Bacteria Products: which one would you use?

[J1a]

There has been a lot of discussion about ingredients in commercial products. There is something in these discussions which really make me stop and reflect: why does reefers give so much confidence to bacteria (or natural) products?

Help me out to do this poll, and let's see if this discussion will go anywhere meaningful. Of course, we assume the product actually contains exactly what it say it is.

 

[Miami Reef]

My logic is, “if it can grow it in the wild, it’s good enough for me”.

There’s so much we don’t know.

If bacteria prevents the ugly stage, then why did BRS’s 1 year rock that was running in the dark get an ugly stage when it was exposed to lights? Does that mean bacteria cannot outcompete algae for space?

Why do some people running ULNS not get dinos, while other people do? Roberto’s tank for example (Feb 2022 reef of the month)

If the rock is in a system/place that can sustain healthy corals, it’s good enough for me.
I just assume everything “good” will transfer to my system.

 

[J1a]

My bigger concern is. If a bacteria grows on tree barks, it's may not be natural in reef.

But many reefer would consider such a bacteria natural for their reef because it can be found somewhere else in the nature.

 

[Miami Reef]

My bigger concern is. If a bacteria grows on tree barks, it's may not be natural in reef.

But many reefer would consider such a bacteria natural for their reef because it can be found somewhere else in the nature.

See, that logic just doesn’t make sense with me. I want to sustain corals, not win a biodiversity contest. What’s the purpose of adding bacteria that grows on tree barks? Are those specific bacteria sustaining corals? Most likely not. You’ll be better served getting something that was directly sourced from marine environments.

Bacteria is overrated IMO.

 

[Jedi1199]

You need a "None of the above" choice.

I have never used commercial bacteria in any tank I have ever run, and never will.

 

[J1a]

You need a "None of the above" choice.

I have never used commercial bacteria in any tank I have ever run, and never will.

Good point. Added.

 

[Miami Reef]

You need a "None of the above" choice.

I have never used commercial bacteria in any tank I have ever run, and never will.

Not even live rock? That was the first option.

 

[Sean Clark]

I like Dr. Tim's Waste Away. I don't know where it comes from so I didn't vote.

 

[Chrisv.]

No option for Vibrant?

 

[Sean Clark]

No option for Vibrant?

I resisted the temptation.

 

[Chrisv.]

(Sorry @sean

I resisted the temptation.

I couldn't help myself. It's getting to be a problem.

 

[hart24601]

I think this area will be where aquabiomics company can really take off. The tank testing service I am ‘eh’ on but them offering tested packages of rock rubble and live sand I think will become the standard and replace bacteria in a bottle products since so much of the microbial community is unknown or unculturable. I bought some rubble myself and plan to yearly to help diversify the food web in the tank. I don’t see how any bottled product can compare with it.

 

[Jedi1199]

Not even live rock? That was the first option.

All of my tanks were skip-cycled using a couple pieces of rock from a previous build. IDK that I would call it "Live Rock" as it really doesn't fit my impression of what Live Rock is. When I think Live Rock, I think about ocean harvested rock that comes with all kinds of living stuff on it like feather dusters, and sponges ect ect...

When I set up my 32g for example, I dropped a couple pieces of dry rock into the sump from my 180 for a couple weeks.

 

[Chrisv.]

I think this area will be where aquabiomics company can really take off. The tank testing service I am ‘eh’ on but them offering tested packages of rock rubble and live sand I think will become the standard and replace bacteria in a bottle products since so much of the microbial community is unknown or unculturable. I bought some rubble myself and plan to yearly to help diversify the food web in the tank. I don’t see how any bottled product can compare with it.

I completely agree that adding some LR or even a rock swap between tanks is a good idea to boost diversity. I'm fascinated though, by the idea of adding bacteria the serve specific purposes. For example, some of the Dr. Tim's bottled products do not divide in salt water, but can be useful for performing specific maintenance tasks. I was extremely skeptical about these products, but I used some of them and had good luck. I never thought id be down for an engineered non-natural purpose driven microbial bloom (as in dumping some bacteria into the tank), but this worked pretty well for me. I'm still a live rock till the end reefer though.

 

[hart24601]

I completely agree that adding some LR or even a rock swap between tanks is a good idea to boost diversity. I'm fascinated though, by the idea of adding bacteria the serve specific purposes. For example, some of the Dr. Tim's bottled products do not divide in salt water, but can be useful for performing specific maintenance tasks. I was extremely skeptical about these products, but I used some of them and had good luck. I never thought id be down for an engineered non-natural purpose driven microbial bloom (as in dumping some bacteria into the tank), but this worked pretty well for me. I'm still a live rock till the end reefer though.

A lot of those, depending on the brand and application of course, are more bacterial byproducts being enzymes (many bacillus based) and it’s really the addition of the enzymes that are breaking down the various compounds in the water or detritus. Particularly for heavy stocked fish systems the enzymes do amazing jobs at clearing out filters. Many of these are carryovers from wastewater treatment and are legit studied and viable solutions if one has a particular issue like organic build up.