. But shouldn't you have a bit of ammonia... something around .5 to 1.0 ?
 
Alestro Bakai said:
Yep, 5ppm is too much, that makes sense. But shouldn't you have a bit of ammonia... something around .5 to 1.0 ?
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A small amount of ammonia shouldn't cause a problem but the bacteria will need a little time to settle in from their free floating state. You also have to consider the health of your fishes being exposed to the high levels of ammonia. Remember that even at low levels, ammonia can cause damage to their gills. That is unless you're talking about doing a fishless cycle with Bio-Spira, which I believe should work if you keep the ammonia levels at a reasonable 2-4ppm.
 
how much of a bioload can the bio-spira bacteria handle immediately afterwards?

my final stocking plan is to have 9 black phantom tetras, 1 bristlenose catfish, 1 apple snail. how much should i add the first day?
 
icecubez189 said:
how much of a bioload can the bio-spira bacteria handle immediately afterwards?

my final stocking plan is to have 9 black phantom tetras, 1 bristlenose catfish, 1 apple snail. how much should i add the first day?
Click to expand...

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