USing Bio-SPira: What Numbers Should I see?

[Harlock]

That's the thing, BIO-Spira is supposed to cycle your tank as close to instantly as it can get. There may have been a small spike already while you were sleeping, eating, reading or whatever. If the BIO-Spira worked perfectly, then it could have already started converting. I would second what Gunnie already stated above

Check for nitrates. That's when you will know the bio spira is working. Post your results here please!

 

[dimsem]

I see. Unfortunately, though, nitrates are also still at zero. From what I've read, I expected more of an ammonia spike than I got. I almost wonder if the bacteria might not have gotten enough of it.

 

[Harlock]

Could be the case. Sometimes BIO-Spira works and sometimes, sadly, I have heard that it does not. My own experience was that it sped up my cycle greatly, but I still had a short fishy cycle. Some folks report that in a day or two they are seeing zero ammonia and nitrite and traces of nitrate like you would expect. I have no doubt BIO-Spira works. I greatly doubt that many LFS can handle it properly and have even greater doubts that mail order can keep the required temperature range long enough in a cost effective manner.

 

[dimsem]

I got mine mail order. I was a little nervous, but I figured that this was the right time of the year to buy it. I make beer, and we go through the same thing with yeast. In the winter you are in pretty good shape when you order it. In the summer, you sure hope that it doesn't have to sit in a UPS warehouse over the weekend.

 

[Gunnie]

If you got your bio spira from The Fish Store, then I know it was fresh and properly handled. He gets a new order of bio spira from Marineland every week (I was at his store this weekend, and asked him about this). It sounds kind of strange that you don't show any nitrates, but just hang in there. Keep us posted on all the readings.

 

[redbucket]

I don't know what this is worth, but i'll add my bio-spira experience:

I ordered biospira online, used it, and had no ammonia for a few days. I added plants after these few days and got an ammonia spike of .2 to .3 for two days, did a couple water changes during/after that. for the past two weeks I've been getting ammonia readings of .1 to .2 every three or four days. I do a waterchange during that time and then get a 0 ammonia reading for a few days. NitrItes have always been 0 throughout the cycle. NitrAtes have been between 0 and 20ppm.

It's a strange cycle going on, I'm not sure what to make of it. Three days after adding my fish, after adding the plants and getting the small ammonia spike, my two female bettas and one oto died. I just added my angelfish a couple days ago, since ammonia seems to be under control but not gone.

I agree that biospira significantly helps cycle your tank, but there is still a fishy cycle that happens.

 

[dimsem]

That is exactly where I got my BS (although I thought it was called The Lighthouse until I went back and checked).

Edit: Redbucket, when did you first get nitrates? This morning I still have about 0.25 ppm ammonia, no nitrites or nitrates.

 

[Harlock]

If you got your bio spira from The Fish Store, then I know it was fresh and properly handled. He gets a new order of bio spira from Marineland every week (I was at his store this weekend, and asked him about this). It sounds kind of strange that you don't show any nitrates, but just hang in there. Keep us posted on all the readings.

Oddly enough, this is where my BIO-Spira came from, and mine was a bust. The problem is not the Fish Store mishandling your order. the problem is the USPS mishandling your order. For instance, my order was supposedly shipped on a Monday. USPS Priority Mail is supposed to take 2-3 days. I did not get my shipment until Friday and unfortunately, we were having unseasonably warm weather the two or three days prior, despite what forecasters had said when I ordered the BIO-Spira the previous week. Best laid plans of mine and men and all of that good stuff I suppose.

 

[TommyR]

Oddly enough, this is where my BIO-Spira came from, and mine was a bust. The problem is not the Fish Store mishandling your order. the problem is the USPS mishandling your order. For instance, my order was supposedly shipped on a Monday. USPS Priority Mail is supposed to take 2-3 days. I did not get my shipment until Friday and unfortunately, we were having unseasonably warm weather the two or three days prior, despite what forecasters had said when I ordered the BIO-Spira the previous week. Best laid plans of mine and men and all of that good stuff I suppose.

That's odd, USPS is normally fairly good, WAY better than UPS ground which is slow as a snail. When I ordered mine it came with a cold pack in it, that was back in November.

 

[Harlock]

That's odd, USPS is normally fairly good, WAY better than UPS ground which is slow as a snail. When I ordered mine it came with a cold pack in it, that was back in November.

I ordered mine early this month. It came with a cold pack, but it was not cold when it got here. I think the weather may be too unpredictable out here to safely order BIO-Spira. I mean, one day it's 74, then the next day it's 25... Gotta love living in a succulent desert.