▷ Starter bacteria (bacterial concentrates) | All info

Starter bacteria should take the aquarium with you accumulate beneficial bacteriathe break down pollutants, which arise through the metabolism of animals and plants. This is particularly the case in newly set up aquariums nitrite a great danger. If the nitrite levels are too high, the fish poisoned.

The bacterial cultures in the concentrates are either dried or in a solution.

Arguments against starter bacteria

How long do starter bacteria last?

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It is very difficult to keep live bacterial cultures indefinitely. It is therefore questionable how many living bacteria are actually contained in such agents. On the other hand, bacteria can, in principle, survive for a long time without food. Many bacteria also form so-called spores that can survive for years, even if the conditions for the bacteria themselves are hostile to life. The formation of these spores is triggered by slowly deteriorating the living conditions for the bacteria, e.g. B. the temperature is changed, no food is available, etc.

Bacteria can be immobilized and kept alive in biopolymers. Studies have found that normally only a small proportion of bacteria are metabolically active in all systems studied. Most bacteria are dormant or dead.

It is also usually unknown how long the bacteria were stored at the retailer and what environmental conditions the bacteria were exposed to before they were sold; e.g. B. high or low temperatures can affect the survival rate of bacteria.

As a rule, it can be assumed that starter bacteria contain at least enough bacteria to provide a starting dose for a new aquarium. However, there should be an expiry date on the respective agent and this should of course not have expired.

Do starter bacteria benefit?

All bacteria that are contained in bacterial concentrates appear in every aquarium and filter after a certain time. The preparation for the concentrates is usually not known. Possibly the bacteria are obtained from used filters. As in the aquarium filter, the exact composition of which bacteria are present in the concentrates is unknown. It is possible that the bacteria in different batches are not even comparable to one another.

Under no circumstances should it be assumed that after just a few days there will be enough bacteria so that fish can be placed in a new aquarium.

The table below shows the nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3) levels measured after using a bacterial concentrate in a new aquarium:

02/15/2003 < 0.1 mg/l ? 02/16/2003 1.0 mg/l 5 mg/l 02/17/2003 5.0 mg/l 0 mg/l 02/18/2003 5.0 mg/l 0 mg/l 02/19/2003 2.0 mg/l 0 mg /l 02/20/2003 2.0 mg/l 0 mg/l 02/23/2003 0.5 mg/l 0 mg/l

It is easy to see that increased nitrite levels are still present after a few days. The running-in time of the aquarium can be shorter than the running-in time of an aquarium without using a bacterial concentrate. There is no fixed rule for the duration of the running-in period, even with starter bacteria.

Make your own starter bacteria

Any aquarist can produce a bacterial concentrate with a guaranteed large number of living bacteria themselves if they own an established aquarium. To do this, the filter sludge is squeezed out of a filter sponge or the filter floss of a run-in filter in a bucket. The sludge settles and after draining off the supernatant water, a highly effective bacterial concentrate remains.

With daily nitrite measurements, it can be seen that after inoculating a new aquarium with this mud, the nitrite value drops below 0.1 mg/liter of water after 2 to 3 days. Without such mud, this usually takes 2 to 3 weeks.

Take your time driving in

Irrespective of whether an aquarium is brought in with or without bacterial concentrate, the nitrite peak must be awaited before new fish are introduced. Either you determine the nitrite peak through measurements or you wait for the running-in period of approx. 4 weeks, which is always recommended. After inoculation with filter sludge or with starter bacteria, only a basic population of bacteria is present in new aquariums. These need food and must multiply vigorously. If fish are added too quickly, the nitrite content or the ammonium or ammonia content increases. In many such cases, the fish become poisoned and die.

Individual bacterial concentrates / starter bacteria

Amtra Clean

Amtra Clean can be used to support the self-cleaning processes in the aquarium. Depending on the cause, water cloudiness is quickly eliminated. However, the same effect can also be achieved with appropriate stocking density and good planting of the aquarium.

Effects of Amtra Clean

Over time, bacteria develop in every aquarium that compost or mineralize leftover food. Mulm is already a degradation product of these processes and consists of humic substances that are difficult to degrade. Since pollutant-degrading bacteria settle in the sludge, the sludge does not have to be removed from the aquarium. Precisely because these are substances that are difficult to degrade, there are hardly any additional, soluble pollutants, such as e.g. B. Nitrate.

Large amounts of muck can be removed for visual reasons. To do this, set up the aquarium in such a way that too much sludge is transported to the intake pipe of the filter and filtered out by the filter. A low current or bottoming fish, such as armored catfish, ensure the necessary transport of the muck.

If large amounts of sludge accumulate in the aquarium, the cause should be clarified and eliminated if possible. Causes are e.g. B. Overstocking and overfeeding.

Drugs are available that produce similar effects using ferric chloride (FeCl3). The suspended matter clumps together and is then screened out in the filter.

Baktinettes from Sölltec

Sölltec bactinettes are bacteria that are kept in a nutrient solution. They are filled into small portion cans and should then be added to the aquarium or filter as soon as possible.

The same advantages and disadvantages apply as with all bacterial concentrates. There are reports that aquariums have been run in without the nitrite level rising above 0.3 mg/litre.

Baktinettes are not strictly required, but using them is not discouraged either. Baktinettes from Sööltec are sometimes no longer commercially available – Sölltec also offers Sölltec filter starters.

Biocoryn H3

Biocoryn H3 consists of capsules that swell quickly in water. The bacteria and enzymes contained fall out. The shell of the capsule floats on the water surface. It dissolves completely after several hours or is eaten by fish. Since the shell is probably made of colored gelatin, there should be no harmful side effects. But you can also pull the halves of the capsule apart or break the capsule and only put the contents into the aquarium.

In some cases, bacterial cloudiness can be eliminated with Biocryn H3. Some good experiences have been made when introducing new aquariums.

Nitrivec

According to the manufacturer, Nitrivec consists of purified cultures of the bacterial genera Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. These are in the ratio 20:80. At Ammovec, the relationship is reversed.

In newly set up aquariums, the nitrite peak is usually the first source of danger, which can lead to poisoning of the fish. By inoculating the aquarium and the filter with bacteria, the nitrite value should be reduced to such an extent that it is no longer life-threatening for fish.

Ammovec is intended for aquariums with alkaline water where ammonia is the first potential source of poisoning.

Various information about filter (starter) bacteria

Bacteria can be planktonic, ie free-swimming in the water, or sessile, ie sitting on a substrate. Mounted bacteria use less energy than free-swimming bacteria. They settle on surfaces or in organic material.

The habitat of individual species is not clearly demarcated from other species. In the respective microbiotope, e.g. B. a mulm flock, there is always a mixture of all species available, which agree to the prevailing conditions there.

The texture of the surface does not play a major role. Suitable surfaces are mulm flakes, dead food animals, foam, smooth filter hoses, the glass panes of the aquarium, plant leaves, etc. So-called biofilms form on all surfaces. Biofilms are organic molecules in and on which bacteria can then live. The organic molecules come from the organic load in the water, from enzymes released by the bacteria themselves, etc.

Some bacteria use the waste products of other bacteria as food. If the concentration is too high, these excretory substances can also be poisonous. The best-known example in aquaristics is the nitrification chain. The nitrite NO2 formed by bacteria is oxidized to nitrate NO3 by another group of bacteria. Other groups of bacteria use special enzymes to dissolve plant or animal solids, e.g. B. lignin or chitin, and thus make them accessible to other metabolisms. These bacteria are present everywhere in the aquarium because the solids do not get into the filter immediately.

If organic material is abundant, the biofilm can become quite thick, e.g. B. the slippery mud in the filter. Oxygen-free areas can develop deep inside this biofilm. The bacteria consume the oxygen there faster than it can diffuse from the surface of the biofilm into the depths. These areas provide good living conditions for anaerobic bacteria so that denitrification can begin. The mud must be relatively thick. About 5 millimeters of sludge are formed from about 2 millimeters of leftover dry food.

If this sludge is not stirred up by fish and snails, a denitrifying bacterial culture can form in it. If the mud is then stirred up, e.g. B. by partial suction, nitrite can be released, which otherwise would not be released due to the overlying layer…