How to keep bacteria good?

[Brooke24]

I bought my nitrifying bacteria from dr Tim’s, but I won’t be filling my tank up for about five days. I didn’t expect it to get here this fast, it was only one day since I ordered it. How do I keep the bacteria alive in the mean time of me waiting to fill my tank?

 

[Alphadave248]

I’m fairly certain that there is a expiration date on the bottle itself? If not I think 5 days is at the threshold of its optimization of use. As long as it stays sealed I believe 5 days isn’t the end of the world

 

[Brooke24]

I’m fairly certain that there is a expiration date on the bottle itself? If not I think 5 days is at the threshold of its optimization of use. As long as it stays sealed I believe 5 days isn’t the end of the world

Yeah, it says October 2021, but it not opening the bottle so I wanted to make SURE I didn’t waste 40$ haha. It was so much cheaper on Chewy.com, but there was no insulation or anything, so the bottle is pretty cold. Should I refrigerate it, or keep the bottle room temp?

 

[Alphadave248]

Oh! No keep room temp in a cabinet or simply on the counter until ready to use! Dr. Tim’s is hardy

 

[Brooke24]

Oh! No keep room temp in a cabinet or simply on the counter until ready to use! Dr. Tim’s is hardy

Thank you so much!!!!!

 

[Tony R.]

You 100% want to refrigerate that. Putting bacteria in the fridge stops a lot of their life processes making them not overgrow/multiply/die. It's like a pause button for them. Keep in fridge until you need it.

 

[Brooke24]

You 100% want to refrigerate that. Putting bacteria in the fridge stops a lot of their life processes making them not overgrow/multiply/die. It's like a pause button for them. Keep in fridge until you need it.

Alright! Have you kept it refrigerated it before?

 

[Tony R.]

Alright! Have you kept it refrigerated it before?

Absolutely! As we speak I even have a bottle of Fritz in the fridge incase I needed to start a hospital tank or something.

To further ease your worries I'll tell you this, I work in a lab and when our bacterial cultures aren't actively growing in the incubators we throw the petri dishes in a fridge to make sure they don't overgrow. It's very handy for something like holiday breaks and things to keep everything from croaking. For a reference point these are bacteria that grow at 37C (98.6F) and they do fine on weeks at a time in the fridge. When we want to start another culture we just scrape a colony off, put it on a fresh dish, back into the incubator and its all peachy.

 

[Brooke24]

Absolutely! As we speak I even have a bottle of Fritz in the fridge incase I needed to start a hospital tank or something.

To further ease your worries I'll tell you this, I work in a lab and when our bacterial cultures aren't actively growing in the incubators we throw the petri dishes in a fridge to make sure they don't overgrow. It's very handy for something like holiday breaks and things to keep everything from croaking. For a reference point these are bacteria that grow at 37C (98.6F) and they do fine on weeks at a time in the fridge. When we want to start another culture we just scrape a colony off, put it on a fresh dish, back into the incubator and its all peachy.

Thank you so much. worries solved

 

[Alphadave248]

Thank you so much!!!!!

You can decide but only refrigerate after opening if you don’t use the entirety of the bottle.

 

[Tony R.]

You can decide but only refrigerate after opening if you don’t use the entirety of the bottle.

Seems about right, home fridges are typically at 4C (40F) for what its worth.

 

[Brooke24]

You can decide but only refrigerate after opening if you don’t use the entirety of the bottle.

Oh, crap. I had it in the fridge, for about 8 hours. I hope the bacteria is alive

 

[fuelman]

Oh, crap. I had it in the fridge, for about 8 hours. I hope the bacteria is alive

It's best kept in the fridge till your ready to use it. The shelf life is twice as long as setting on the counter at room temperature. I have been using Dr Tim's for years & always keep it in the fridge. It just says do not freeze. Don't worry it's good. here's a picture of my fridge just now.

 

[ZoWhat]

OMG.... I could give you a 12hr dissertation on why every Reefer should be dosing Tetraselmis Phytoplankton Algae by brewing/culturing it yourself.

Spiking your tank with bacteria-in-a-bottle is not good for livestock. I compare it to starting a fire in your house's fireplace using 87octane gas from the gascan you keep in your garage lol

Use the search function to read past posts i have written about what I consider the "golden hidden secret" of reefing dosing Tetraselmis Phyto


.

 

[fuelman]

The key to setting up a successful aquarium is to quickly convert the fish waste to a non-toxic form. This is done by nitrifying bacteria. Under normal conditions it can take 30 to 45 days for these bacteria to become naturally established in a newly set-up aquarium.

Unfortunately, during this time period, ammonia and nitrite can increase to levels toxic to fish a common problem called New Tank Syndrome. DrTim's One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria are the result of the latest scientific research and are used by public aquariums and professionals around the world to control ammonia and nitrite.

• Eliminates new tank syndrome
• Instantly creates a bio filter
• Removes toxic ammonia and nitrite, naturally
• No sulfur or other offensive odors
• No wait needed
• 100% natural

Use when setting up a new tank, after a water change, cleaning your filter, when adding new fish and after a disease treatment to control ammonia and nitrite.

Good for 6 months at room temperature, 1 year at 50F (10C).
Keep refrigerated for longest shelf life.

Directions for Use:
SHAKE WELL BEFORE USING
FOR BEST RESULTS USE THE ENTIRE CONTENTS AT ONE TIME
Minimum dose 10 ml per 10 gallons of aquarium water.
Cannot be overdosed.
DO NOT FREEZE



here is a copy & paste from dr tim's website