Cycling a Tank - Where does the friendly bacteria come from?

[SilverB]

I'm planning on setting up a 21 litre (5 gallon) nano early next year - I will be using RO water and remineralising.

One question I have is, where does the friendly bacteria come from? Does it need to be added or is it naturally found? (I assume if using RO water, there's unlikely to be a source there). What bacterial products for adding bacteria, would you recommend?

Secondly, I have a bottle of StressZyme but I've never been quite sure what it's exactly for?

 

[mcordelia]

I think it's safe to assume that if you're using RO water your cycle may take forever to establish. Home RO systems usually achieve 99.9% purity,so there's a chance that you might have one bacterium that makes it into your tank, buuuut, I think you're better off with bacteria from a bottle

Reading the forums, I see that people generally recommend tetra safe start. I was also looking at seachem's Website the other day and they have a bacterial starter which contains bacterial spores instead of live bacteria,so it is more shelf stable than many of the active bacteria brands. It might be a good product to consider if your locale has large temperature swings or you anticipate that the tetra product does not sell off the shelf quickly at your local store.

Finally, from what I understand, another "gold standard" product is Dr. tim's bacterial starter (it's got a product name that I don't remember right now).

Regarding stress zyme, I believe it's intended to protect the fish's slime coat, but not 100% sure. I will look it up if so have a chance and see if I learn anything about it.

 

[mcordelia]

Ok I looked up the stress zyme, and I'm not much wiser. It says it contains bacteria to "clean the tank" and API describes it as a "cleaner". The API cycling product is called API Quick Start, so I'm not sure if stress zyme contains small portions of nitrifying bacteria or not at all.

 

[StevenF]

One question I have is, where does the friendly bacteria come from?

Bacteria and algae are since cell organisms. Under the right conditions they can become airborne dust. which will eventuallly drift into your aquarium. How long it takes for it to settle in your aquarium is a question no one can answer.

I think it's safe to assume that if you're using RO water your cycle may take forever to establish.

Bacteria like all living things needs minerals to grow and reproduce. So in addition to ammonia and nitrite the bacteria will need potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, sulfur and about a dozen micronutrients. .So your RO water will have none of the minerals needed. I would advise lightly fertilizing the water and using a GH booster so that your GH is at least 1 degree. I also weekly add 6mg of sea salt per liter of water (6 part per million). Sea salt has a lot of trace nutrients in it. With proper GH hight fertilization and sea salt and source of clean ammonia you should be able to cycle the tank. So wnen the bacteria settles in to the tank it will have everything it needs to start growing and multiplying.

 

[Essjay]

I will be using RO water and remineralising.

I presume this means you intend using some type of remineralisation salts? Which brand did you have in mind?


I think Stress Zyme is supposed to contain the bacteria which break down fish poop, uneaten food etc and turn it into ammonia and carbon dioxide amongst other things.

 

[SilverB]

Sorry for the late response everyone, this week has been a bit of the week!

I presume this means you intend using some type of remineralisation salts? Which brand did you have in mind?


I think Stress Zyme is supposed to contain the bacteria which break down fish poop, uneaten food etc and turn it into ammonia and carbon dioxide amongst other things

I'm planning to use Shrimp Mineral GH/KH + for remineralising - I've seen that some have commented that the Seachem products can cause some mineral deficiencies either for the plants or the animals. I'm planning to stock Rasaboras (about 6-8) and maybe one Amano shrimp. I'm not sure if a Shrimp specific product will be the best for this though.

Sounds like I've been using the Stresszyme incorrectly (thinking it had bacteria in it )

 

[mbsqw1d]

Finally, from what I understand, another "gold standard" product is Dr. tim's bacterial starter (it's got a product name that I don't remember right now).

Yeh Dr Tim's 'One and Only' has a good track record. Dr Tim himself studied the bacteria responsible for nitrification within the aquarium, and found that alot of brands claiming to provide bacteria in a bottle were getting bad reviews because the companies were providing the wrong kind of bacteria. They were using the same bacteria that sewer water treatment companies use that require high levels of ammonia. The bacteria in our tanks is different, and rely on low levels of ammonia. As to how the bacteria magically ends up in our tanks, I'm not sure, I'm happy to believe its magic though ??‍??

 

[Fishiemang]

Psssst....

The bacteria are all around you right now......

They come in the airs.....

They come in the waters.....

They fall off of things.......

Look. Contrary to popular belief here, most of your BB come via your tap water. Nobody likes to think about where their water comes from, but it more than likely had some poop in it at some point, and will again. It is recycled. Some cities recycle water fron the sewer to the tap in water treatment plants. Most treat and dump into waterways that are then taken up, treated again, and sent down your pipes.

What is the major player in water treatment? Bacteria. They break down, via enzymes, the bad stuff in water, and make it ok to drink. Not all bacteria are our friends however. Prior to mass chemical treatment, there were things like dysentary and cholera. Water borne illness. You may have read some limited articles about listeria popping up. These are the bacterium they kill off. They try to get them all, but that is impossible. So whatever is left over lands in your tank. They don't just appear outta nowhere. Some can drift in with humidity. These are the ones in the air. They still come via water, just, mixed in the air.

This is why it baffles me that people think that there are no real colonies of bacteria in water columns. It flies in the face of how life works. Sure, they anchor in where they can, but, they float around as well.

 

[ClownLurch]

Pssssst. Silent cycle.

 

[StevenF]

I presume this means you intend using some type of remineralisation salts? Which brand did you have in mind?

I was specific in my post I used ordinary Sea Salt. Natural ocean Sea Salt has about 100 elements in it. including all that bacteria need. At a water concentration of 6ppm sea salt most of the nutrients are at trace levels while which is fine for bacteria and the GH booster and fertilizer helps to prep the tank for plants and fish.

 

[itiwhetu]

Just put a whole lot of live plant in your tank, wait until the plant starts growing (10 days ) add fish a few at a time.

 

[Essjay]

I was specific in my post I used ordinary Sea Salt.

I actually asked the question to SilverB who had said

I will be using RO water and remineralising.

so I asked which salts s/he intended using.