Interesting Experiment With Bio-spira

[Fish2u]

Lately I had an ich outbreak in my 10 gallon tank and applied some formalin based medicine. Ich is not still 100% cured (only one platy has two tiny white spots) but the medicine screwed up my filter bacteria as my tank is showing .25 ppm ammonia (NH3) and 2 ppm Nitrite (No2) and 15 ppm Nitrate (No3) . I always wanted to see whether these mysterious bacteria soup called Bio-Spira works; so I did some search and found it in PETLAND close to my work. I paid $17.41 for one ounce of Bio-Spira (PETLAND in my area is the most expensive Pet store I have ever seen ).

This weekend I'm going to run the filter with carbon (removed carbon since I applied medicines) for 12 hours , do a 50% water change, clean the filter sponge (white sponge is now completely blue. How do you clean it to get rig of any residual med ?) a little and then pour this bacteria soup.

Let's see what happens. I'm so excited.

What should be the success criteria for this experiment?
If Bio-Spira can't turn .25 ppm of ammonia and 2 ppm of Nitrite (No2) to zero in 3 days should I call it a failure ?

 

[rdd1952]

If Petland is a chain store, I would be very skeptical as to whether it has been handled properly and constantly refrigerated. Most likely it would have been stored in a regular warehouse and shipped on an unrefrigerated truck, making it useless. I hope it does work for you though. Before you open and use it, you might want to call them back and ask how it is handled and stored if you haven't already. If they say that it has not been refrigerated at all times (i.e. was shipped on their regular stock truck) I would return it for a refund.

 

[Fish2u]

I already asked that and they claimed that all of these are supplied in properly conditioned refrigerated units only (I have no way to verify) ... They also said that they keep very limited amount in their store since Bio-Spria has a short shelf life (they said that is the reason most shops do not carry this item) .... They also took it our of their refrigerator and gave it to me ...

 

[rdd1952]

Sounds as if it should be ok then. That is definitely the reason the chain stores don't usually carry it. They don't have the facilities to handle it properly. I did a search on Petland and it appears to be a franchise type thing so they probably get their supplies in differently than a Petsmart or Petco.

 

[Fish2u]

Cleaned the sponge filters (lots of gunk! as soon as I cleaned these rotten stuff, ammonia reading dropped from .25 to .1 ppm) , changed 25% water and ready to add Bio-Sprira.
Water stat: Ammonia 0.1 ppm, Nitrite: 2.5 ppm, Nitrate: 20 ppm

 

[kewskills]

interesting i will be watching this thread closely

 

[Fish2u]

I'll post the final results tomorrow ... This was indeed an interesting experiment .... I enjoyed every bit of it ...
However, I wanted to involve few other forum members (who were complaining about high ammonia/nitrite/ dying fish etc etc) in the similar experiement (as different tanks have different water conditions) but didn't find one single interested person .... it seems adults are not open to new idea (or they already have a negetive openion about Bio-Sprira) and kids do not have $17.50 to spare (just kidding) . ..

 

[greatfish123]

i used the recommended amount of biospira to cycle my tank w/ fishes (i couldnt find pure ammonia at all . It was a 46g with 5 serpae tetras. The product didnt work as it claimed and it took me 17 days to get ammonia and nitrites both 0. It helped but not the way its portrayed to be. Or i got a bad shipment

Good luck with yours!

 

[Tolak]

Sounds as if it should be ok then. That is definitely the reason the chain stores don't usually carry it. They don't have the facilities to handle it properly. I did a search on Petland and it appears to be a franchise type thing so they probably get their supplies in differently than a Petsmart or Petco.

Petland is a franchise, not a chain like Petsmart or Petco. I sell plenty of fish to them, I won't sell fish to a shop I wouldn't buy fish from. They are usually on the ball, without a doubt a step above the chain shops. The good ones are run similar to a good privately owned shop.

 

[rowdyburns21]

Any results yet? We await with anticipation!! could the great bio-spira debate be coming to an end!!!lol

 

[LukeFishwalker]

I am anxious to find out your results as well. There is a local shop that carries it (keeps it refrigerated and all that jazz) around me - I'll definately buy it if it works.

 

[Fish2u]

Please note that I'm not cycling from start ... I used some medication which killed the bacteria colony and started a "mini" (going for 2 weeks) cycle ... I have a 10 gallon tropical tank with 2 platys, 1 molly and 1 swordtail

Date Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate
7/20/2007 0.1 2.5 20
7/21/2007 0 5 25
7/22/2007 0 4 30
7/23/2007 0 3 30
7/24/2007 0 2.5 didn't test
7/25/2007 0 2.5 didn't test
7/26/2007 0 2 didn't test
7/27/2007 0 1 didn't test
7/28/2007 0 1 didn't test
7/29/2007 0 1 didn't test
7/30/2007 0 1 didn't test
7/31/2007 0 1 didn't test
8/1/2007 0 1 didn't test
8/2/2007 0 1 didn't test


All readings are taken around 7-7:30 PM once daily ... I'm using API master kit ...
After taking the readings I did 30-70% water change (once daily) depending on Nitrite reading ...

 

[FishWishDish]

I've looked for the Biospira at the local Petsmarts but they don't carry it, either...changed carbon and rinsed sponge with tank water and now ammonia (mostly NH4) back up between 1-2, nitrites tending to stay around .25-.5 but still doing 30% water changes every day or two...! Just got a Python today, hoping it will hook up to the faucet OK, since water changes are a way of life now...

 

[rdd1952]

I've looked for the Biospira at the local Petsmarts but they don't carry it, either

Petsmart (or any chain for that matter) won't carry Bio-Spira as it has to be refrigerated constantly and they don't have the facilities to handle it (they ship on non refrigerated trucks). You will have to get it at a true fish store

changed carbon and rinsed sponge with tank water and now ammonia

When you change carbon, you are throwing almost all of your bacteria away. Next time you need to change carbon, throw it away anc get a different type of media such as ceramic rings or something like the Matrix from Seachem. Carbon is primarily a chemical filter and although it does house beneficial bacteria well, there are better products that don't have to be changed every week or so.

 

[orange shark]

i used the recommended amount of biospira to cycle my tank w/ fishes (i couldnt find pure ammonia at all . It was a 46g with 5 serpae tetras. The product didnt work as it claimed and it took me 17 days to get ammonia and nitrites both 0. It helped but not the way its portrayed to be. Or i got a bad shipment

Good luck with yours!

17 days is fantastic! I wish my cycle finished in 17 days, mines been going for around 6 weeks now!