Dosing bacteria to established reef?

[Iván Olalla]

Very interesting discussion. Would carbon dosing be as effective as dosing bacteria? Instead of adding more bacteria, maybe feeding the colonies already in there?

Good day Daniel! In the article i submitted for your review i adress part of this topic, any chance you checked it out?

The big issue here i think is trying to prevent a monoculture of certain strain of bacteria in our tank, diversity is key for long therm success, so adding bacteria could promote diversity depending on the type and strain we add and the one that´s becoming predominant in our reef tanks

 

[Kenneth Wingerter]

Interesting discussion. Don't take the following as downplaying the importance of bacteria (of course). But so far as I study aquarium microbiomes, it appears to me that most of the things we do to our tanks impact the bacterial community.

Except adding bottled bacteria. I can find , so far, no evidence that any bottled bacteria persist in the aquarium for any period of time at all.

I suggest if people want to modify the amount or types of bacteria in their tank, that almost any other strategy (e.g. nutrient dosing or adding live sand) has more evidence supporting it.

Hi AB. What species/types (in bottled products) have you tested?

 

[juboy27]

Is it possible to dose too much bacteria during a start up? I got a bit overexcited during my 4 month cycle and does way more than necessary. I'm at about 8 months now and struggle to keep detectable levels of nitrates. I have had to completley stop running my skimmer and I'm having to dose nitrates daily to stay at 2ppm.

I have the same problem after battling cyano bacteria with the good bacteria

 

[brandon429]

Sales trick of the millennia


‘Prevent monoculture by dosing a monoculture on repeat’

anyone reading: when you add cycling bacterial dosers from a bottle to a cycled system thinking it’s diversifying, they don’t remain very long, or become part of permanent resident biota. They are cycled out as alternating generations of actually selected bacteria take the helm


your water changes, skimming, floc catch in mats of filters removes them slowly from the water column and replaces suspended characters with the items that shear off rocks over time


what resides in bioslicks on rocks destined to be sheared in daily sloughing and growth is a function of vital space regulation, your home biota exchange and hard scape input items, you can’t dose from a bottle to diversify using cycling bacteria. Your cash will outflow from your pockets and you’ll feed good, however.

source for claims: read dna study posts from aquabiomics on newly cycled bottle bac systems vs how they read on month 18.

compare those posts to dna studies on month 18 from systems that never dosed bottle bac; such as live rock skip cycle setups.

 

[Neil Cohen]

I have been using 100% NSW since I moved here about a year and a half ago because it is in my back yard but for most of the life of the tank I used ASW like everyone else.

I used to add maybe 10 gallons of NSW a few times a year if I was ambitious and went to get it.
But I have always added mud from a bay or lagoon for bacteria along with any pods I could collect.

I am guessing, but I have a strong feeling that is one reason my tank is almost 50 years old and has no problems.

I am also guessing if that has anything to do with the health of the fish or the fact that I don't have to quarantine.
I "think" the mud along with the bacteria in the live food such as worms I feed along with fresh frozen food like clams is the secret to success and the lack of bacteria in the water and the guts of the fish is the reason for the tank crashes and the need for a disease forum.
I just take a handful of this mud at low tide and throw it in with no fanfare. I also have never has any pests that I had a problem with. Of course I pick out any crabs and seagulls.
During high tide the water here is 8' deep.


From the sound or ocean?

 

[Paul B]

That was the Sound. I wanted mud and the ocean is mostly sand

 

[Reefbuds]

I add fritzyme 9 and microbacter 7 after each weekly water change. Seems to keep the bacteria populations healthy and thriving

 

[brandon429]

When you would NOT buy or use bottled bacteria

We know that the sales machine behind bottle bacteria needs a counter balance. let's discuss here specific times we would not click buy, times we wouldnt add oxygen-competing bulk organisms to a reef tank. 1. anytime you are dealing with display tank rocks that are cycled All common...

www.reef2reef.com