Bio Spira + Live Sand = Insta Cycle?

Jon0807

Jon0807

New member
Hello!

I set up my tank on Sunday 5/22, (reef saver rock, live sand, HOB Aquaclear 70, heater, circulation pumps, no sump or protein skimmer, plus some Bio Spira). I've been throwing in a pinch of food flakes every other day or so and I have not gotten a reading on ammonia yet. I tested for nitrates which were at 0 and I got a slight reading on nitrates. Can't tell you the exact number cause I bought an API kit and it goes from 0 to 5 ppm and it reads somewhere in between. Does this mean my tank is already cycled? Or do I need to add more food more often to get an ammonia spike?

I've tried searching but I guess I'm not putting in the right search terms cause I'm not getting any similar results as I have. Thanks in advance!
 
Bio spira makes your tank cycled almost instantly by adding bacteria to suppress the big ammonia spike. You are fine at this point to slowly start stocking your tank.
 
safest way to tell:

go to any pharmacy store like CVS or Rite Aids and buy some pure ammonia. or you can buy it on Dr. Tim's website. I have Dr Tim's pure ammonia and it's 1 drop ammonia per gallon. If your tank can convert those ammonia to nitrate within 24hrs. You are good to go. If after 24hrs and you have ammonia or nitrite, keep cycling.
 
Biospira and Dr Tim pretty much helps instant cycle. But depending on what you started with. live rocks, pure dry rocks, live sand, dry sand,etc.. it may still take 2-3 weeks. I've started multiple 100gals with these bacteria bottle. Usually they take 2-3 weeks for a strong cycle.
 
I threw in more food this morning and I'll test everything again when I get home and I'll post pictures of the results in case I'm reading them wrong. I'll also try to pick up some ammonia on the way home just to be safe.
 
When I started my tank I used bio-spira, bagged live sand, and a few lbs of cured liverock broken up and scattered through the aquarium. It still took over 3 weeks to get my biofilter up to snuff.

I used Ace hardware janitorial brand but as long as it does not foam when you shake it and the only ingredent is ammonia and water you are good. Find a calculator online and double check, it is easy to overdose. When you can dose to 2 PPM and be undetectable overnight you are good. If you do not want to do that than you could go with the raw shrimp in a bag and wait for your ammonia spike.
 
Instant cycle with dry dock & a bottle of bugs with only a pinch of food...in 5 days. I doubt your ready to add any life yet. Your test results are ambiguous. The bacteria in the live sand & bottle could be dead. The bio filter could be there but very weak at this early juncture.

If you think you're cycled follow the advice in Post #4. Get ammonia up to 2.0 mg/L (green) and go from there. It's the only way to know for sure. Otherwise do the deli shrimp thing, test and do a traditional cycle.

There's really no such thing as an instant cycle. Even adding 100% cured live rock, transfering it within seconds, still often requires more time to settle in.

Patience. The road to reef ruin in reefing begins with the lack of it.
 
I find no matter how they market it, nothing gives you an instant cycle. A couple of weeks minimum, make sure you added enough food to get a good ammonia spike, and test again. I wouldn't consider a cycle until I at least got a nitrate reading of 10.
 
I use a bacteria starter everytime I start a new tank (usually Seachem Stability because it's readily available), it's not instant cycle but definitely faster, like three weeks usually. Remember to add an ammonia source when you start I usually dose ammonia up to 1 ppm.
 
I forgot to mention that my tank is only 36 gallons and I plan on keeping the bio load very low. I will probably only have 2-3 fish at the most, a couple of corals, and a few cleaning critters. I've read that you can get away without a skimmer if you do water changes often enough. I'll see how it goes without it.

I went to CVS and they only had lemon scented ammonia, but then I remembered I had some at home. I looked at the bottle and the ingredients are ammonia hydroxide and surfactant. Is that good to use?
 
No surfactants are not good, put a bit in a clear bottle and shake it, it will probably bubble and you don't want that. You can just use a pinch of fish food too instead of its easier.
 
No surficant scents etc. ACE Hardware has the 100% pure janitor ammonia. Big bottles but cheap. You're in a hurry man. 4 weeks is best. Weak bio filters kill. GL.
 
Ok, back in the garage it goes. I'm not really in a hurry, I'd rather do it right. In doing research, I saw that using Bio Spira along with live sand would help the cycle along. When I did the testing, it just seemed like it was already there when I had expected it to take a lot longer.
 
Jon0807 said:
I forgot to mention that my tank is only 36 gallons and I plan on keeping the bio load very low. I will probably only have 2-3 fish at the most, a couple of corals, and a few cleaning critters. I've read that you can get away without a skimmer if you do water changes often enough. I'll see how it goes without it.

I went to CVS and they only had lemon scented ammonia, but then I remembered I had some at home. I looked at the bottle and the ingredients are ammonia hydroxide and surfactant. Is that good to use?
Click to expand...

My first tank was a 40g with a hob and keep 3 small triggers in it for a couple of years. You'll be fine with your plans and you can always upgrade.
 
Jon0807 said:
Ok, back in the garage it goes. I'm not really in a hurry, I'd rather do it right. In doing research, I saw that using Bio Spira along with live sand would help the cycle along. When I did the testing, it just seemed like it was already there when I had expected it to take a lot longer.
Click to expand...

I've never used it and it might be a super product. Hiur food source for the bacteria seems possibly insufficient. The bugs need to establish & colonize the rock.

But Your tank may be further along than usual. It's just nothing posted comes close to proving it with any certainty. It must be verified before adding life. Starting a tank with an insufficient bio filter is something to avoid.
 
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