Bolstering biofilm for Aufwuchs eaters

[Magnum Man]

So, I have mentioned before, that I use Bacter AE to supplement my bio film, for my Hillstream Loaches ( I also do the same for Plecos, and Oto’s )… my Hillstream’s are thriving… but lately I’ve been thinking about going one step further… and starting to add some of the powdered “fry foods”
While we call them algae eaters… but in the wild, there is no “sterile” algae like most aquariums have, there are all kinds of critters living in the algae, lots are so small, that they are eaten at the same time as the algae, and that’s what Aufwuchs, actually is… by “dusting” a tank with smaller particles, than the fish eat directly, allows these to settle / stick to the biofilm on hard and soft scape, and the glass, allowing our “algae” eaters to eat them, when they are grazing these surfaces… the Bacter, is enzymes.. I also dust Bug Bites often, so these micro particles are in my biofilm… I would suspect just about any fry foods would be a welcome addition to the “algae” / Aufwuchs eaters… anyone doing that currently???

 

[MaloK]

Be careful with that, there's a risk for the filtration system. If you stop the filtration while dusting and let settle it helps a lot.

But if you are not stopping it and it fills with food dust on regular basis, it will turn your beautiful smelling sponges into rotten poisonous dead filth.

If you use a mechanical filtration stage, you will see what I mean soon.

 

[Magnum Man]

my hang on back filters are on each end, I add the powders to a shaker bottle, & pour it in the center of the tank, as far away from the filters as I can, & only supplement about once a week, or every other... the Bacter gets nasty ( stinky ) in the shaker bottle, if I don't wash it out within one day... I've been doing this for at least 6 months, and have cleaned my filters in that time, & not noticed any difference... agree though, that the powdered fry food, would be similar, & if that turned into something powdered aadded every other day, I would likely see a negative in the filter... I use a lot of light, & actually have an "algae grower" in the tank... a set of plant lights up against the glass, in a back corner shrouded by plants, so it's not distracting from the front, but grows extra algae in that corner... so my goal is not to actually have Aufwuchs on the sides, only supplement some of what is missing in the sterile tank algae...

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Be careful with that, there's a risk for the filtration system. If you stop the filtration while dusting and let settle it helps a lot.

But if you are not stopping it and it fills with food dust on regular basis, it will turn your beautiful smelling sponges into rotten poisonous dead filth.

If you use a mechanical filtration stage, you will see what I mean soon.

This is the problem I have, and why I don't use bacter AE or even flakes all the time. My tank has so much flow that the food gets sucked into the sponges before the critters can find it. And I don't feel like turning off and restarting my pumps every time I feed. But I am thinking about adding some AE once a week during water changes. That might be a good compromise.

 

[MaloK]

In my shrimp tank I use powdered food extensively and even if I stop the filter for 15 minutes when I feed.

My mechanical filter get shot in a few days, So I rinse it pretty often to keep as much as possible out of the ecosystem before it releases additional nutrients and toxins.

 

[Marc Pozz]

my hang on back filters are on each end, I add the powders to a shaker bottle, & pour it in the center of the tank, as far away from the filters as I can, & only supplement about once a week, or every other... the Bacter gets nasty ( stinky ) in the shaker bottle, if I don't wash it out within one day... I've been doing this for at least 6 months, and have cleaned my filters in that time, & not noticed any difference... agree though, that the powdered fry food, would be similar, & if that turned into something powdered aadded every other day, I would likely see a negative in the filter... I use a lot of light, & actually have an "algae grower" in the tank... a set of plant lights up against the glass, in a back corner shrouded by plants, so it's not distracting from the front, but grows extra algae in that corner... so my goal is not to actually have Aufwuchs on the sides, only supplement some of what is missing in the sterile tank algae...

May we see a picture of your set up. Always keen. Marc