BikBok Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 I've been curious about this for a while. If beneficial bacteria in the filter media etc need oxygen and food to stay alive.. how do they survive in those bottles such as TLC and Stress Zyme that are sold to boost the biological filter. Some of the products have expiry dates several years away .. can they really last that long in a bottle ? product labelling says they contain millions of live bacteria! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr A Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 It's the subject of some debate. Would be interesting to see some independent lab reports - but the demand's probably not there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 Have a read of these two articles: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/nitrogen-cycle http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Bacteria_bottles,_do_they_work%3F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 They keep the bacteria in a suspended "spore" state, similar to the state that anthrax is in for Bio weapons. there is also a couple of extra chemicals used to prolong the lifespan as most bacterial spores are not as long lived as Anthrax. https://www.tlc-products.com/pdf/Patent1%20-%20A%20Method%20of%20Stabilizing%20Bacteria.pdf I use TLC products and they work, pretty much thats all that matters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 They keep the bacteria in a suspended "spore" state, similar to the state that anthrax is in for Bio weapons. there is also a couple of extra chemicals used to prolong the lifespan as most bacterial spores are not as long lived as Anthrax. https://www.tlc-products.com/pdf/Patent1%20-%20A%20Method%20of%20Stabilizing%20Bacteria.pdf I use TLC products and they work, pretty much thats all that matters thanks. I use and like TLC , was just wondering how it stays alive lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 It is easy enough to just let them establish naturally i find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 It is easy enough to just let them establish naturally i find. +1 If you have an established colony on enough media in the filter, you really don't need to add any more BB. I used to religiously dose BB in my tank but then I tried stopping and found no difference in water quality/ fish health so I just put that money towards other things (most likely the power bill and more fish lol). But I certainly never had any trouble with 'expired' BB either lol.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 +1 If you have an established colony on enough media in the filter, you really don't need to add any more BB. I used to religiously dose BB in my tank but then I tried stopping and found no difference in water quality/ fish health so I just put that money towards other things (most likely the power bill and more fish lol). But I certainly never had any trouble with 'expired' BB either lol.. just setting up an extra tank and was wanting to get the cycle on it's way and that got me thinking about the bottled bacteria and how it stays viable. But now I know ! Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Bacteria will only exist in a spore state if they are spore formers---some bacteria are and others are not---I am not sure about these ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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