Bactinetts

[chr15_8]

just wondering wheather anyone has used them?

im thinking of trying the out one my new tank

does anyone know roughly how much a dose costs?
and how far one dose goes?

thanks
chris

 

[fiskkeeperpro]

One dose costs about £5-6 i think and one pot treats up to 100l, ive heard good reviews on them but ive never tried them

will

 

[SJ2K]

Dont really know much about them apart from they've been referred to as the UK version of Bio-Spira, potentially a good product.

 

[Elaine2]

I used Bactinettes a couple of times when upgrading from a smaller to a larger tank and moving all of the fish, water filters etc. just to try and help the bacteria beds a little. I also used them on one occasion when a long power cut knocked off the filtration and I was concerned about losing bacteria. They seemed to help a bit but I certainly would not use them in the way some of the advterising blurb suggests for stocking a new tank immediately rather than going through the cycling and maturation process. They cost £5 a shot and - if I recall correctly - I added 3 lots when moving to a 240 litre tank from one about half the size. They are messy to get into the filter as they are like small, squidgy jelly balls and you have to get them into the system in something like 40 mins. (can't recall the time precisely, so if that is wrong my apologies). You also have to get a huge volume of the things into the filter, which can be a problem. If you do use them I found the easiest method was to open the pack and pour them into a sieve as you have to discard the liquid medium that they come in.

I personally found them better than the bottled bacteria products (none of which I have found that helpful) but, as stated, I would never trust any of these things for trying to set up an 'instant' tank, just something to help a little in times of disruption or change.

 

[Polenth]

I've used them on two tanks that had ammonia readings and nothing else. One tank (25l) was a fish in cycling tank. The other was fishless cycling (60l). Both tanks had UGFs and the bactinettes were added at the same time from the same pot.

The fish in tank cycled within a day. I tested after 24 hours to find no ammonia or nitrites and some nitrates. There have been no ammonia or nitrite spikes in that tank, so the cycling was stable. A side benefit was that the fish enjoyed throwing them around the tank.

The fishless cycling tank wasn't as good. After 24 hours the ammonia was all gone, there was a nitrite spike and some nitrates. The bacteria were working but couldn't keep up with the nitrites.

They definately speeded things up, but you need to watch for nitrite spikes.

 

[quickbricky]

didn't do much for me the tank was cycling without them for 2 weeks so i thought i would use them to finish the job off but the nitrites are the same so not that good im afraid.

 

[mark7616]

I fully stocked a 150g using soll bactinetts with big messy fish and had no problems at all I used 6 pots.

 

[chr15_8]

thanks people

might make a little journal about my experience with day by day test

chris

ps im going to try them this weekend (sunday) and buy the fish at the same time(will be 4-6 cichlids)

 

[Polenth]

didn't do much for me the tank was cycling without them for 2 weeks so i thought i would use them to finish the job off but the nitrites are the same so not that good im afraid.

If they did nothing at all it sounds like they were dead. That's the biggest trouble with them. It's easy to kill the bacteria if they're not handled properly and you never know for sure how they've been treated.

 

[pauly]

It's also difficult to get hold of them. Most of the LFS look at me as if I've just spat on their granny when I ask for them, and the stores that do sell them (usually kept in a dedicated fridge) hardly ever have them in stock.

 

[Squid]

The literature that I have read about this product indicates that you may still encounter a small nitrite spike after about 12 days or so. IMO I don't see it as a bad thing, just not something to rely on wholey.

If you are doing a fishless cycle, I believe it will speed up the process, and if you are cycling with fish anyway, it should reduce the ammonia spike and help a fair amount with the nitrite spike, so still better than not using it. I would still recommend using hard fish though.

In other words I would use it to support whatever process you are using to cycle the tank. I also expect it's quite usefull in emergencies.!

Squid

 

[quickbricky]

it worked wonders for the ammonia took that to 0 its just the nitrites that it hasn't seemed to work on

 

[chr15_8]

thanks again for the replys.

as said ill be using it on my cichlids tank. i have a external filter on my other tanks so if i need to i will swap half the media over to help etc

i dont really want to as i want a fresh setup with new stuff etc but if it starts to get dangeous then i'll put my fish first (like normal)

chris

 

[orange shark]

i tried usin it once in my fluval 2+ but as soon as i turned the filter on they all flew out! biggest waste of £5 i ever spent!

 

[Luketendo]

i tried usin it once in my fluval 2+ but as soon as i turned the filter on they all flew out! biggest waste of £5 i ever spent!

I suppose you could've lined the sides with sponge.