i honestly am not familiar with the API bacteria product.. i know and trust Marineland products and they have always worked for me.
IF i were you, i would call around, see if you can find an LFS that sells Bio-Spira.. it's expensive, but it's definitely worth it.
adding a filter with established media from another tank would give you similar results if you have another tank. But if it's out of the water for more than a few minutes again, you're just treading water and not accomplishing anything at all.
At least in that situation you wouldn't be wasting $30 for a tube of Bio-Spira that you didn't keep cold until you used it.. lol.
when i set up a new tank, i take one of the foam filters from another tank, and a new foam filter in the new tank, and i replace the foam filter in the other tank with a new one (i run 2 Hydro V foam filters on all of my tanks over 40 gallons). And.. i add one large tube (the one that says it's for treating up to 90 gallons) of Bio-Spira. Then i put in a hand full of small fish, something that i don't care if it gets eaten when the tank's permanent residents arrive, like guppies, or mollies or at the moment.. red jewels. And in 48 hours i test the water.. i expect to see little or no ammonia, no nitrites and less than 10 PPM nitrates.. then i check the PH and adjust as necessary.. i add aquarium salt or driftwood to bring it down and i add baking soda to bring it up. and i aim for 7.0 - 7.6 PH. for my SA cichlids, and 8.0+ for my son's africans.
THEN, i put in the fish that are going to live there permanently.. or until they need a bigger tank.
did that help?
