Bacteria: What are your thoughts on adding "bacteria" to your reef tank?

[MnFish1]

1. Do you add any type of bacteria to your reef tank and if so what and why?

No - except on starting up a tank

2. What changes have you noticed in your reef tank from these

When I have used them - no change. I do not believe in adding bacteria to a tank (especially a mature tank). There some studies out there suggesting that added bacteria do not gain a foothold (the other bacteria outcompete) - or they take over the existing bacteria - But there is not a lot of evidence that they add any 'diversity'

 

[BigAsh]

1. Do you add any type of bacteria to your reef tank and if so what and why? Yes, Vibrant.

2. What changes have you noticed in your reef tank from these additions? Seems like algae on the glass forms a bit slower.

 

[Anubisxii]

Dr tims one and only to start. I use MB7 from time to time it's $7 for the 250 ml bottle and use a cap full from time to time. Sometimes I keep some API stress zyme on hand for the 1st few months of tank start up, which is also about $7. $14 in bacteria is not going to kill the hobby for me and I think it just adds extra peace of mind.

Just my two cents on a highly opinionated topic.

 

[brandon429]

I have literally purchased no less than twenty gallons of stress zyme in six oz increments over decades so no judgement there

back in the day no fish left the pet store in bags without two drops.

 

[W00F]

Dr Tim’s waste away and Dr Tim’s Ecobalance once a week. I alternate which one I use every week.

keeps the tank clean and the glass only needs to be cleaned about once a week.

 

[Todd1white]

MicroBacter Clean & 7, usually with weekly water changes. The last couple of weeks I changed to Vibrant to help with algae.

 

[ID-Reefer]

Yes - Aquavitro Seed.

Also feed live black worms and grocery store clams daily.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I think properly promoting bacterial diversity does no harm and may have benefits. I am starting a tank with dry rock/sand. I want to optimize bacterial diversity to the extent possible.

Good old Fritzyme and some ammonium chloride will get the cycle started and speed up the process. I have about 15 lbs of live rock and some Grunge/rubble cooking in a Brute. I'll add that once the dry rock is almost cycled i.e. nitrites are 0.

I have used Vibrant in the past. It worked as advertised. I am planning on dosing it @ 1ml/10 Gallons every two weeks.

 

[Mike1970]

I’m doing full zeovit system bacteria is a big part of it

 

[Alex808]

Dr.Tim’s Waste Away. I occasionally add a cap full maybe once every couple weeks. Not sure if it’s doing anything but I can’t imagine it being a bad thing.

 

[Aquaman508]

I just made a video all about the microbes in our tank and the promises we're seeing with them in the wild.

Nice video Reefman! I love your Youtube channel.

 

[Benson0219]

There has been a lot of discussion regarding adding certain types of bacteria to your reef tank and today I thought we might talk about it some more!

1. Do you add any type of bacteria to your reef tank and if so what and why?

2. What changes have you noticed in your reef tank from these additions?


image via @Abood

MicroBacter 7

Dr Tim’s One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria

Dr Tim’s Waste-Away Natural Aquarium Cleaner

The Tank cycled better and matured fully over the first year. I went bare bottom so it helped with absence of sand.

 

[smokin'reefer]

I've been doing the zeovit system this go round. Still way to early to tell if it is worth it.

Although I am having pretty good growth out of some acros already. Zeo or what idk.

Like everything in this hobby, best guess is the only certainty.

 

[Lapras]

Yes.

My tank had struggled for a while with acroporas. I came across another thread in the SPS forum (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-cant-u-keep-sps.670707/) and decided to give some things a try.

I bought some mud, creatures, etc from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms and added to my tank. I also started dosing KZ ZEOBak 12 drops/week and 1mL/day of ZeoStart3

Fast forward about 1-2 months from starting this, and my Acros are growing. The white tips and encrusting. I'm pretty amazed. No STN, no RTN. Not just one acro growing, but they're all growing. My alk/cal demand gets higher as well. This is the best and healthiest my tank has looked.

I can't say for certain if the bacteria/Zeo enabled this, but, I do read on these forums a lot where people start off with already-cured and established live rock (e.g. from TampaBay Saltwater, or naturally collected, etc) and their tanks have had minimal problems, along with good coral growth...

I still dose the ZEOBak and ZeoStart3 the same amounts, and my acroporas are looking wonderful and still growing. I've stopped purchasing acros for now only because my other corals need/will need the space.

 

[bill-0308]

I had a hellish 2 yrs battling amphidinium dino tried everything spending money like it was going out of fashion, then came across a guy who tried the bacteria method he dosed fauna marin natural rebiotic and aquaforest bio s together and knocked them out of the tank i tried this method before throwing the towel in it took a few weeks but i can honestly say it worked now and then i get the odd spot of the dread on the rock just 1 or 2 but they dont come to anything more than that and sand is clear has been now for past 3 months.

 

[Auqaman]

I've been using dosing 10ml of bacter7 daily. My tank is only 8 months old and I'm battling a hair algae issue. I use a syringe in inject the bacter7 into the algae. The next day the hairs of the algae turn white and they're weakened, making it easier to remove off the rock

 

[ca1ore]

I like to see it this way:


we all add frags that quickly in time alter the balance of whatever initial bacteria we thought we created in place

where the frags came from/sets a large degree of import strains that are suited to actual reef life.

no matter how we begin a reef, or add to it, water shear and natural space competition and biofilm creates limitations on how much your live rock can hold...being post cycle means they're full

and whats not adhered gets skimmed as aggregate, or lodged in a sink, its not helping tremendously vs simply manually cleaning out clogging waste, re exposing work surfaces to waste water, and upping your actual nitrification through cleaning and not through repeated retail purchases, which are clogging or + mass additions


export is where bacterial management is at in my opinion
zoos regulate their giant filters by backflushing largely

export.


these tanks self regulate their own bac if you de clog them


not that specialized additives don't exist, but in 2021 what they do well is quick cycling, any of the maintenance stuff is getting ur cash

the microbial world is full of opposites.

export helps you manage bacteria the best, not import. clear out the proteins and slicks competing bacteria want to capitalize on so that your sheerest cleanest surface area is exposed to wastewater, and the nitrifying communities always adhered to that surface no matter how well you clean will be doing the best nitrification you can possibly attain.

our focus is always on bacteria in the hobby because that's the cash driver, they've already sold us the surface area.

the bottle bac they keep reselling us has no more vital space to attach, so its becoming exported

we need to be managing our surfaces for a strong reef... it’s not always about the additives

Sooooo .... is that a yes or a no! I lost my decoder ring so not really sure LOL.

 

[brandon429]

Yes no only robs me of rationale for the choice when answers come that way

 

[don_chuwish]

Whatever is under my fingernails.

 

[NYBumkin]

I like to see it this way:



no matter how we begin a reef, or add to it, water shear and natural space competition and biofilm creates limitations on how much your live rock can hold...being post cycle means they're full, live rocks are full on bacteria post cycle and don’t stack higher or thicker with more bioload, as the masses would claim.

whats not adhered gets skimmed as aggregate, or lodged in a sink, its not helping tremendously vs simply manually cleaning out clogging waste, re exposing work surfaces to waste water, and upping your actual nitrification through cleaning and not through repeated retail purchases, which are clogging or + mass additions


export is where bacterial management is at in my opinion
zoos regulate their giant filters by backflushing largely

export.


these tanks self regulate their own bac if you de clog them


not that specialized additives don't exist, but in 2021 what they do well is quick cycling, any of the maintenance stuff is getting ur cash

the microbial world is full of opposites.

export helps you manage bacteria the best, not import. clear out the proteins and slicks competing bacteria want to capitalize on so that your sheerest cleanest surface area is exposed to wastewater, and the nitrifying communities always adhered to that surface no matter how well you clean will be doing the best nitrification you can possibly attain.

our focus is always on bacteria in the hobby because that's the cash driver, they've already sold us the surface area.

the bottle bac they keep reselling us has no more vital space to attach, so its becoming exported

we need to be managing our surfaces for a strong reef... it’s not always about the additives

I like the sound of this. What do you do in this regard for rock work in the display?