Automatic Dr. Tim's Waste Away Dosing?

[jabx1]

Has anyone ever used a dosing pump to dose Dr. Tims Waste away?

I have used it in the past with great results and am thinking this might be an easy way to add it a few times/week automatically. My rocks are always covered with a thin layer or bacteria/slime/fuzz and it really takes away from the beauty of the tank.

I have tried the waste away sticks they sell that promise constant dosing for a couple weeks but they don't work in my opinion.

I am thinking of placing some rigid tubing in the Dr. Tim's bottle and adding a small stir bar. I will have the stir bar on a timer and spin for a few minutes before dosing starts. I will probably have this scheduled for night time and will shut off the skimmer until morning as instructed.

The other option I was thinking of was biting the bullet and buying a UV sterilizer which may or may not solve this slimy rock problem.

What you think?

 

[Dan_P]

It seems unusual to need to continuously dose bottled bacteria to an aquarium. Normally, aquaria do not need such products.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree. It's fine to do, but I don't see a reason for ongoing additions. IMO, the bacteria will just become filter feeder food.

 

[jabx1]

Can anyone ID the stuff covering my rocks? At first I thought it was bacteria due to low nutrients but now my nutrients are in check and its still here.

Would UV Sterilizer help with this?

 

[brandon429]

I would never purchase waste away nor use it for any action in reefing. I would handle invasions using any other means, based on studies done using waste away it seems like a complete gimmick. the studies using people's reef tanks didn't show it helping.