Air Quality And Water Quality

[CriX098]

I'm going stir crazy waiting to see some signs of bacteria growth in my tank.

I bought some bacteria starter, API's StressZyme I think it is. Added that, did a 15% water change to make sure that my ammonia levels were non-toxic... thought that maybe I'm not adept at comparing the color bars from the test kit so now I'm pretty damn sure I'm around 3ppm ammonia but still no sign of nitrite. I'm trying to be patient but it's hard.

I live in Southern California and there was some significant fires near my house which left a good amount of soot deposited on my desk and keyboard which is next to the window. My water seems to be cloudier than when I first started after the initial settling period. I suppose this is a pretty unique case and most people probably haven't experienced large forest fires near their houses. Does anyone know about the soot and how bad it is? I'm assuming it isn't so bad, at least nothing that a couple large water changes can't fix.

Also, can the cloudiness come from a flare up of diatoms? I think I read that somewhere. I would be happy to have diatoms! At least there would be somethign LIVING in my tank! AHH!!!

 

[ollyhtafc]

I posted about that stresszyme today and someone replied telling me it's basically rubbish, the bacteria required need oxygenated water to survive being one of the problems (and obviously the little pot doesn't have it).

I only just put some in my tank today so i can't say if it definativelly works or not but...thinking about it...it seems unlikely.

 

[CriX098]

Right, I read elsewhere that people didn't see how it could work unrefrigerated, etc etc.

But the bottle says "Refrigeration Not Required" and (not to sound naive) but I don't think API would blatantly sell a product they knew would not work under standard shipping and store stocking protocols.

I don't know the chemical makeup of the soup those bottled bacteria are in but I can only assume there is enough food, including oxygen, for them to survive. The bottle only claims the presence of 1 million bacteria in the bottle which sems quite low. Maybe it is a total con job?

That would warrant a class action lawsuit? I hope that's not the case.

Anyone have a microscope? I'd check for live bacteria from the bottle myself if I had one.

 

[ollyhtafc]

Which bacteria is it though...that's the important bit i think...

What you said is exactly what you thought, and they were for sale in petsmart,petathome whatever you want to call it which is a big chain so i assumed API would have to prove it works to be sold there.

The only way to tell is try it i supose!

 

[Will91]

Biospira! It actually works.

 

[CriX098]

Just did some research on Biospira. Some people seem to like it and some others not so happy about it. More positive than negative reviews from what I've seen though.

I'm also interested in SuperBac which one user seemed to absolutely love. For one the SuperBac comes with an estimated shelf life, something the other brands are sorely missing. Also, there seems to be some skepticism (at least on the Internet... which mean it could probably be ignored) of the legitimacy of the Biospira science and their patenting of particular nitrifying bacteria. Whatever the case, it seems that all of these cycling accelerators are legitimate, although you may end up purchasing them in an expired state.

I'm going SuperBac hunting after work today.

Here's the site: http/www.naturbac.com/nbhome.html