cycling a tank with bio-spira?

[DAN-O]

can you cycle a tank in 24 hours like the package says with bio-spira?
if anyone has done it, let me hear how things went

 

[al0ha]

lol i saw that in my DR fosters magazine, dont thnk i want to risk it

 

[masterswimmer]

Actually I've heard it works. But I've never tried it, nor will I ever try it. I believe the oceans natural reefs took millions of years to establish. Waiting two or three months for a system to mature naturally is going to benefit the system more, and it's a drop in the bucket as far as waiting is concerned.

One of the best sayings in this hobby is, 'Good things take time. The only things that happen fast are problems.'

swimmer

 

[tosiek]

It helps establish a base of bacteria in a tank. A Few fish forums had some people say they cycled the tank overnight on tanks larger than 90g. Im pretty sure they still got a second cycle. Plus its 50$ for 50 gallons of water. so in a 100g tank thats 100$ to help with the cycle a little.

There is a rollercoaster effect between bacteria die off, bacteria super growth (bacteria bloom) due to extra food from the die off, then another die off as it grows past its limit for food in the tank, then the bacteria balances itself out between amount of bacteria and food present to sustain that bacteria enough to call it stable. The second ammonia spike usually noone see's because its so quick as it rebalances itself or they stop testing.

I called bio-spira about it when i used it to fix me overloading my cichlid tank and getting an ammonia spike 3 months into the tanks life. When i asked them if its proven to cycle a tank in that short of time they said to keep testing for another cycle after the first one just to make sure as there is too much to go wrong with the packages and keeping them cold during shipping to keep all the bacteria factory fresh. The product was meant as a fix for ammonia problems and to "help" seed bacteria a little quicker.

Hope that helps.

 

[marrone]

I've never used Bio-Spira but I've used Nitrex for years and it was always successful. I was able to stock the tank heavily with fish right from the start and never lost a single fish. One box of Nitrex cost $12-$13, which treats 50-60gal and last 6 months.

Nitrex converts Ammonia and Nitrites to Nitrates so you're going to have excess Nitrates in the tank when you first start using it. Because of this it's not recommended that you use Nitrex to start a reef tank, as until the bacteria in the LR can eliminate the Nitrates, or the skimmer removes them, you're going to need to do water changes to get them under control. With fish the high Nitrates aren't a problem but with corals
it can kill them.

 

[Lolli631]

I used it in my nano to kick start the cycle. I still waited and tested for weeks afterwards before stocking.

 

[michaelm2431]

I've used it to cycle my tanks for a few years now. Always great results. The cost of $40 to cycle a 125gal. tank was worth it.

 

[Tito]

They say ignorance is bliss and I see a lot of bliss here LOL No offense.

I have used Biospira since 2004 - it has worked every single time.

Follow the intructions. Use the correct amount for your size tank - this means do not cheat! Spend the money.

For fresh water it is as easy as can be. Drop fish in drop Biospira and walla - instantly cycled tank. This is because biospira is live bacteria - when you buy it - it should come straight out fo the fridge at your LFS - if it doesn't - don't buy it.

Now for salt water......

If you are putting uncured rock in a new tank then go ahead and throw the biospira in as well. A colony of bacteria should consume the ammonia spike of the decaying rock - may take a few days to cycle.

If your rock is cured and you know it is - then you can throw in the biospira rocks and fish and the tank will be cycled.