jez
09-07-07, 19:49
Hi
Had a chance for a long and rambling conversation with Claude at Fauna Marin about the results from the bacteria’s and why some people get a cultivation and some not and what are you actually getting.
The key points from Claude and his suppliers were this.
Ultra Bio is made as 11/13 separate bacteria strains approx 60/40 split between ammonia removers and nitrate removers. These strains are suspended and mixed at time of production it would be near impossible to cultivate this bacteria formulation and get all of the species growing, in fact you will be lucky to get one may be two at best. These will almost certainly be the more vigorous species that remove ammonia and nitrite, nitrospira etc.
The chances of getting a viable culture are limited by the choice and concentration of food elements. A few drops of bio and Ultra Bak is not the right food to activate the suspended bacteria and it is more likely that elements in the tank water are feeding the culture rather than the Ultra Bak well at least initially. Ultra Bak was developed to feed increasing large masses of bacteria to reduce organics and wastes in the aquarium which once established from the probiotic will utilise the elements provided by Ultra bak to multiply quickly.
Even if you do by chance get a useful culture of bacteria’s from the Ultra bio it will quickly in a culture vessel (Milk jug or coke bottle) become a monoculture as one vigorous bacteria will dominate.
The suspended bacteria that are supplied as a concentrate to FM are very tough and a warm shop is not going to cause them major problems. They are in suspension due to the high concentration of food in the bottle and the high bacteria count. I may have confused this a bit due to Claude’s grasp of English, perhaps Icky pimp might enlighten us on how they store these types of product.
As for the efficacy and safety of using this culture method to reduce nitrates it seems very much a roll of the dice and as Claude made clear today lowering nitrates in 10 days is really stressing for animals that have adapted to the higher levels. It should be done much slower.
As I have raised before using live rock in the culture to me is simply not a good idea as it could be quite feasible to culture a real nasty bacteria that could damage fish or coral health.
Returning to the issue of viable batches of the product it would seem that both batches currently in circulation are working fine. Although a few people have had difficulty culturing using the Scooby method but inlight of Claude’s comments on viability and food it would seem getting anything to culture is a bit hit or miss. As for the lowering of bacterial gloop on zeo and in sumps this may be due to a limitation in food sources such as phosphate. As the aquarium becomes more driven by the bacteria’s then certain elements needed for the high levels bacterial gloop may be depleted this is true of phosphates but equally applies to other elements needed for bacterial growth.
Hope this has given people a better view of what’s going on.
If you still have any questions or problems with the product then please either PM or post and I will get answers for you if they are beyond my knowledge.
Regards Jez
Had a chance for a long and rambling conversation with Claude at Fauna Marin about the results from the bacteria’s and why some people get a cultivation and some not and what are you actually getting.
The key points from Claude and his suppliers were this.
Ultra Bio is made as 11/13 separate bacteria strains approx 60/40 split between ammonia removers and nitrate removers. These strains are suspended and mixed at time of production it would be near impossible to cultivate this bacteria formulation and get all of the species growing, in fact you will be lucky to get one may be two at best. These will almost certainly be the more vigorous species that remove ammonia and nitrite, nitrospira etc.
The chances of getting a viable culture are limited by the choice and concentration of food elements. A few drops of bio and Ultra Bak is not the right food to activate the suspended bacteria and it is more likely that elements in the tank water are feeding the culture rather than the Ultra Bak well at least initially. Ultra Bak was developed to feed increasing large masses of bacteria to reduce organics and wastes in the aquarium which once established from the probiotic will utilise the elements provided by Ultra bak to multiply quickly.
Even if you do by chance get a useful culture of bacteria’s from the Ultra bio it will quickly in a culture vessel (Milk jug or coke bottle) become a monoculture as one vigorous bacteria will dominate.
The suspended bacteria that are supplied as a concentrate to FM are very tough and a warm shop is not going to cause them major problems. They are in suspension due to the high concentration of food in the bottle and the high bacteria count. I may have confused this a bit due to Claude’s grasp of English, perhaps Icky pimp might enlighten us on how they store these types of product.
As for the efficacy and safety of using this culture method to reduce nitrates it seems very much a roll of the dice and as Claude made clear today lowering nitrates in 10 days is really stressing for animals that have adapted to the higher levels. It should be done much slower.
As I have raised before using live rock in the culture to me is simply not a good idea as it could be quite feasible to culture a real nasty bacteria that could damage fish or coral health.
Returning to the issue of viable batches of the product it would seem that both batches currently in circulation are working fine. Although a few people have had difficulty culturing using the Scooby method but inlight of Claude’s comments on viability and food it would seem getting anything to culture is a bit hit or miss. As for the lowering of bacterial gloop on zeo and in sumps this may be due to a limitation in food sources such as phosphate. As the aquarium becomes more driven by the bacteria’s then certain elements needed for the high levels bacterial gloop may be depleted this is true of phosphates but equally applies to other elements needed for bacterial growth.
Hope this has given people a better view of what’s going on.
If you still have any questions or problems with the product then please either PM or post and I will get answers for you if they are beyond my knowledge.
Regards Jez