Jump to content

Biofilm builders...what's your secret?


Rodan76

Recommended Posts

I've noticed that if I leave a water dish unwashed for a few days with a piece of hay in it, the bowl develops a thin, clear layer of ... Something slick and slightly slimy. Is that the same kind of thing?

The growth of this layer of (presumably) microorganisms is vastly accelerated if there are any traces of Pet Tinic in the water. It's a vitamin B12 and iron supplement, but the growth might be driven by the molasses used to disguise the taste.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Just don't overdo bacter AE because it can cause nitrate spikes or it did in my tank.

I think I am experiencing this now, I dose Bacter AE every other day. I don't feed any other food but SL Aqua on odd days and take it out after a few hours. I had a few shrimp die on me and after testing Nitrates I found I had over about 20ppm in the tank.  Going to do a few daily water changes to bring Nitrates down and switch to dosing twice a week, hopefully that will not be too much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I am experiencing this now, I dose Bacter AE every other day. I don't feed any other food but SL Aqua on odd days and take it out after a few hours. I had a few shrimp die on me and after testing Nitrates I found I had over about 20ppm in the tank.  Going to do a few daily water changes to bring Nitrates down and switch to dosing twice a week, hopefully that will not be too much.

Did you check all your parameters? 20ppm nitrate isn't going to kill shrimp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yep, checked everything else

 

0ppm Ammonia

0ppm Nitrites

6.2 pH

4 gH

0 kH

24C temp

150 TDS

 

Tank is about 3 months old now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully it was random shrimp deaths.   

 

I have slowed down on my Bacter AE usage to once a week. The only things I could think of that could raise nitrates from using Bacter AE is it's eating ammonia and other waste at a high rate or the recommended daily usage is not accurate and we are over using it. I want to get a microscope activate the powder in water then put it on a slide and see it I can see any signs of life. I am really starting to question a lot of products.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have access to microscopes at work, but you really only get to see bacteria on oil. Or, should I say, your best bet at ID'ing stuff is on oil. You can probably at least see motility at 40x (doesn't involve killing it) and yeast is apparent at 10-20x if you know what you are looking for. I'm not so hot at yeast ID, don't see enough of it. I will take a gander if anyone wants me to send me a sample. (Feb. 25 I will have access to phase contrast, best for direct slides.)

From my experience with pet-related food items: the package directions ALWAYS direct you to overfeed. Use them as a starting point but don't be surprised if they give you a fat pet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...