Fishless Cycling With Bio-spira

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

So I am convinced that fishless cycling is the way to go, and I have a 55 gal tank set up and the water has cleared from the initial fill. On Friday I found some pure ammonia and got it up to 6-8ppm. And was just going to wait for things to happen. Well, I was in a petstore on Sunday and they had Bio-spira. Since I had not seen any action on the ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates, I decided to put it to the test. I dumped in @ 1/2 portion of the Bio-Spira (the 90 gallon size). Should be close enough. Now I figure if there is really anything to it, I should see lowered ammonia, some nitrites, and some nitrates in a few days. Then ammonia and nitrites should drop back to zero, while nitrates increase. I plan on adding ammonia once it drops to keep the bacteria alive until I get some fish in. I will post back results.

 

[RANDYS]

I'm certainly no expert but I was told that the small packages of bio-spira is enough to cycle a 30 gallon tank. Others here may have more info on that, all I know is that it worked great when I used it within 2 days however it was only a 10 gallon tank. Best wishes to your cycling endivers.

 

[lakeshore]

I am a real newbie. Is there products out there that you can buy that have live bacteria in them. How does this change the cycling of an aquarium.
Does this mean that you could let the water cycle for a few days, add this product, and add fish, like the next day

I am puzzled, I keep hearing about a ten day period wher you have to add ammonia to the tank, does this change anything???

 

[RANDYS]

What I've read is that bio-spira has live bacteria that will cycle your tank in 24 hrs. Here in Illinois where I bought it, it cost aprox. 16.00 and is frozen or in the frig, sorry don't remember which one. Last Summer I put one in my 10 gallon and the next day added my fish, WHA..LA...it worked great. The gentleman that sold me the stuff said it was enough for 30 gallons and that I'd need to buy more if I was wanting a quick cycle on a larger tank. I've only used it once and as stated am no expert, other here on this site may have a greater knowledge about the stuff. All I know is that it worked great for me.

 

[Underwurlde]

WHA..LA

As in voilà?

 

[tmreynolds]

Its good stuff, works a treat. Used it for my 180 UK litre Tang setup. It needs to be kept refrigerated or the bacteria die, but I'd recommend it.

It was delivered from the States to UK aswell, in a special "cold pack", but it got here still cool. I don't think they sell it in the UK unfortunately, or at least they didn't 18 months ago.

 

[saturnal]

Bio-Spira definitely works, although I don't use it exactly as directed. I use it to kick-start the fishless cycle. I don't add it and then add my fish at the same time. I still think that exposes the fish to significant levels of nitrite for the first few days. But it definitely works. Here's my cycling method and log for a 30-gallon tank:

1. I filled the tank with dechlorinated water. I used a regular conditioner with nothing in it that would affect the ammonia level one way or the other.

2. I put in some gravel and rocks that I had washed.

3. I turned on the heater and filter (Fluval 404), and let it run for about a day.

4. I added about 20 drops of ammonia (10% solution from Ace Hardware) at a time until the level was brought to about 4ppm. This took a total of 120 drops.

5. I added 1 oz. of Bio-Spira about 12 hours after adding the ammonia. I figured if it contains bacteria like Marineland says, then it could be used as a good seeder.

Here is the cycling data:

DAY 1:
Ammonia = 4ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 0ppm

DAY 2:
Ammonia = 2ppm
Nitrite = 0.5ppm
Nitrate = 20ppm

DAY 3:
Ammonia = 1ppm
Nitrite = 4.5ppm
Nitrate = 40ppm

DAY 4:
Ammonia = 0ppm
Nitrite = 0.5ppm
Nitrate = 80+ppm

At this point, half the original dose of ammonia was added (60 drops).

DAY 5:
Ammonia = 0ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 80+ppm

 

[fluffy]

data looks good.

Since your getting no spike in ammonia or nitrite then the bacteria are capable of comsuming and turning into nitrate.

Nitrate is the end of the process, the way to get this reading down is regular water changes, you want it below 40ppm.