Recommended Reef Bacteria and is it required.

[brendokae]

Hello Everyone,
Probably one of the most ongoing expensive things in the hobby for me is dosing bacteria, currently I dose continuum Microbacter Clean and and Continuum Gen M. I dose 80 mill a week of microbacter clean alone as per instructions which makes it quite expensive me, I have a few general questions does everyone the has a reef dose Bacteria, Is it just snake oil as you should already have a population, How many people us this product compared to Dr Tim's etc. I just want some expert thoughts on the subject. To me I can understand everything else and where the money goes but with bacteria it just feels like you are throwing it away.

 

[KrisReef]

Save your money for frags. If you want to feed coral, dose plankton.

 

[Dan_P]

Hello Everyone,
Probably one of the most ongoing expensive things in the hobby for me is dosing bacteria, currently I dose continuum Microbacter Clean and and Continuum Gen M. I dose 80 mill a week of microbacter clean alone as per instructions which makes it quite expensive me, I have a few general questions does everyone the has a reef dose Bacteria, Is it just snake oil as you should already have a population, How many people us this product compared to Dr Tim's etc. I just want some expert thoughts on the subject. To me I can understand everything else and where the money goes but with bacteria it just feels like you are throwing it away.

A few thoughts.

Adding bottled nitrifying bacteria to a new aquarium does establish a population of nitrifying bacteria. Product claim equals reality.

All other bacteria product claims are likely false, misleading, mistakes, etc. I currently classify them as snake oil and I would recommend never using them.

There is absolutely no way that you can determine whether the product contains active bacteria or whether the bacteria do anything in your aquarium not even whether they live after dosing.

 

[brendokae]

A few thoughts.

Adding bottled nitrifying bacteria to a new aquarium does establish a population of nitrifying bacteria. Product claim equals reality.

All other bacteria product claims are likely false, misleading, mistakes, etc. I currently classify them as snake oil and I would recommend never using them.

There is absolutely no way that you can determine whether the product contains active bacteria or whether the bacteria do anything in your aquarium not even whether they live after dosing.

Awesome, Thank you, I was thinking along the same lines.

 

[LARedstickreefer]

Try getting some true live rock from the ocean instead of bottled bacteria. It contains much more diversity than anything on the shelf. Even rubble rock into your sump would probably work well.

-Matt

 

[Reef Puncher]

So i used to dose bacteria when i had dino infestation. as it helps increase biodiversity. but now that my tank is clean and established i phased it out. well i phased out the daily dosages. now i still use it, microbacter 7, or sometimes dr tims ecobalance, i mix it up, and use it ONLY when im feeding my corals. i make my own coral food with either reef roids, benepets, or some powdered mix, and mix it with a little live phytoplankton and a capful or two of bacteria. the reason for this is i read a scientific study that said corals actually can use or consume that bacteria during feeding and it helps the corals feeding process. So now im probably using just a little, twice a week during feeding time. its not that expensive when used that way and i like to think its benefical as my corals look great.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

So i used to dose bacteria when i had dino infestation. as it helps increase biodiversity. but now that my tank is clean and established i phased it out. well i phased out the daily dosages. now i still use it, microbacter 7, or sometimes dr tims ecobalance, i mix it up, and use it ONLY when im feeding my corals. i make my own coral food with either reef roids, benepets, or some powdered mix, and mix it with a little live phytoplankton and a capful or two of bacteria. the reason for this is i read a scientific study that said corals actually can use or consume that bacteria during feeding and it helps the corals feeding process. So now im probably using just a little, twice a week during feeding time. its not that expensive when used that way and i like to think its benefical as my corals look great.

I pretty much suspect that bottled bacteria mostly ends up being coral food for me.

That's a benefit I don't think can be argued against.

 

[MnFish1]

Hello Everyone,
Probably one of the most ongoing expensive things in the hobby for me is dosing bacteria, currently I dose continuum Microbacter Clean and and Continuum Gen M. I dose 80 mill a week of microbacter clean alone as per instructions which makes it quite expensive me, I have a few general questions does everyone the has a reef dose Bacteria, Is it just snake oil as you should already have a population, How many people us this product compared to Dr Tim's etc. I just want some expert thoughts on the subject. To me I can understand everything else and where the money goes but with bacteria it just feels like you are throwing it away.

I would not dose bacteria - except if you're starting a tank. Have never seen the need for it. It would be an interesting poll - how many people with successful tanks dose bacteria routinely. A picture of your tank might help

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

A few thoughts.

Adding bottled nitrifying bacteria to a new aquarium does establish a population of nitrifying bacteria. Product claim equals reality.

All other bacteria product claims are likely false, misleading, mistakes, etc. I currently classify them as snake oil and I would recommend never using them.

There is absolutely no way that you can determine whether the product contains active bacteria or whether the bacteria do anything in your aquarium not even whether they live after dosing.

You can easily find out if there is live bacteria with a compound microscope.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Get some live rock that looks similar to this and call it a day. Thousands of species that cant be cultured in a lab are on each piece.

 

[Cool tangs]

I don't personally dose bacteria as I just can't see the need or value on a hobbyist level. Now not saying that some species of bacteria might have some benefits to fixing a solution or some kind of health benefits overall. But my argument would be, what's really in the bottle, how do you know it's alive or at least the manufacturer guarantee it and why on earth would I need to dose it daily? Sounds like marketing to me sadly.