Harry Muscle wrote:

"Polarhound" wrote in message
...

Rikko wrote:


On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 20:57:45 -0500, Polarhound
wrote:



GloFish wrote:



Another method is Bio-Spira from Marineland (http://marineland.com/).
This is a refrigerated liquid laden with the friendly bacteria.
People have reported mixed results using it, but I have had success
with it on two separate tanks.

For all the "mixed results" comments I've ever heard about Bio-Spira,
I've yet to see someone come forward and explicitly state it did NOT

work.

The only negative comments I've ever seen about it are from the "Too
Good To Be True" crowd, of which I have never seen one actually talk
about how it failed for them.


I talked to a Hagen rep about it and he said that he'd heard it's not
bad, except it needs to move FAST. It doesn't last terribly long on
the shelf so they need to ship it within a couple days of
manufacturing... Anybody have an expiry date on a bottle to verify
that?

Considering that:

1. It doesn't come in bottles, it comes in pouches.
2. It is shipped with cold packs.
3. Stores carrying it are required to refrigerate it.
4. It is very likely refrigerated at Hagen.
and
5. Refrigerated bacteria in this manner can be stored for some time.

It is very likely the rep was talking out of his ass. Also, a rep for
the stuff would not call it "not bad". They are paid to talk UP the
product.

As for the "doesn't last terribly long" part, it is correct with
modification:

It "doesn't last terribly long on the shelf" because it sells so fast,
Hagen can't make the stuff fast enough to keep up with demand! They are
not shipping any more freshwater Bio Spira until September because they
need to build up their stock again.


Just a note, Hagen doesn't make Bio Spira.

I was waiting to see if someone was going to catch that. Nice to see
someone is double checking me as well