Dear Claire:
Okay, you’ll just have to make do without the Marine BioSpira if it’s not available north of the border.
I am not familiar with SeaChem Stabilizer, so I cannot say if it’s an equivalent product or anything that might be helpful in this case. Unless it includes a culture of live nitrifying bacteria, it is unlikely to accelerate the cycling process or be very useful in this sort of situation.
Remove, it’s important to avoid adding any ammonia-removing liquids or ammonia-sequestering products (such as BIO-Safe, Amquel, Ammo-lock, Aqua-Safe, etc.) while the tank cycles. You want a nice high ammonia spike, followed by a nice high nitrite spike, when the aquarium cycles in order to build up the largest possible population of the nitrifying bacteria that feed on ammonia and nitrite, so using any type of filtration or additives that could reduce the amount of ammonia or nitrite at this time will actually hinder the cycling process and be very counterproductive in the long run.
Best of luck managing your new Hippocampus kuda and preparing the temporary 20-gallon aquarium to serve as a backup tank, Claire!
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna
Ocean Rider, Inc. is an Organic Hawaiian-Based Seahorse Aqua-Farm & Aquarium that Follows Strict Good Farming Practices in Raising Seahorses and Other Aquatic Life.
