Do commercially available bacteria supplements work?

[Lebowski_]

By work, I mean, are the bacteria viable and living, and are they useful species?

Brightwell has an entire line which does not require refrigeration - Microbackter7, Microbacter Clean, etc.

Dr. Tim famously has his line of start up and maintenance geared bacteria.

Ftitz is another one, which interestingly, seems to require the most care (most companies in Canada require overnight shipping when purchasing).

 

[piranhaman00]

Yes they do, I use MB7 for maintenance and Biospira for start up, there is a member here who is on a crusade to end these but they work and work quite well.

 

[Lebowski_]

Yes they do, I use MB7 for maintenance and Biospira for start up, there is a member here who is on a crusade to end these but they work and work quite well.

I believe they work as well, as I've seen people use them to great success on this forum. But the thing is, I don't really know how to determine they are working. I guess I am wondering if anyone has even verified if they are indeed alive in the bottle, and also verify that they live on in the tank once added.

 

[mckinney0171]

I concur on MB7 and I also use clean weekly as a supplement. I’ve never had issues with cyano or dinos (nuisance algae also knock on wood) when dosing these products on a schedule.

 

[Oldreefer44]

I believe that it is still an open question. I do use them but cant say for sure that i know they help. A lot of research and testing is happening around this subject so expect to hear more in the near future.

 

[Tom nhia]

I believe they work as well, as I've seen people use them to great success on this forum. But the thing is, I don't really know how to determine they are working. I guess I am wondering if anyone has even verified if they are indeed alive in the bottle, and also verify that they live on in the tank once added.

The easiest way to verify that they are alive would be to put it in under a microscope. But remember some of those bacteria in a bottle are dormant others are sold as "fresh and alive" but they definitely work. Instant cycle for me when I use them and i have noticed a bit less algae when i dose the "more aggressive" strains

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

From everything I’ve seen, at least Frtiz-Zyme TurboStart 900, Biospira, and Dr. Tim’s One and Only all work for cycling (I don’t know what the point of dosing nitrifying bacteria would be, but I assume they’d do something if dosed).

Outside of those three, there’s some debate if any of the other bacteria products do anything meaningful or not regardless of if they’re used for cycling or dosing (I haven’t looked into them enough to have a solid basis for an opinion on them though).

 

[GARRIGA]

BioSpira worked for me. Have used MB7 but clueless to effectiveness. I’m just believing it has heterotrophic bacteria and more of a placebo than based on fact. Perhaps one day I’ll cycle with it and confirm it works. However, MB7 likely introduced heterotrophic since I don’t believe BioSpira contains that and I was cycling nitrates prior to introducing life. Did use NoPox and don’t know if that has the required heterotrophic but do know that just using these three products plus ammonium chloride and no other additions not only cycled my ammonia and nitrites but also nitrates. Seems like proof enough to me.

Edit:

Checked my records and I was testing nitrites (why best keep records, I’m not going to remember everything) and when I was reading Nitrates above 160 there was 3ppm because I kept stress testing the system by not just continuing to add ammonium chloride to confirm it was cycled but to increase the dosage to see how far I could take it plus establish a larger biological filter as far as holding capacity.

Once nitrites were zero my nitrates read 80 until I used NoPox to get it down to 10 without a WC. Fact is that post my experiment with dropping salinity down to 12.6 to introduce Sailfin Mollies I e not done a single WC. That was around October 12th 2021. Have relied on bacteria to solve nutrients along with adding MB7 and NoPox. Although both were stopped this February for further experiments.

The power of bacteria is amazing if we nurture it and let it stabilize.

 

[Spare time]

Yes but it depends on what you are trying to do.

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

As far as nitrifying bacteria for new set-ups, the debate is how much it helps. I think it’s clear that it is adding bacteria, but is it colonizing on surfaces at rate faster than nature would by itself?

I didn’t add any bottled bac to a fishless cycle, just ghost feed and it cycled just as quick as anytime I’ve used bottled bac.

Call it unscientific or just anecdotal, but anyone can run this experiment themselves. I’d be surprised if everyones results were drastically different from mine, but maybe.

I will say, if I was selling aquarium products, I’d probably want a selling solution to the “new tank syndrome” which every new reefer will experience, feel pressure to fix the ugly or cycling problem. Offering a product to satisfy this urge, is a classic sales strategy. Even if the product was placebo, customers would buy it because they FEEL like it did something. Combine that urge with our cultures need for quick fixes and obsession with buying stuff, it’s obvious the customer wants to buy an instant solution. In reality, nature was going to do its thing regardless of the bottled bac. I’m not saying this is actually the case (placebo), but if it was, that’s GENUIS.

 

[piranhaman00]

You can add biospira to a brand new tank , brand new rock, with a shot of ammonia and the next morning you are fully cycled for fish. Corals take longer due to other growth occurs g

 

[JohnNYC8]

By work, I mean, are the bacteria viable and living, and are they useful species?

Brightwell has an entire line which does not require refrigeration - Microbackter7, Microbacter Clean, etc.

Dr. Tim famously has his line of start up and maintenance geared bacteria.

Ftitz is another one, which interestingly, seems to require the most care (most companies in Canada require overnight shipping when purchasing).

There's tons of information in the thread: Bacteria in a Bottle, Myth or Fact. (Sorry I can't paste a link from this computer)

Everything from here down is purely anecdotal.

There's a lot of debate about the topic. Jake Adams from the Reef Builders youtube channel has a series where he built and populated a nano reef in one day. He added Dr. Tim's One and Only to the tank. He added corals and fish in the first 24 hours and didn't have any major short-term or long-term issues.

Jake (RIP) was a very experienced reefer and there were other contributing factors such as live sand and the addition of livestock so it's hard to say if the One and Only kicked off the ammonia nitrogen cycle.

There's also a line of thought that the ammonia readings people are getting with standard test kits are overstating how much harmful ammonia is actually present. The supporting evidence here is that the issues seen with fish from a "bad" or "stalled" cycle aren't ammonia-related. People are using more advanced sensors to more accurately measure these levels but there isn't enough data to draw a conclusion. This obscures the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the products.

Personally, I used Dr Tim's One and Only, plus live sand, Nature's Ocean water, and "live" rock (it was the dry type so I don't think it does much) and I was clearing ammonia in the first 24 hours. Without a strict experimental set-up there's no way for me to say what kicked things off in my tank. Furthermore, if it's marketing then I fell for it because I re-dosed with Fritz with the idea that "more beneficial bacteria is better" but it was probably unnecessary.

The Fritz I received was refrigerated and the One and Only was at room temperature. If it was the One and Only that kicked things off then there were viable bacteria in the bottle at room temperature.

 

[Azedenkae]

By work, I mean, are the bacteria viable and living, and are they useful species?

Brightwell has an entire line which does not require refrigeration - Microbackter7, Microbacter Clean, etc.

Dr. Tim famously has his line of start up and maintenance geared bacteria.

Ftitz is another one, which interestingly, seems to require the most care (most companies in Canada require overnight shipping when purchasing).

Here's one study done by a member of this forum: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bacteria-in-a-bottle-myth-or-fact.403226/.

Tldr; yes, they can work, but it does depend on the product.

The best one is FritzZyme TurboStart 900, and from my experience this is true. I have never had a tank take longer than a week to cycle with this product (or 700, for freshwater aquariums).

From a theoretical perspective, at least products containing nitrifiers have no reason not to work. Nitrifiers are very resilient and should have zero issues chilling (no pun intended) in a bottle for long durations. Even if not refrigerated.

 

[DJMCB35]

After struggling with all sorts of crud algae, for the first year of so running m 525xl, I started using Dr. Tim’s Waste Away. Approx 110 ml with every 15% water change, once a week. I realize that the tank was just hitting its stable timeframe, which may have a lot to do with things getting sorted out, but I’ve continued to dose it and the tank is thriving.

 

[TWYOUNG]

I'm interested in the use of these "live" bacteria in terms of adding biodiversity to already cycled young tanks. My concern is reducing or eliminating new tank nuisance algae and bacteria. I've used MB7, AF Lifesource, and Live Rock Enhance powder but judgeing their effects is difficult. I'm considering trying Dr Tims Eco-Balance. Anyone have any thoughts/advice?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I'm interested in the use of these "live" bacteria in terms of adding biodiversity to already cycled young tanks. My concern is reducing or eliminating new tank nuisance algae and bacteria. I've used MB7, AF Lifesource, and Live Rock Enhance powder but judgeing their effects is difficult. I'm considering trying Dr Tims Eco-Balance. Anyone have any thoughts/advice?

Add some fish or frags instead... Lots of bacteria there

 

[vetteguy53081]

By work, I mean, are the bacteria viable and living, and are they useful species?

Brightwell has an entire line which does not require refrigeration - Microbackter7, Microbacter Clean, etc.

Dr. Tim famously has his line of start up and maintenance geared bacteria.

Ftitz is another one, which interestingly, seems to require the most care (most companies in Canada require overnight shipping when purchasing).

Most are denitrifiers and will help with control of nitrates and ammonia building cultures to work and digest waste

 

[MtnDewMan]

I've been dosing PNS Pro Bio for a couple of months. Can I tell if it is real beneficial? I don't know, the tank is doing relatively well, so I am not complaining, nor am I putting the bacteria as a source of the success.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've been dosing PNS Pro Bio for a couple of months. Can I tell if it is real beneficial? I don't know, the tank is doing relatively well, so I am not complaining, nor am I putting the bacteria as a source of the success.

Your numbers should indicate the progress during water tests, primarily ammonia and nitrate

 

[TWYOUNG]

Add some fish or frags instead... Lots of bacteria there

I have quite a few fish but was waiting on corals until I could get rid of algae issues.