fishless cycling and bio-spira

Slappy*McFish said:
If you're fishless cycling, water changes really aren't necessary until the end of the cycle. It isn't harmful to do water changes, just not necessary.
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That depends on the KH of your water, does it not? If you have water with a low KH it will be deplenished before the tank is cycled and everything will stall out. The bacteria will die and you will pretty much end up starting over.

Roan
 
RockabillyChick said:
biospira does not work with fishless cycles. if you want to use the biospira, empty the tank completely and start over. for biospira to work, you HAVE to follow the directions on the packet, which means starting with a new clean tank, adding the biospira, wait 24 hours, add your FULL STOCK of fish, and test to make sure that you don't get a big spike because the biospira may or may not be viable.

trust me when i say that you MUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. . .
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The instructions do not say to wait 24 hours before you add your fish. They say to add the fish immediately.

If, however, you have water with chloramine and use a water conditioner such as Prime, the ammonia/chlorine bond will be broken and you will be left with ionized ammonia. Then you can wait 24 hours or so. How long would be dependent on what the level of NH4+ in the tank. Bio Spira can use that ammonia to start the cycle and fish can be added later.

Roan
 
ok i will test my water again today and tell you guys what all the parameters are. i can't add fish until after tuesday anyway. then maybe i can decide from your advice if i can use the bio-spira and add my fish or whether i should just continue with the cycle as the bio-spira might not be able to handle my ammonia (if it is high) however last time i checked it had gone from 3-4ppm to 0.5ppm and the nitrites and nitrates were higher. haven't got my book to hand.

i have a 30l biorb and still undecided on fish but i know i can't have many. was also thinking of getting couple of dwarf frogs i think they are very cute. i do like shrimp and crayfish but i figure that a biorb is not the best place for them.

i'm trying to resist all thing fishies until my exams are over on tuesday (although can't keep away from the forums!)
 
I've used Bio Spira quite a bit and I would advise against you adding it to your tank if the ammonia is above 1ppm.

When in doubt, ask, right? Why don't you shoot an email to Seachem's support and ask them what you should do. They are very quick at answering questions of this nature. I've emailed them several times myself with questions:

support@seachem.com

is their email address.

Roan
 
here are my test results for tonight - day 12 of the cycle

(and i really do have trouble telling colours apart so probs with the API test kit)

(tank temp 80F)

ph - 7.5-8
ammonia - 0ppm (or poss 0.25 but looks very light and yellow to me - down from 3-4ppm a few days ago)
nitrite - 2ppm
nitrate - 5ppm (down from 20ppm a few days ago)

so what is happening how should i proceed? do you think i can add bio-spira say on tuesday or wednesday and then wait 24 hours and add my full fish load?

btw - why would i email seachem? i am not using any of their products do they still provide support?

thanks for all your help on these questions!!
 
yusufosman said:
btw - why would i email seachem? i am not using any of their products do they still provide support?

thanks for all your help on these questions!!
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Nope, was thinking about Prime and had a massive brain fart :D

I meant Marineland, of course. They're not quite as fast as Seachem at answering emails, but they will get to you pretty fast:

custserv@aquariagroup.com

Is MarineLand Support

Roan
 
Roan Art said:
That depends on the KH of your water, does it not? If you have water with a low KH it will be deplenished before the tank is cycled and everything will stall out. The bacteria will die and you will pretty much end up starting over.

Roan
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There's always an exception to the rule in every situation.. eh, Roan?
 
I have used Bio-Spira several times and it worked perfectly every time.

But I agree, you MUST follow the directions!

Keep it cool until you are reasy to use it. Do not freeze!

Shake it WELL. The bacteria produce a glue to stick to surfaces, and if you just pour it out, the bacteria will stay inside as a film. Give it a good minute of shaking before pouring it in the tank.

Add it and the fish at the same time to a tank with low or no ammonia. This is important! If you add it before the fish, the bacteria will starve and you have just wasted it. If you add it after, the fish will have produced enough ammonia that you will have a mini cycle at best, and kill the bacteria at worst. Same time means like within a half hour or so, you don't need to have the fish in one hand and the Bio-Spira in the other. :-)

Do not do a water change for 24-48 hours. It takes time for the bacteria to glue themselves to surfaces and water changes too soon can get rid of them before they all attach.

And lastly.. we are dealing with a live culture. Something things just don't work, so bad batches are out there. But are rare from what I can see.

Good luck!
 
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