I spent a lot of time looking up information on Bio-Spira before deciding to get some, so thought I would post my positive experience.
I got it at a LFS, they had it in a fridge and cost about $10 for the small packet. It's one of the cheapest supplies I have bought so far for my tank. I had a cycled tank with a single male molly, and added the Bio-Spira along with four more female mollies.
It's been 48 hours and I have seen no trace of ammonia or nitrites. Fish are all healthy and eating. Quite a change from the several week of water changes and 1-2ppm amonia readings while I was establishing the tank with the single molly.
Things I think helped: Keeping it cold (but not frozen) until it was dumped into the tank. Shaking the package a LOT before emptying it, and rinsing it with aquarium water to make sure it all got out. The bacteria adhere themselves to surfaces with a glue they produce, so if you don't shake it up they will ALL stay stuck to the package sides! make sure your water has a ph above 6.5 or it will kill most of the bacteria. And it should have a decent GK too.
So all in all I am pretty happy. I'll post if it takes a sudden turn for the worse. I can see why there are a mix of success and failure stories though. So many variables that can cause a failure, from bad water to letting it warm up and sit around to not shaking it.
To anyone thinking about using it, I'd say go for it but be prepared to deal with the tank if it does not work, because living things are so darn unpredictable you can never expect ANYTHING to work 100%.
I got it at a LFS, they had it in a fridge and cost about $10 for the small packet. It's one of the cheapest supplies I have bought so far for my tank. I had a cycled tank with a single male molly, and added the Bio-Spira along with four more female mollies.
It's been 48 hours and I have seen no trace of ammonia or nitrites. Fish are all healthy and eating. Quite a change from the several week of water changes and 1-2ppm amonia readings while I was establishing the tank with the single molly.
Things I think helped: Keeping it cold (but not frozen) until it was dumped into the tank. Shaking the package a LOT before emptying it, and rinsing it with aquarium water to make sure it all got out. The bacteria adhere themselves to surfaces with a glue they produce, so if you don't shake it up they will ALL stay stuck to the package sides! make sure your water has a ph above 6.5 or it will kill most of the bacteria. And it should have a decent GK too.
So all in all I am pretty happy. I'll post if it takes a sudden turn for the worse. I can see why there are a mix of success and failure stories though. So many variables that can cause a failure, from bad water to letting it warm up and sit around to not shaking it.
To anyone thinking about using it, I'd say go for it but be prepared to deal with the tank if it does not work, because living things are so darn unpredictable you can never expect ANYTHING to work 100%.
