Bio spira

[dab335]

hey guys, today my sister sent me a text that she bought me a gsp and that i can go to the lfs and pick it up tonight. Well, i couldnt do that since my 2 qts are being used right now and i dont want to put a gsp in with my f8. Tomorrow i'm going to buy a 20 gal setup but I have a couple of questions, first i saw the article in the puffer forum on gsp's and it mentioned cycling quickly with bio-spira. Now do i use the freshwater version or the saltwater? My brackish tank for my f8 is at 1.008 do u guys think thats ok for a gsp?

[Nick]

Your F8's SG is fine for a GSP at a young age, but I'd highly suggest just getting a 29 instead of a 20, so the puffer has a permanent home.

[pufferfreak]

that is probably the best answer.

[dab335]

ok, so if i get the 29 will it do for a while? I didnt want to attempt to place him with my f8 because the lfs named my f8 a "killer" since he took out $100 worth their fish from the show tank he was in. I didnt want to be witness to a bloodbath! LOL

[MatthewLaw]

biospira HELPS cycle a tank but it isn't an overnight process!

it still took 4 weeks to cycle my 60g FW tank and I put the appropirate amount of biospira.

especially since puffers are sensitive to amonia/nitrite/nitrate, it may be a few weeks before you can put him/her/them into the 20g new tank.

[Pufferpunk]

I believe you must have either gotten a bottle of B-S that had been warmed somewhere along the way or used it improperly. If kept refrigerated from manufacture to tank, it will instantly cycle a tank, if added the same time as the fish.

[MatthewLaw]

I have never, nor have i ever met anyone that used BioSpira and instantly had their tank cycled**. Accelerate the cycle, Yes. Do it overnight, No. Not even the people at my LFS have made those types of promises. To the best of my knowledge it contains beneficial live bacteria that is activaited with the fish waste but the filter still needs to absorb, process, etc (cycling process).

**based on a brand new tank without any media transferred from other cycled tanks.

[Agnate]

Is your F8's tank cycled and does it have more than 1 filter? The easiest way to "instantly cycle" a tank is to bring the water parameters on the new tank to the same as the F8's tank, bring home the GSP puffer, acclimate him to his new home and take one of the filters from the F8 tank and put it on the GSP tank (at the same time that you put the GSP into the tank). Presto! Cycled tank.

[dab335]

my f8 tank has 2 biowheels, so i was going to take one biowheel and place it in the 20 with a package of biospira. Do u think that will do?

[Agnate]

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with the biospira if you have 2 biowheels that have been on the tank for at least 1 month. You'll just be wasting money on a product you don't need. Just don't move the Biowheel to the new tank until you put in your GSP (in other words - put the filter on it right before putting him into the tank - if you put it on too soon, the bacteria will start to die off). This is assuming you have the same salinity in both tanks.

[dab335]

The f8 tank has been going for a while. Awesome, i have 2 packages of bio spira here at home and if i dont have to use one thats great. Alot of places around here are now stocking that stuff that doesnt have to be refrigerated and i dont really like it! Thanks

[Idontknow]

I have six tanks. Four out of the six tanks were emergency cycled with bio-spira. Three brackish and one marine. I used the marine bio-spira for the brackish tanks. Nervously, I checked the water parameters daily, and they were always fine. Other than the normal weekly water changes, I haven't had any problems. Although, I was a little reluctant to use bio-spira because I had read on here that sometimes it doesn't work. However, all four of my tanks have been good and all my fish healthy.

[Agnate]

If you already have the BioSpira, it might be worthwhile to use. I only suggested against it because I assumed you would have to go buy it. How long does it last for in the fridge?

[dab335]

The guys at the lfs said at least a year as long as it doesnt get warm and u dont freeze it. It doesnt have an expiration date on it, but if u open it and it smells really bad its probably not good. The just save package and the store i use exchanges it. (if they have it)