Nitrobacters Or Nitrospiras

[rdd1952]

I know that in most threads that discuss which bacteria is actually the nitrite oxidizing bacteria, people point to recent research that nitrospira is actually the NOB in a tank rather than nitrobacter which has always been thought to be the NOB. Products such as Bactinettes and Turbo Start claim to contain nitrobacter as the NOB and some people claim success with these products, especially Bactinettes. Also, there has been evidence referenced that strains of nitrifying bacteria have emerged that are immune to effects of chlorine and chloramine and that lots of people now run their tanks without using dechlorinator. So here is the question:

Is it posible that nitrospira is one of these stronger, immune strains that becomes the prevelant NOB in a tank when all things are equal but that the nitrobacters still do the job when introduced in a cycling aid but are possibly replaced over time by the nitrospiras? Obviously, for years, it was believed that nitrobacters did the job so surely that wasn't totally wrong.

 

[Bignose]

The reason nitrobacters were long believed to be the species is because that is what was identified from waster water treatment centers. And, yes they are NOB (nitrite oxidizing bacteria), so they perform the job. They just aren't the dominant species found in home aquaria. Nitrospira tends to be more efficient and faster growing in conditions typically found in home aquaria. Maybe they can't survive in an environment with all the other stuff that's in waste water, I really don't know. But, I know it was a surprise when this was first discovered. Hovanec thought he was going to discover a different strain of nitrobacter, not a whole new species. There actaully had been very little work done on nitrospira at that time.

 

[rdd1952]

So that would explain why Bactinettes seem to work, dispite the fact that they contain the "wrong" NOB. I would assume that over time, the nitrospira would gradually become dominant in the tank.

 

[Bignose]

Yeah, I think that that is right. It is a pretty complex process, which bacteria "wins" and I'm not sure anyone has bothered to study it in home aquaria. Maybe Marinelandlabs with Hovanec, but it may be industry secrets to them, so we may never see it.

 

[steelhealr]

I think this is a wonderful topic that befits this section of TFF and Bignose, excellent reply. In attempting to contribute, I found the following article. Look forward to discussing this with you. SH

Nitrospira-Like Bacteria Associated with Nitrite Oxidation in Freshwater Aquaria

 

[rdd1952]

Great article. I was particularly interested in what they had to say about the bacteria additives and was really surprised that they appeared to work (somewhat). But if the additive didn't contain nitrospira, how could it lead to such higher levels of nitrospira after 16 days? It's almost like the nitrobacter was being converted/replaced by nitrospira but at a higher rate simply because of the additive.

The results on the charts though don't look as though there was much difference in the final drop of nitrite to 0 or the increase in nitrate (almost identical) between the additive and non additive tanks. The nitrite dropped to 0 about 5 days sooner in the additive tank than the non additive one but for the first 25-26 days they almost mirrored each other. The difference over the next 8 to 10 days is hard to figure since the nitrate rates were so close together.

I am not good at reading these things though so maybe I'm missing something here.

 

[backtotropical]

The Department of Environmental Sciences and Biotechnology, Hallym University seem to have found that the dominant species (in waste water treatment plants, at least) likely depends on the level of nitrite concentration.

Effect of nitrite concentration on the distribution and competition of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in nitratation reactor systems and their kinetic characteristics.

I wonder if the same could be true of home aquaria, or maybe the levels realistically achieved in our aquariums is within the boundaries more suited to Nitrospira, and at higher levels not usually achieved in home aquaria, Nitrobacter would dominate. The article doesn't seem to specify.

Good Link, Steelhealr. I also found this one which is of interest.

Comparative analysis of nitrifying bacteria associated with freshwater and marine aquaria