Tank Cycling

[peacher213]

I have a 60 gallon that has been setup for 2 weeks. Tank currently has 2 damsels and a tomato clown. Last week I added a 75gallon gallon bottle of bio spira. Now, I have been testing my water levels, and my ammonia reads 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates 0. Damsels have been in for 2 weeks and the clown has been in for over a week. My question is, Shouldn't I have some sort of ammonia reading? Or Is the bio spira really working? I feed my fish twice a day. Last week the ammonia started to rise to .25ppm and is back to zero. (test kit is brand new) Fish are striving, and everything seems to be going great. I do have some live rock but alot of base rock.

Do you think the bio spira is keeping my levels down? or is this cycle going to take longer than expected? Id appriciate your opinions or thoughts.

PS. The diatoms started to flair up, but have really slowed down the last couple of days or so.

[Original Fin]

I haven't used live bacteria supplements/accelerators, so I did a quick multi forum search on that product, and it seems that most of the people that use it seem to like it and vouch for it's effectiveness. A common thread is that most of them were not able to detect a cycle at all, so your experience so far is consistant with that....BUT, if you haven't seen a rise in nitrates, then the tank has not cycled, so I would have concerns for the fish you've already added. Algae growth is another indicator of a completed cycle to look for.

I also looked Bio Spira up on Wet Web Media, and I must admit my expectations were all wrong. I thought this was going to be just another snake oil, but it seems that it does have merit, at least in the eyes of the WWM staff. They do, however; still advise to wait longer to add fish than the bottle would seem to indicate is safe. The bottle says you can add fish right away. WWM thinks that is a bad idea, and they say to wait for measurable nitrates and algae growth. They touch on it a little bit in this article: EstBioFiltMar

Anyway, I'm glad I had a look at this product, so thanks for bringing it up!
In the next system I do, I want to eliminate any potential nuisance hitchhikers from the rock, so I will start with all dry rock, and then cure it before adding it to the tank and cycling. This product may prove benefitial in that scenario...perhaps added to the rock tank durring the curing process?...hmmm

[Kmoriarty]

Very interesting thread. I've seen those products at the LFS and always assumed they were BS. I'll keep it in mind when I upgrade down the road.

[chrisfont23]

I have used it, but not in a saltwater tank. When the ice and snow (finally) melt up here in NY, I religiously dump a bottle into my outdoor koi pond to accelerate the nutrient proliferation for the upcoming spring. I really feel it helps the koi transition from dormancy, as it definitely replenishes the bene-bacteria that didn't make it over the winter. It also supplements a little, as my plants and garden haven't yet "interacted" with the pond. I also used it to cycle my 27 gallon FW hex. Haven't lost a fish yet.

IMO, it is a great product. Smells foul, but great.

[peacher213]

I haven't used live bacteria supplements/accelerators, so I did a quick multi forum search on that product, and it seems that most of the people that use it seem to like it and vouch for it's effectiveness. A common thread is that most of them were not able to detect a cycle at all, so your experience so far is consistant with that....BUT, if you haven't seen a rise in nitrates, then the tank has not cycled, so I would have concerns for the fish you've already added. Algae growth is another indicator of a completed cycle to look for.I also looked Bio Spira up on Wet Web Media, and I must admit my expectations were all wrong. I thought this was going to be just another snake oil, but it seems that it does have merit, at least in the eyes of the WWM staff. They do, however; still advise to wait longer to add fish than the bottle would seem to indicate is safe. The bottle says you can add fish right away. WWM thinks that is a bad idea, and they say to wait for measurable nitrates and algae growth. They touch on it a little bit in this article: EstBioFiltMarAnyway, I'm glad I had a look at this product, so thanks for bringing it up!In the next system I do, I want to eliminate any potential nuisance hitchhikers from the rock, so I will start with all dry rock, and then cure it before adding it to the tank and cycling. This product may prove benefitial in that scenario...perhaps added to the rock tank durring the curing process?...hmmm

To be honest, I thought it was going to be crap too...but my tank now has some green algae appearing on the glass. I figured the tomato clown would show me how the bio spira works. I too did research on it..(after I bought it) lol. Im going to leave everything as is for a few more weeks. If all is well, I will write up a thread on this stuff. If this stuff is legit..Ill praise Instant Ocean and their product.