bacteria after a tank is cycled

[AirIck]

I apologize if this is the wrong forum and if it should be under a different topic. My tank has finished cycling and I have had fish in the tank for about 1 month. My question is, should I continue to add some sort of bacteria to the tank since it is new? If so, what should I look for when adding bottled bacteria.

 

[LIreefguy]

this hobby is expensive enough, i wouldn't waste money on bacteria a bottle after your tank is fully cycled. this by know means that your tank is fully matured, imo it takes about a year for that to happen, but as far as buying bacteria, not necessary. your tank hasplenty on its own

 

[Garf]

this hobby is expensive enough, i wouldn't waste money on bacteria a bottle after your tank is fully cycled. this by know means that your tank is fully matured, imo it takes about a year for that to happen, but as far as buying bacteria, not necessary. your tank hasplenty on its own

I agree. Extra diversity will come with bacteria on corals, fish etc.

 

[brandon429]

new cycling science agrees. bacteria in water do fine without our additions, I have handy an example of a reef tank self cycling in 3-4 months of just sitting in running reef water, and it passes api ammonia oxidation proofing just like a paid bottle bac cycle.


on top of our fan blades in a home, proof of bac feed.

on top of blinds, baseboards etc = same. our homes feed reefs just fine just on a slower scale as that danger isn't super concentrated but it still has C N P etc and proteins to degrade into trace ammonia.

the chemistry of conversion between home cross contamination into filter bacteria food is ideal for this forum. its always been my opinion every time we input arms/hands and surfaces for tank work we're bringing in millions of bacteria that slough off and aren't suited to aquatics so they die, degrade and become collective trace feed along with ten other subtle inputs.

 

[Tired]

The bacteria already in your tank will maintain their population and increase as needed. No need to add more.

 

[SillyReef]

Make that rock live by cycling and forget the instant reef juice.

 

[Dan_P]

I apologize if this is the wrong forum and if it should be under a different topic. My tank has finished cycling and I have had fish in the tank for about 1 month. My question is, should I continue to add some sort of bacteria to the tank since it is new? If so, what should I look for when adding bottled bacteria.

You can stop buying bottled bacteria. The only kind that are ”proven” useful are the ones that start nitrification in a new system. After that, bottled bacteria benefits are dubious and vendors share no scientific data justifying the purchase of their product

 

[reefluvrr]

I apologize if this is the wrong forum and if it should be under a different topic. My tank has finished cycling and I have had fish in the tank for about 1 month.

Could you share info about if you used dry rock vs live rock. Dry sand vs Live sand for your set up?
This could potentially help you with struggles with keeping corals later...
I am not a pro at this but think that the more diverse of bacteria you have, the better your tank should look.

Recently Bulk Reef Supply came out with a video about Biomes.

Are We Cycling All Wrong? What Is "Biome" in a Reef Tank? : This Week in Reefing:​

Hope this may help.

 

[olonmv]

When I was goin through the Cloudy water after cycling my LFS suggested to add stability by seachem…. I added a capful everyday until the cloudyness went away and a capful after every water change in my 13.5 gallon tank. It helped.

 

[Auquanut]

Here's my take on cycling. Once you are able to to maintain a zero ammonia level, the nitrogen cycle is complete. Biodiversity, which is ultimately required for a mature tank is a different matter.

Adding more nitrifying bacteria after the initial cycle is unnecessary in my opinion. It will replicate on it's own as long as you don't increase the bioload drastically at one time.

As far as biodiversity is concerned, if you started with established live rock, you may have a certain amount of a "jump start". Live rock introduces bacteria's and micro fauna that you may not be able to get from a bottle. Regardless, as you add fish, inverts and corals, you bring in other strains of bacteria and other micro fauna that may or may not be beneficial, but add to the biodiversity of the system.

Over time, the bacteria's and micro fauna (whether from a bottle, or introduced) will battle for a balance in the tank. May take weeks, may take over a year depending on the system. Eventually, some semblance of equilibrium will occur. When that happens, the stability of the system tends to even out.

 

[brandon429]

This thread is unique, very rarely online does a group of aquarists agree bacteria don't need constant help from us to handle things they're adapted to in water. to me it shows this chemistry forum giving the most updated and accurate knowledge to aquarists, make this post on other forums/FB/link here and we can see if recommends to prevent starvation are made.


I found it standout that in the tanks that aquabiomics sampled/they posted analysis results online and had used cycling bottle bac at the start--> the initial strains added were totally replaced with resident biota from the surrounding environment in every case


my interp: any of the cycling mixes work for cycling, use one. Whatever you add from dosing multiple bottles isn't an ideal mixed heterotrophic stew, its just going to be phased out shortly via natural mechanisms. stronger bacteria will find a way in, feed just fine, and overpower added strains for vital space which are less adapted. all without us... regardless of what we give or withhold. they'll do it pretty quick too, but not as fast as we like to add bioload to a new tank so the concentrates are legit for round one.