Dr. Reef, thank you for taking the time to do this. This is a great experiment!
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
I was under the same impression but in the first few pages where @mikeyn from fritz started commenting, he mentioned that these bacteria are tolerable. He said something along the lines that they use saltwater bacteria in freshwater aqua cultures. let me see if i can find it.
Update guys.
I received the package from Instant Ocean today. Colleen at IO sent me a generous amount of Bio Spira.
I really appreciate her and IO for making this part of the study possible.
Colleen sent me 12 bottles of Bio Spira. I tried searching for a manufacture date or expiration dates but I couldn't find one on any bottle. I hope they are fresh and would love to see how they perform.
(Most wanted product by hobbyist for me to test)
Colleen @ Instant Ocean thank you for a generous amount of Bio Spira and participating in the study.
Is it true that the IO version is Dr Tim's formula with less bacteria that he sold to them?
I would be careful using the term "better" when it comes to the bacteria. It is a little different blend. What is "better" is going to be very tank specific. There is a good chance that the bacteria you add from the bottle will be starved out by different nitrifying bacteria and be completely replaced in the first year. As your tank ages, the dominant strain may change multiple times as tank conditions begin to favor one over another.You have some facts right...
Dr Tim used to work for IO and developed Bio Spira at IO for them. At some point he ventured into his own business leaving behind Bio Spira the way it is and developed his own brand One and Only with better bacteria.
Great conclusions @Dr. Reef looking forward to the next roundSo guys as of right now i am six and a half days into testing.
I double dosed Dr Tim and Seed two days in a row and i will conclude this round of study after today.
Even after dosing double the suggested amount of bacteria in Dr Tim and Seed i saw minimum shift/reduction in ammonia.
Control tank is sitting at 2 ppm and shows no signs of reduction at all,
Dr Tim after double dosing and shaking bottle well the forth day showed reduction from 2 ppm to 1.2ppm and on day 5 down to 0.5 ppm and on 6th day and a half still shows 0.5 ppm.
Seachem Seed was dosed daily for first 3 days and 4th, 5th day double dosed. After double dosing 4th day i noticed it to have dropped to 1.2-1.5 range and today at day 6 it sits at 1 ppm.
Fritz Turbo Start 900 showed 0 on second day and has been zero since then even with 0.5 ppm ammonia being dosed daily.
I conclude this round of study with:
1. Fritz still a better performer than others.
2. I did learn the problem with Dr Tim One and only about shaking it really well and drawing from bottom of the bottle to get better results. It did start performing better when i did according to my new findings. Love to see its results in next round.
3. I also noticed Salifert ammonia kit is of 2 types. Sometimes its NH4 and sometimes NH3. either way its not an appropriate kit for this test. Would love to see NH3 results against Seneye monitor results when i do that study.
4. Evaporation this time was very uniform across the board putting rest to earlier mystery of one tank evaporating more than other.
5. Api colors are harder to determine than red sea. while both kits are good at producing same results, i did not find a difference in test results as final levels did match but i found API colors hard to match and determine against its chart while Red Sea was easier to identify.
Breaking down the tanks this weekend and will reset by Monday for same 4 contenders at 2 ppm test for consistency and to reproduce same results.
From Left to Right
Seed, Prodibio, Dr Tim
Am I reading this correctly, you are basing the performance and review of these products on a test performed in a week?So guys as of right now i am six and a half days into testing.
I double dosed Dr Tim and Seed two days in a row and i will conclude this round of study after today.
Even after dosing double the suggested amount of bacteria in Dr Tim and Seed i saw minimum shift/reduction in ammonia.
Control tank is sitting at 2 ppm and shows no signs of reduction at all,
Dr Tim after double dosing and shaking bottle well the forth day showed reduction from 2 ppm to 1.2ppm and on day 5 down to 0.5 ppm and on 6th day and a half still shows 0.5 ppm.
Seachem Seed was dosed daily for first 3 days and 4th, 5th day double dosed. After double dosing 4th day i noticed it to have dropped to 1.2-1.5 range and today at day 6 it sits at 1 ppm.
Fritz Turbo Start 900 showed 0 on second day and has been zero since then even with 0.5 ppm ammonia being dosed daily.
I conclude this round of study with:
1. Fritz still a better performer than others.
2. I did learn the problem with Dr Tim One and only about shaking it really well and drawing from bottom of the bottle to get better results. It did start performing better when i did according to my new findings. Love to see its results in next round.
3. I also noticed Salifert ammonia kit is of 2 types. Sometimes its NH4 and sometimes NH3. either way its not an appropriate kit for this test. Would love to see NH3 results against Seneye monitor results when i do that study.
4. Evaporation this time was very uniform across the board putting rest to earlier mystery of one tank evaporating more than other.
5. Api colors are harder to determine than red sea. while both kits are good at producing same results, i did not find a difference in test results as final levels did match but i found API colors hard to match and determine against its chart while Red Sea was easier to identify.
Breaking down the tanks this weekend and will reset by Monday for same 4 contenders at 2 ppm test for consistency and to reproduce same results.
From Left to Right
Seed, Prodibio, Dr Tim
well kinda sortaAm I reading this correctly, you are basing the performance and review of these products on a test performed in a week?