ouch, i think i will stick to fishless cycling with ammonia, seems a bit expensive i think i can wait the one or two weeks
Bio-Spira, does it work?
- Thread starter icecubez189
- Start date
Roan Art said:I've cycled 13 tanks with either Bio Spira alone, or Bio Spira in conjunction with other media.
I have a 90% success rate of a 24 hour cycle. The largest tank I cycled in 24 hours was a 75g and I used Bio Spira and the Magnum HOT off my 36g. Call it cheating a bit, but it was a bit of an experiment. I think of it as adding two packages of 90g Bio Spira at once.
One 65g tank took 3 days with no filter media. One 36g tank took two weeks and it was my OWN darn fault. One 75g tank took 1 week and that was with several seedings of filter material.
Still, even 1 week is far better and easier on the fish than 4-6 weeks without Bio Spira.
All the rest of the tanks cycled in 24 hours with no addtional help.
If you decide to try it, follow the directions on the Bio Spira package EXACTLY. SHAKE THE HECK OUTTA THE BAG
Do not put anything in your tank other than Prime or Marineland's Bio Safe to condition the water.
Do not change the water for at least 48 hours.
Add your fish at the same time as the Bio Spira, you don't add it and then add your fish later.
Roan
i went to get the Bio-Spira and BF Tetras, unfortunately the store did not carry Bio-Safe water conditioner, and im not sure if any LFS's around here carry it as well.
I checked Prime out online, it says it also detoxifies ammonia, won't that interfere with the Bio-Spira? I thought thats why i couldn't use my API Ammo-Lock, because of that reason.
thanks
Prime changes the ammonia into a harmless ion -- NH3 to NH4+ -- which can still be used by bacteria and plants, but is harmless to fish. THis is the same thing that Bio Safe does.icecubez189 said:
FWIU, Ammo-Lock does not do that.
Regardless, the *only* product Marineland would give the thumb's up to is Prime. Nothing else. Not even Amquel, which is said to function the same way.
You can always email Marineland and see what they say.
Roan
Works great!!! Condition your water, add bio-spira, add your fish - all in one shot.IMPORTANT:
BIO-Spira is a "live" bacteria culture that is sold refrigerated and must be kept refrigerated until used. It can not be overdosed. Repeated dosing of your aquarium with ammonia removing liquids (such as BIO-Safe, Amquel, Ammo-lock and Aqua-Safe) can inhibit the beneficial action of BIO-Spira. Ammonia removing liquids should only be used to initially treat tap water. It is normal to have a small (<2 ppm) amount of ammonia or nitrate during the first few days after set-up. These concentrations are not harmful and will quickly drop to zero with proper use of BIO-Spira.
This is from Marineland's site so just follow the directions & you'll be fine in 24/36 hrs. Good Luck
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I have got to get me some of that! I just (this morning) got a complete 33 gallon tank and stand + TONS of extra goodies for 60 bucks. I'm dying to get it going but I'd like it to be completely cycled and I'm impatient!!
Roan Art said:
thanks, i was confused because Ammo-Lock also says it also converts ammonia into a harmless compound that bacteria could still use, although it did not say into what compound. whatever it is, if marineland gives Prime the thumbs up, i'll try to find that and Bio-Safe.
how long am i able to leave my BF tetras in the plastic bag for? they are floating in my tank right now so that the water temp in the bag will be equal to the water temp in the tank, though i cant put them in the tank yet as i have not conditioned the water. im running out right now to find either conditioner.
i was not able to find Bio-Safe OR Prime water conditioner in the 4 LFS's i visited, although 2 of them came close with Bio-Coat. one store told me they usually carry both but is sold out with it and will need until next wednesday to get it.
the place where i got my Bio-Spira and Black Phantom Tetras told me they do not carry Bio-Safe, although i forgot to ask them if they had Prime. I may call them first because this is not a LFS, its a bit farther away.
I also found that place using Marineland.com's store locator, and i guess it was an official reseller of Marineland products thus giving me a better chance of finding either Bio-Spira or Bio-Safe.
The store locator lists 5 in my area, but only 2 are accessible to me, and i have already tried one. I will call both stores to see if they have Bio-Safe or Prime, but what im worried about is the 9 BF Tetras that are still in the plastic bag from the fish store. It's currently floating in the tank to get the temperature acclimated. How long can they survive? i might just need until tomorrow morning, but thats a big *might*.
the place where i got my Bio-Spira and Black Phantom Tetras told me they do not carry Bio-Safe, although i forgot to ask them if they had Prime. I may call them first because this is not a LFS, its a bit farther away.
I also found that place using Marineland.com's store locator, and i guess it was an official reseller of Marineland products thus giving me a better chance of finding either Bio-Spira or Bio-Safe.
The store locator lists 5 in my area, but only 2 are accessible to me, and i have already tried one. I will call both stores to see if they have Bio-Safe or Prime, but what im worried about is the 9 BF Tetras that are still in the plastic bag from the fish store. It's currently floating in the tank to get the temperature acclimated. How long can they survive? i might just need until tomorrow morning, but thats a big *might*.
there aren't any Petsmarts where i live (Queens, New York). The closest one is in New Jersey. We have more PetCo's in New York, even so the closest one is more than 10-15 miles away. I don't even know if they carry Bio-Safe or Prime. I'll call and check out the closest ones to me first, traveling to Manhattan is really a last resort for me. I want to get this water conditioned immediately!
thanks
thanks
