Instant Ocean BIO-SPIRA

[opaka]

Has anyone used Instant Ocean Bio SPIRA before either to cycle a tank or to use for routine maintenance? If so how did it work or not work for you? Also just curious if any of you have ordered it from Drs Foster and Smith and wondering how they ship it?

Thanks! :smile:

 

[Mike J.]

I've always had very good service with DrsFoster&Smith. I have a couple bottles of it I got at a frag swap, but have never used it. I don't put anything in my tanks I can't test for. What are you trying to do that you think you need it?

 

[Eienna]

I have and the stuff works, but I recommend Dr. Tim's One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria as a better product. Pricier, but more effective.

 

[DSP]

Iv used dr Tim's,bio spira,microbe lift and stability none of them worked.just save your money.

 

[DSP]

Iv had great service with dr foster as well.

 

[Eienna]

Iv used dr Tim's,bio spira,microbe lift and stability none of them worked.just save your money.

Dr. Tim's works and works well. Perhaps your aquarium conditions were just not right for it, or it was too old/mishandled/etc, such as getting too hot or freezing during storage.

The freshwater version saved my fish when I completely lost the cycle in my fully-stocked 50g FW tank.

If your rock is not properly cured, none of them will have an obvious effect.

 

[nexusnight]

Ive ised bio spira on several tanks and it works great. I usually start with dry ecoreefer rock and my tanks never go through cycle stages. Just make sure u follow directions and use enough product for your tank. Ive had great sucsess and never any losses.

Sent from my GT-I9100M using Tapatalk 2

 

[Mike J.]

I'm very skeptical of any miracle cure in a bottle. Patience is free and natural.

 

[Jstan84]

It's not a miracle cure, it is basically bacteria in a bottle. All it does is establish a nitrifying bacteria colony without it having to start on its own from organic decay. This lets you skip the ammonia and nitrite spikes of your cycle. It does not mean you should immediately add livestock, its more like a jump start. It works as advertised.

 

[Mike J.]

It's not a miracle cure, it is basically bacteria in a bottle. All it does is establish a nitrifying bacteria colony without it having to start on its own from organic decay. This lets you skip the ammonia and nitrite spikes of your cycle. It does not mean you should immediately add livestock, its more like a jump start. It works as advertised.

Exactly, patience is free and natural and there's no skipping.

 

[opaka]

Thanks for all the replies!

I've always had very good service with DrsFoster&Smith. I have a couple bottles of it I got at a frag swap, but have never used it. I don't put anything in my tanks I can't test for. What are you trying to do that you think you need it?

Hey Mike. Yeah I've always ordered and had great customer service and packing from Drs Foster & Smith too. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the shipping of any bacteria type product from them. I was planning to start a new tank and ordered a few bottles I was going to try to use BIO-SPIRA to use to cycle and possibly adding in down the road. All the reviews I've read on BIO-SPIRA were good but just wanted to see what everyones opinions on them were. :bigsmile:

 

[opaka]

I have and the stuff works, but I recommend Dr. Tim's One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria as a better product. Pricier, but more effective.

Hey Eienna. Yeah I was looking at both and I've never heard any complaints about Dr Tim's One and Only but Drs Foster and Smith were having a 50% off and buy one get one free sale so I decided to buy a few bottles that way. Lol.

 

[opaka]

Iv used dr Tim's,bio spira,microbe lift and stability none of them worked.just save your money.

Hey DSP. Lol I ordered it already, I hope I will have more luck with Bio-Spira! Thanks!

 

[opaka]

It's not a miracle cure, it is basically bacteria in a bottle. All it does is establish a nitrifying bacteria colony without it having to start on its own from organic decay. This lets you skip the ammonia and nitrite spikes of your cycle. It does not mean you should immediately add livestock, its more like a jump start. It works as advertised.

Yup, I've learned over the years, not to rush. I'm just hoping for something to help out with the cycle, not add bacteria and fish five minutes later. Lol.

 

[STL]

I've ordered bacteria products from DFS - in the winter, they ship with a heat-pack and foam overwrap, in the summer, I think they just wrapped in extra foam. They do take measures to protect it from temperature extremes.

Also, I've had good results from both Dr Tim's One and Only (used to rapidly cycle my 180G) and Biospira (used to rapidly cycle my QT tank)

 

[jcdeng]

used for my new QT tank and I feed twice a day, 3 days later my ammonia is still undectable.

 

[typicaltony]

It's not a miracle cure, it is basically bacteria in a bottle. All it does is establish a nitrifying bacteria colony without it having to start on its own from organic decay. This lets you skip the ammonia and nitrite spikes of your cycle. It does not mean you should immediately add livestock, its more like a jump start. It works as advertised.

^ this! I have used bio spira before with good success, my tank cycled completely within a week.

 

[SloppyJ]

Anyone that says they used this and didn't experience a cycle is mistaken. It can help but it's not going to eliminate the cycle.

 

[beaslbob]

Hope it helps.

But here is my take on all this cycling stuff.

start the tank balanced out with macro algaes (or other algeas for that matter) and there is no need for any cycling products.

What happens is the plant life consumes ammonia as it is being generated preventing parameter spikes. Meanwhile it also is consuming carbon dioxide and returning oxygen.

But that's just my .02

 

[Eienna]

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Bacteria in a Bottle: Snake Oil or Worth Trusting?