Biological Additives

[whuangs01]

Do all those Biological Additives out there work or not?
I read about Bio-Spira product; it works instant. Not sure it is true??
Some says bacterias need oxygen to survive, but those bacterias are enclosed in bottle. Not sure how they can survive.
Do anyone have any experince on any of these products or brands will work for Biological filter?

Thanks

 

[rdd1952]

I have never used Bio-Spira but most say that it does work. My experience with the others (Stress Coat, Cycle, etc.) is that they are useless and a waste of money.

 

[OldMan47]

If you are in the US, the only one that I have heard of here that works is Biospira. It has a spotty reputation because it must be kept refrigerated until used and has a fairly short life even if its refrigerated. If you are in the UK there is a product there called bactinettes. Again, like the biospira it must be fresh and must be kept refrigerated. There are lots of other products that are labelled as containing bacteria but experiences with them says that they don't provide live bacteria to get your filter started. Some of them may contain things that help what bacteria are present get growing but simple ammonia will do that and will result in the specific bacteria we want growing not just any old bacteria that are present.

 

[ac700wildcat]

Tetra Safe start does work as well. I was a skeptic, so I tried it and tested it. Guess what it worked and its not a refrigerated product. I started with tap water with ammonia in it along with a betta and within four days the ammonia from the tap water along with what the fish was producing was gone. The tap also has nitrites, which were gone in the first day and never have showed back up.

 

[jglover]

Tetra Safe start does work as well. I was a skeptic, so I tried it and tested it. Guess what it worked and its not a refrigerated product. I started with tap water with ammonia in it along with a betta and within four days the ammonia from the tap water along with what the fish was producing was gone. The tap also has nitrites, which were gone in the first day and never have showed back up.

Bio Spira is no longer a refrigerated product as well. The only place around me that seems to stock it is Aquarium Adventure/Petland and they keep the Bio Spira on the shelf next to the Safe Start. What I was told is Bio Spira is no longer manufactured for fresh water and Tetra Products purchased the new unrefrigerated formulation from Marineland and now markets it as Safe Start. This seems to be confirmed by at least one web site, aquairiumplants.com, which states this in their description of Safe Start. It is also stated here, http/www.theaquariumwiki.com/BioSpira, that Safe Start is a licensed verion of Bio Spira.

I agree that Safe Start does seem to work, though it is not instant but seems to shorten the cycle time down to a week or less. There is another product available called One and Only, made by the Marineland's former Bio Spira designer.

John

 

[rdd1952]

It seems that Bio-Spira has been discontinued. From what I just found and read online, it appears that Marineland dropped it bcause of complaints from consumers. Apparently, improper handling by stores (not keeping it refrigerated) was making it useless and they were being swamped with calls and the number of refunds became so great that they made the decision to drop it.

If that is the case, then I definitely wouldn't trust the same product from off the shelf and not refrigerated.

 

[jglover]

It seems that Bio-Spira has been discontinued. From what I just found and read online, it appears that Marineland dropped it bcause of complaints from consumers. Apparently, improper handling by stores (not keeping it refrigerated) was making it useless and they were being swamped with calls and the number of refunds became so great that they made the decision to drop it.

If that is the case, then I definitely wouldn't trust the same product from off the shelf and not refrigerated.

From reading the website, Safe Start is a similar product, not an exact copy of Bio Spira. It claims to not require refrigeration but also claims to only have a shelf life of 6-9 months. For what it is worth, the new version of Bio Spira for marine aquariums is also no longer a refrigerated product. It is still being sold from Instant Ocean under the name Bio-Spira and it states it does not require refrigeration. Is it the same product as the original, certainly it is not. But it must be something very similiar as it is still sold under Marineland's patented name of Bio-Spira.

 

[rdd1952]

According to this website, it's still refrigerated and they ship with an ice-pack. Maybe that is just old product that they still have.

 

[jglover]

According to this website, it's still refrigerated and they ship with an ice-pack. Maybe that is just old product that they still have.

Who knows what is what??

[URL="http/www.instantocean.com/sites/InstantO...ira_splash.html"]http/www.instantocean.com/sites/InstantO...ira_splash.html[/URL]
[URL="http/www.instantocean.com/sites/instanto...294&cid=933"]http/www.instantocean.com/sites/instanto...294&cid=933[/URL]

Two products, different packaging, same name, same company, one refrigerated, one not........

although Dr Tim's One and Only is a refrigerated product.

But back to the OP's question, yes some of them do seem to work but it is a hit or miss proposition for many, and most do not seem to instantly cycle a tank. It still takes some time. But with the stocking level you had posted in an earlier thread, it would probably be worth a shot to give any of those three products a try. It could not hurt, IMHO.

John

 

[andywg]

It seems that Bio-Spira has been discontinued. From what I just found and read online, it appears that Marineland dropped it bcause of complaints from consumers. Apparently, improper handling by stores (not keeping it refrigerated) was making it useless and they were being swamped with calls and the number of refunds became so great that they made the decision to drop it.

Perhaps a more likely reason for the demise of Bio-Spira is that the patent was held by Dr Hovanec personally who now has his own company (DrTim's Aquatics) shipping a very similar looking product under the name of One and Only.

 

[whuangs01]

Yeah, I just read most of his research; I will try out his products. See how it gose; Thanks

 

[Corleone]

Something to keep in mind, very high ammonia levels, usually around 8 (which is what you've mentioned in your other thread) can stall bacteria growth. Also, if the filter is underperforming or the tank badly overstocked, no amount of reliable bacteria product will fix the problem, since the water just isn't moving over the bacteria fast enough. If you're still stocked to 5" per gallon and still getting the ammonia readings you were, there are other steps you'll have to take first, Bio-Spira may not even work as a temporary stopgap.

 

[waterdrop]

Oh dear! Hadn't even thought of fish being introduced in regards to this discussion! How sad not to have the biofilter working properly before introducing fish.

 

[rdd1952]

I saw that Dr. Hoanec had left Marineland and had his own new product which appears to need refrigeration. From what I read though, it is a different product from Bio-Spira based on new findings about nitrifying bacteria. Still nothing like a good fishless cycle or cloning a tank to make those products unnecessary.

 

[waterdrop]

And Dr. Hovanec has said some interesting things about the bacteria liking pH 8.0-8.4, a tiny bit of iron and definately some carbonate hardness.