On the subject of dosing

[Country joe]

Is it just me but don't you think some of the amounts of products you add to a tank seems excessive, I'm currently using aqua care bio boost. And for maintenance the instructions say half a cap full per 10 litres of water, now I have a 125 litre aquarium and if I even went with a lower figure, for gravel wood and rocks say 120 litres. For routine maintenance that would be 6 cap fulls, and one cap full is 5 mls.
That's 30 mls, now that seems a lot too me, or am I being over cautious.

 

[Essjay]

To be honest, any of it is too much. 'Bottled bacteria' products are not needed once a tank is cycled. You already have all the bacteria you need so you don't need to waste money adding any of these products. Maidenhead Aquatics website images say it's to "replenish bacteria whenever they become depleted (after water changes, changing filter media etc)" Water changes do not deplete bacteria as the bacteria are attached to surfaces not in the water. Changing filter media does deplete bacteria which is why media should be washed not changed. [Except for the white Juwel pads which don't have time to grow bacteria if they are changed frequently, and there are loads of bacteria in the rest of the media]

The only things you need to add to a fish tank are a dechlorinator if tap water contains chlorine or chloramine, and maybe a bit of plant fertiliser if there are live plants.

 

[Country joe]

To be honest, any of it is too much. 'Bottled bacteria' products are not needed once a tank is cycled. You already have all the bacteria you need so you don't need to waste money adding any of these products. Maidenhead Aquatics website images say it's to "replenish bacteria whenever they become depleted (after water changes, changing filter media etc)" Water changes do not deplete bacteria as the bacteria are attached to surfaces not in the water. Changing filter media does deplete bacteria which is why media should be washed not changed. [Except for the white Juwel pads which don't have time to grow bacteria if they are changed frequently, and there are loads of bacteria in the rest of the media]

The only things you need to add to a fish tank are a dechlorinator if tap water contains chlorine or chloramine, and maybe a bit of plant fertiliser if there are live plants.

Your right, ifell for it, after reading the great things it does for helping bacteria, will have to be a true Scot in the future and be cany.

 

[FranciscoB]

I have never used that product and I believe I never will. What do you use it for in the sense of “for maintenance”?
The product description speaks of reducing ammonia and nitrite. Your established BB do that for free. The rest (nitrate, hormones, other waste)….that’s the purpose of water changes.
8 oz for $10.99

 

[Country joe]

I have never used that product and I believe I never will. What do you use it for in the sense of “for maintenance”?
The product description speaks of reducing ammonia and nitrite. Your established BB do that for free. The rest (nitrate, hormones, other waste)….that’s the purpose of water changes.
8 oz for $10.99

Yes I know I fell for it, thinking these products are good. And as Essjay, and yourself have said you don't need them.
From now on I will stick to using a dechorinator and some plant fertiliser.

 

[GaryE]

The aquarium business is a fun case study. It reached high levels of technical efficiency by the turn of the century. Filters were workhorses that never needed new media, lights were good (though they got much better), etc. Once the tank was running, you needed cheap dechlorinator, and food.
So inefficiency was needed. Suddenly, filters needed inserts, bought a couple of times a year. That kept them generating cash after purchase. All kinds of bacterial supplements and water treatments hit the market, none of which were needed though many worked well doing the unnecessary. It's all about the invention of small revenue streams, since paying for things that work really well for years isn't a good way to feed a business.
We all fall for it. You're in good company.