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Anybody who has used product could you give me some feedback on how effective they found it?

Cheers

not bad. you still get a cycle, but IME, it hasn't been anywhere near dangerous, and its over within about 5 days.

you still have to baby it a little, ie, dont overstock or fully stock straight up. You can get away with it, but its not wise, and its a lot of pressure to put on an unestablished bacterial colony.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I used this product with a tank I just set up a few weeks ago. No problems here, no fish loss, no incredible spikes either. I recommend it.

mr roland will swear by the New and Improved Cycle...

I've personally used it, and it's made no difference in my experiences *shrug*

How would it have been able to make a difference anyway if you've never used it, Tim?

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I have, and know many people that have used the Bio-Spira, and it works completely with no spikes of any kind, as it completes your cycle within 48 hours.

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There is always a bigger fish...

uh, natalie? I said i've used it...

Very happy with it. I keep a couple small aquariums at school and it's really nice to have a shorter and less stressful cycling period when you're setting-up and tearing down 2-3 times per year.

I used cycle, did not help at all both my danios stilled died when Nitrite went to 0.25. Ammonia never went above 1.0 but after they died Nitrite went to about 0.75. Took about a month. Did not help at all. cycle is a dud. They don't ship it or sell it refrigarated and all the bacteria dies. If it smells like nothing, then it has no bacteria left, if it smells like onions, then it still has live bacteria. I use Amtrite down, this is a great product and needs to be refrigarated.

Good Luck

Mine smelled like nothing and it works fine

It doesn't need to be refrigerated as far as i'm aware, it does have a heat range, so if some dipstick leaves a container on the docks too long, it could ruin a batch, but in general, sitting on a shelf shouldn't hurt it, as the bacteria are stored in little dormant clumps.

Plus, the smell, that wouldn't be the bacteria themselves, that would be active metabolism. I think. BluePhoenix?


I dunno, there have been mixed results on it.

Not sure how well Cycle works as a band aid, ammonia products are a better idea then imo.

Haven't tried AmTrite, but i thought that was a binding product, not a bacteria product.


For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I'm with Acid on BioSpira, but I don't know if it is offered outside of the US. I finally took it upon myself to email Marineland and ask the question. I also asked if there were any plans to get it in more accessible stores like Petsmart and Walmart, to name a few. I'll probably make a new thread with the info, especially if it comes back favorable.

My 36 gallon bowfront started all new with 3, 2-inch fancy goldfish. Ammonia peaked on morning 2 at 0.25, and I never saw nitrite. The ammonia was gone by evening of morning 2. Nitrates were readable at 5ppm on day 3. After one week, I had 10ppm nitrates.

I have not tried this test with Cycle and for some reason, I think people have more luck with it during the Nitrite phase, moreso than the ammonia phase. If I could not get BioSpira, I would use any bacterial starter that claims to have live bacteria as many manufacturers are churning out the stuff. It may not all be as good as biospira, but I think some help is better than none. Stress Zyme and Fritz Zyme would be others that are known.

I'm also with Callatya on not overstocking. If you stick to the 1/4 max stocking level until cycling is complete and give it a good week or two to get more robust before adding another 1/4 max stock, the stuff works great. Add more as fish are added and as early gravel vacs & filter cleaning are done (easily thrown into minicycles). I didn't experience any minicycles with my goldie tank, but I stopped stocking with those three.

After what I witnessed with my tank, I wouldn't hesitate to start a brand new tank with small group of more sensitive fish like rasboras, tetras or others we wouldn't typically start the tank, if I used BioSpira. I'd let the new water age for a week or two first tho, in any case.


Last edited by Cory_Di at 13-Jan-2005 23:47