Bio Spira

Caleb- Your attitude is nothing to be apologetic about. Given the number of products available for tanks, and the lack of peer-reviewed data on essentially all of these products, plus the costs of the product with the testing in your shop - non-trivial overhead costs to you for what realistically is trivial return... If Marineland promised you an exclusive within a one-hour drive radius and no mail order, well, you might consider it.

If the product does perform as advertised, it might reduce some of the early drop-out from our hobby. But it alone is not going to make aquarists out of folk that don't care enough to study about what they are doing. It is not going to shake the world, but it could help - if it works.
 
I forgot that Caleb was in the position of an lfs manager. Given the history these type of products have had, I would think that MarineLand would bend over backwards to get as many lfs on board as possible.

RTR is right in that nothing will replace doing your homework and investing time and effort.
 
Originally posted by OrionGirl
Sorry--bad phrasing on my part. I should have said that the presence of nitrites indicates that fully established bacteria colonies aren't present, and that additional testing should be done to verify that the ammonia is NOT being converted to ammonia but is actually being processed into nitrites.

Sorry. I apologize for using statements that aren't supported by facts. If I can find this product locally, I am willing to setup a spare tank and dose it with ammonia, and test it. Will let you know if I can do so.
Click to expand...

Please, Please don't think that I was attacking you - that's not what I was trying to do.:o It just seemed that everyone wanted to throw it out the window because it was another "product." I still think something is better than nothing - although it is an expensive something! :D
 
Well, I agree with doing the homework.....it seems like it does what it claims, so I think in the long run I might try and carry this product, but for right now, I'll see what everybody else says, do some research and probably go to the only place in town that carries it and buy some....

Just trying to make a difference in the hobby....somewhere

Caleb
 
It will be interesting if Marineland ever sells pre cultured bio wheels for the smaller filters like they do for larger commercial applications
 
Thanks for the link on Bio-Spira info. That is the most inforamtion and accounts on the use of the productthat I have seen in one place. It makes me want to give a try myself. Now if I could only find it here in Canada.
 
If anyone wants to follow up John Hatton's excellent precis of Tim Hovanec's articles, two versions of them are archived at the Marineland website www.marineland.com in the Marineland Labs section: click on "Dr. Tim's articles."

Let me note that Hovanec published his hobbyist articles and his peer-reviewed articles before Marinland took him on board. I think that the development of Bio-Spira has been guided by Hovanec, based on his discoveries about the actual bacteria responsible for nitrification in aquariums.

I don't think you can combine Bio-Spira with "fishless cycling" using ammonia, though-- isn't the ammonia too strong for the nitrite-metabolizing bacteria? I think you're supposed to add fish.
 
If you only dosed ammonia to about 3 ppm, it's hard to imagine that would seriously harm the nitrite eaters... most of the reports I recall of the second stage bacteria being repressed seemed to involve higher levels, above 5-6 ppm. When I fishless cycle, my nitrite eaters are exposed to 5 ppm ammonia every day and it doesn't seem to harm them.

I've got to get my hands on some of this stuff to do some testing...

Jim
 
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