Biospore or whatever that bacteria stuff is called for cycling. Anyhow, I should have everything set up in the tank and water to right temperture before I put it in right? Also, it says that it works overnight, is that true or should I wait an extra day or two before I put some fish in my 20gal.? Thank you
Biospore
- Thread starter mopedman
- Start date
i think you may have opened a can of worms 
i myself do NOT personally subscribe to the idea of "bacteria in a bottle" as a feasible means of cycling a tank....especially overnight, which is ludicrous.
most of those products are kept on a shelf for X number of months, years, and are subject to huge temperature fluctuations during the shipping process...which IMO would render any viable bacteria (if any truly existed in the first place) useless.
i personally like to cycle tanks using straight ammonia, a few tough fish, cocktail shrimp, an established bio-wheel, gravel, etc. before using any of those products, which i feel are a waste of money.
M
i myself do NOT personally subscribe to the idea of "bacteria in a bottle" as a feasible means of cycling a tank....especially overnight, which is ludicrous.
most of those products are kept on a shelf for X number of months, years, and are subject to huge temperature fluctuations during the shipping process...which IMO would render any viable bacteria (if any truly existed in the first place) useless.
i personally like to cycle tanks using straight ammonia, a few tough fish, cocktail shrimp, an established bio-wheel, gravel, etc. before using any of those products, which i feel are a waste of money.
M
Yes. Bio Spira is the real thing. I have used it 3 times in emergency situations with complete success. You set up your tank, run your filter (for a couple days if that is how you normally set up your tank), add the bio spira as directed and add a full bio load of fish. If you are afraid to do this, what you can do is add the recommended amount of bio spira required for your size tank, and add enough ammonia to get a reading of 5 ppm. Your ammonia and nitrites should be 0 within 24 hours and you should have nitrates. It says you can add the fish within 24 hours of adding bio spira but I wouldn't. Add the fish immediately after adding the bio spira because the bacteria will begin dying off immediately without a food source after being poured into the tank. Here's a great link for more info on bio spira:
Anything and Everything you ever wanted to know about bio spira
P.S. You will only need the 1 oz. size for a 20 gal. tank, and should have a little left over for another 10 gal.!
Anything and Everything you ever wanted to know about bio spira
P.S. You will only need the 1 oz. size for a 20 gal. tank, and should have a little left over for another 10 gal.!
Nope. Your fish will supply the ammonia needed for the bio spira. Make sure you add all the fish you will have in the tank after adding your bio spira. It seems to work best this way.
I only mentioned about adding ammonia instead of your fish for the first 24 hours is because some people say adding the bio spira and then your fish is irresponsible. If you added ammonia the first day, you could see for yourself that the bio spira was working before putting your fish in.
I only mentioned about adding ammonia instead of your fish for the first 24 hours is because some people say adding the bio spira and then your fish is irresponsible. If you added ammonia the first day, you could see for yourself that the bio spira was working before putting your fish in.
Nope. With bio spira you should add all the fish at the same time, and I would suggest adding the fish immediately after adding the bio spira to the tank. You can add only 3 fish, but you are defeating the purpose of the bio spira. It's meant to treat your tank as if it was cycled. If you only add 3 fish, then the bacteria will start dying off because there won't be enough ammonia in your tank to feed all the bio bugs. Bacteria adjusts to the amount of food in the tank and will starve to death without enough ammonia. Then when you add more fish in a week, there won't be enough bio bugs left to keep your tank from having a mini cycle. Decide the appropriate amount of fish you want in your tank, and get them all now.
Just to be sure you have a good batch of bio spira though, you can do as I stated previously and add your bio spira now, then add enough clear ammonia (the kind with no detergents or additives) to get a reading of 5 ppm. Check your ammonia again 24 hours later, and if it is back down to zero and you have a nitrate reading, you know the bio spira is alive and working. Then you add ALL of your fish.