Reef Discussion

[potatocouch]

I go according with what ReefVet said that putting instant bacteria to reef tank is okay and will help colonize your live rocks and any other media faster.

The list goes from Seachem Stability, dr Tim one n only, zeoBak etc.

If you are to use those items (and those that have) What are we really adding here? aerobic or anaerobic bacteria?

 

[potatocouch]

---- please ignore ----
---- content no longer relevant ----

 

[IJG3145]

Biologists will tel you that you are adding wishful thinking. As I understand it, useful bacteria multiply so fast that if the bacteria was indeed live, it would quickly become a solid mass because of the exponential multiplication. Also the food for bacteria would be consumed so quickly that everything in the bottle would die anyway.


Every report I've seen says these are just hocus pocus. You are simply adding pollutants to the tank, same as adding prawn to rot. Both really bad "old school" ideas. One of the major forums (maybe reef central) had this sort of stuff lab tested years ago and proved it was junk, plus provided the scientific reasons that it cannot possibly work - ever.

 

[Ben Broadfoot]

Biologists will tel you that you are adding wishful thinking. As I understand it, useful bacteria multiply so fast that if the bacteria was indeed live, it would quickly become a solid mass because of the exponential multiplication. Also the food for bacteria would be consumed so quickly that everything in the bottle would die anyway.


Every report I've seen says these are just hocus pocus. You are simply adding pollutants to the tank, same as adding prawn to rot. Both really bad "old school" ideas. One of the major forums (maybe reef central) had this sort of stuff lab tested years ago and proved it was junk, plus provided the scientific reasons that it cannot possibly work - ever.

This is my understanding also. Adding live rock however is adding instant bacteria, just not a full cycle's worth.

 

[IJG3145]

Live rock is not trapped in a bottle and even so, most of the bacteria on the rock is already dead, it was dead when it left the water because the bacteria are adapted to their surroundings and take many generations to adapt. That period of time is roughly 4 weeks - sound familiar?

You are mostly adding instant dead bacteria although a small amount will survive deep inside the rock if it doesn't dry out.. The sole purpose of live rock (other than it looks good) is to provide massive surface area for the bacteria to colonise, that's why it has to be porous rock. Of course hitchhikers can be a bonus - or a curse.

Most people don't understand that the first wave/type of bacteria are there anyway. They exist on every surface on earth, you don't need to add them, they are on your glass, they are on your fridge, they are on your skin, they are even on your eyeball. The rock gives them surface area to multiply onto and the dead bacteria on the rock provide all the food needed.

It's the dead bacteria on the rock that gets the cycle going faster than on dry rock. You can put dry rock into water and the bacteria will colonise, just not as fast as on live rock. Some hobbyists are moving away from rock and using things like Marinepure blocks to provide surface area with minimal rock in the tank, just enough to look good and mount corals on. However fish are belived to be happier with rock to hide in.

Bottom line: The major trick in this hobby is to minimise nutrients and pollutants in the water. Why would you ever deliberately add that same thing?

 

[NiCd]

I use microbiologists through work and had them test the zeobac I was using and it appeared as a food source rather than to contain anything that could be put down to ambient exposure.

As to if this is how the product actually is, it getting radiated through customs or mishandled from my point of view who knows but I have stopped running it as best case there is clearly a degree that you could be adding nothing but nutrients due to mishandling and not know it.

 

[Franklin Dattein]

@IJG3145 I agree with you and I believe it is mostly hocus pocus. Even if it isn't, there are so many variables to consider, that it is nearly impossible to predict if adding bacteria actually helps.
For example, what if the tank already got a dominant strain and the ones being added cannot compete? What if the added strain starves the existing strains causing a new cycle? Possibilities are endless...

On the other hand, there are some many different strains of bacteria and bacteria can hibernate for eras. I wouldn't be surprised if the bottles have a specific strain that actually hibernates in a particular solution and wake up in contact with saltwater.

One other thing, that makes me believe there is no need to add bacteria strains, is the following scenario:
Tank with DSB and no Organic Carbon Dosing(OCD), goes bare bottom and starts OCD. This tank was heavily dependant on anaerobic bacteria in the DSB and all of a sudden, it is heavily dependant on non-anaerobic bacteria, promoted by OCD, because there is no more low O2 areas.
If there was no addition of new bacteria strains and still the bacterias were able to migrate from anaerobic to aerobic, that is a good indication that adding new strains are just placebo.