Who else still use microbacter7?

[Fishingandreefing]

Who else still use it on a regular basis like after each water change or just a snake oil?

I had been using it for about two years, don’t know if it helps actually. I just ran out so I wonder since it’s not cheap.

I mainly want to use it to compact high nutirients. My tanks are 2-5 years old but all got high nutrients, phosphate at around .30 and nitrate 30ppm.

Thanks

 

[Midrats]

I used it for an extended period but came to the conclusion I was just wasting my money. I used it coupled with DIY marine snow.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Anyone else?

 

[ryanjohn1]

I’ve used almost a whole bottle. I’m not sure it does anything really. Over the course of about a year

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I was adding it regularly at first, then got lazy and stopped and noticed no difference.

In fact, almost anything I’ve ever added to my tank I’ve not noticed any difference when I start or stop. Some folks swear by it, or swear by some other additives, but I think folks give credit to the bottle when it’s in fact just good reef keeping, they should take the credit themselves and not give the credit to a bottle. It gives false impression to new hobbyists that bottles can fix anything.

 

[KrisReef]

Anyone else?

I have a couple of old bottles. I was using it per instructions, then stopped. Then one day I was at a LFS and bought a new bottle because I forgot I still had half stuck away in the garage. Now I have two.

One notable experience, I dosed it sloppily and the next day I had an incredible bacterial fog, skimmer overflow, bubbles everywhere. Since then I add a few drops now and then and am a lot more careful if I add it.

WHen I set up my wifes fish tank I used it sparingly as I moved rocks in and out (a hitchhiker anemone started to go viral). Once the nems were eliminated, and dang was that a crazy battle, I left one of the bottles in the stand and I added a few drops yesterday when I removed some chaeto. Following instructions was never a path I could stay on for very long.

I think it has a purpose, especially in new (young) tanks but once things are established it's just a nice drink for the filter feeders and an economic booster for the company. Support your local vendors, and advertisers on here, or by a good bottle of stuff for humans and drip that into your system for more measureable results outside the aquarium if you can't see anything happening using the other stuff.

I can't go so far to call it snake oil. MB7 can have an impact upon bacteria in a reef, as I noted from my careless OD example. I like to be careful to properly label other peoples products since they are all trying to make a buck, both the good suppliers and the shady slippery ones. Have you ever tried to oil a snake? I've seen a few die from spilled petroleum, their skin abosrbs the light ends fairly quickly and they don't tend to live long afterwards, ime.

Lots of GIFsnakes.

 

[Midrats]

That kid taking it on the nose is the best!

 

[merkmerk73]

Microbacter7 just reeks of "snake oil" to me

I try to dose things that are very simple in what they do - magnesium, trace elements, coral food - whatever.

Stuff that's like "this makes your tank better through the magic of essential oils" I'm iffy about

I've noticed all the vendors have a few good products and a few garbage products and you just have to figure out which is which

Brightwell has some great stuff...I don't know that MB7 is one of them.

 

[Midrats]

The use of way too many words and technical expressions on the label reeks of a parceltongue translation.

 

[John K]

This baffles me. Beyond starting a new system what are we expecting here?

A-supplementing strains of bacteria that cannot survive in our systems (if they did survive, then why would we need to keep adding more?)

B-Making up for lacking bacteria levels (bacteria proliferates incredibly quickly, it’s not lacking)

C- adding bio diversity (circle back to “A”)

D- feeding with carbon dosing to accomplish something? (What I wonder? Carbon dosing supplies organic carbon to carbon limited systems allowing increased proliferation of {existing} bacteria)

E- buying mr. Brightwell a vacation home? (This one seems consistent).

Huh?

 

[KrisReef]

A-supplementing strains of bacteria that cannot survive in our systems.

I think the idea is to support/select for strains that “do good” in our systems.

B-Making up for lacking bacteria levels

C- adding bio diversity (circle back to “A”)

D- feeding with carbon dosing to accomplish something?

E- buying mr. Brightwell a vacation home? (This one seems consistent).
………………………………………..

I think the best advice I have heard from people about adding things to our aquariums is to “only add things that you can measure.” (“Measure” as in testing before & after to see if the product produces the results claimed on the label.)

I started using MB7 with the recommendation from a trusted LFS buddy who said it would help move the ugly stage out of my tank when it was still a young tank. I didn’t think that it made a huge impact and there was no way to measure the results, if any. The tank didn’t get worse and slowly it aged and looked better.

“E” is not really measurable either but I do think that the Brightwell product line has many useful products and so I am OK with supporting the notion of E just to keep the production of this line available at the LFS.

If E is the only real purpose of the line then sooner or later the whole family will be subjected to the nose Karma shown in the picture posted earlier. I hope that fortune doesn’t come to me.

 

[John K]

"I think the idea is to support/select for strains that “do good” in our systems."

I have to question this though. Are we talking about beneficial bacteria that cannot survive in our systems? Trying to shift some biome balance away from it's natural outcome? Forcing something unsustainable to try to better "balance" something that won't actually stay balanced without eternal supplementation?

To me this seems like pouring money into our tanks to see a (maybe) benefit that won't last at all (or it would be pointless to keep adding it).

My money is on vacation home.