I am glad I asked the question, because I am really enjoying hearing how some of the most generous and intelligent people in the hobby today got their start.
Filtration question for the old timers
- Thread starter dhvService
- Start date
I had kept fish for over 10 years pre-internet, but it wasn't until the net took off that I really learned about cycling a tank.
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I haven't come across specific data on when science first applied knowledge of the aquatic nitrification "cycle" to fish tanks. I have seen references to nitrification by bacteria in aquatic environments (likely lakes, rivers, etc) from the 1970's. When I entered the hobby in a serious way in the early 1980's, I was fortunate to have a good local fish store owned and staffed solely by serious hobbyists. I was told what to do without knowing why, and it worked.
It was in the mid 1990's that the team of scientists led by Dr. Timothy Hovanec discovered the actual species of nitrifying bacteria, which up until then had been incorrectly assumed the same as those in soils. Dr. Tim (as he likes to be called) set out the Nitrosomonas species responsible for converting ammonia to nitrite, and the assumed Nitrospira species responsible for nitrite to nitrate. The Nitrobacter species was shown to never have had any part in aquatic nitrification.
I say assumed because Dr. Tim did admit that they were unable to isolate the precise bacteria in the freshwater aquarium, so they assumed it would be Nitrospira from the marine aquatic environment. This has not to date, as far as I know, been refuted scientifically. However, we now know that in an established aquarium, it is not bacteria at all that handle nitrification, but archaea, which may well be why the "bacteria" was difficult to isolate.
This discovery is quite recent, and was made by a team of scientists from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Archaea were initially considered as a form of bacteria, until scientific discoveries around 2005/6 proved that archaea is a distinct life form which is poart of a three-domain system known as archaea, bacteria and eukaryote. The aquarium discovery was published in 2011, and is available free here:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0023281
I can't do it justice, so might as well go to the source.
OF course, using live plants in a new tank will eliminate any cycling issues, and is the safest method. The bacteria/archaea will still colonize, but in smaller numbers initially since the plants are able to out-compete them for the ammonia/ammonium. Fast-growing plants, and especially floating plants, do this very well.
Hope this helps.
Byron.
It was in the mid 1990's that the team of scientists led by Dr. Timothy Hovanec discovered the actual species of nitrifying bacteria, which up until then had been incorrectly assumed the same as those in soils. Dr. Tim (as he likes to be called) set out the Nitrosomonas species responsible for converting ammonia to nitrite, and the assumed Nitrospira species responsible for nitrite to nitrate. The Nitrobacter species was shown to never have had any part in aquatic nitrification.
I say assumed because Dr. Tim did admit that they were unable to isolate the precise bacteria in the freshwater aquarium, so they assumed it would be Nitrospira from the marine aquatic environment. This has not to date, as far as I know, been refuted scientifically. However, we now know that in an established aquarium, it is not bacteria at all that handle nitrification, but archaea, which may well be why the "bacteria" was difficult to isolate.
This discovery is quite recent, and was made by a team of scientists from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Archaea were initially considered as a form of bacteria, until scientific discoveries around 2005/6 proved that archaea is a distinct life form which is poart of a three-domain system known as archaea, bacteria and eukaryote. The aquarium discovery was published in 2011, and is available free here:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0023281
I can't do it justice, so might as well go to the source.
OF course, using live plants in a new tank will eliminate any cycling issues, and is the safest method. The bacteria/archaea will still colonize, but in smaller numbers initially since the plants are able to out-compete them for the ammonia/ammonium. Fast-growing plants, and especially floating plants, do this very well.
Hope this helps.
Byron.
Thank you Byron, and Welcome!
Your response is extremely helpful. I am going to be spending a good deal of time absorbing the information within the article. After only reading the abstract and intro, I am hooked. Bringing it to our attention has done it justice, and any more papers you are aware of would be appreciated as well. In fact if you know of more, post them and we will convince a mod to make them a sticky.
I began keeping fish about the late 1970's. I recall checking numerous books out of the library and asking questions at the plentiful number of LFSs of that era. NEVER a mention of nitrogen cycle, beneficial bacteria or bio media. Set your tank up with dechlorinated water a few days before adding a few fish was the mantra at the time. 
Box bubbler filters with floss and maybe carbon and/or UGF were the norm. If you had a HOB filter or a fluorescent hood on your tank, that was BIG time. LOL.
I never heard of BB, bio media, etc, until the intertube age like suggested above. Info at your finger tips made all the difference.
Box bubbler filters with floss and maybe carbon and/or UGF were the norm. If you had a HOB filter or a fluorescent hood on your tank, that was BIG time. LOL.I never heard of BB, bio media, etc, until the intertube age like suggested above. Info at your finger tips made all the difference.
Ha... when I was a kid in the 70's my mom would once a week take everything out of the tank and wash it all... wow... I remember we lost a lot of fish but we would just go get more. Now when I tell my mom I'm cleaning the salt and freshwater tanks she says that's a lot of work boiling the rocks and washing down the tanks... she is 78 now...
I am lucky, I worked in a LFS in High School in the early 90's. I could parrot the Nitrogen Cycle, and even almost understood it. Didn't stop me from making many mistakes that the new hobbyists makes. I knew to start brand new tanks with a feeder goldfish or filters from an existing tank.
I still don't do test strips, or test my water at all...seems like an unnecessary expense...I just do water changes, 20%-80% depending on stock/ tank. I believe using your eyes is better than some of the science out there. I still join boards like this to see what others are doing, stretch myself with different species or stock.
I still don't do test strips, or test my water at all...seems like an unnecessary expense...I just do water changes, 20%-80% depending on stock/ tank. I believe using your eyes is better than some of the science out there. I still join boards like this to see what others are doing, stretch myself with different species or stock.
It's an unnecessary expense when thing are going right but when not, It can help you to identify where a problem might be. Without testing, you're stuck with a "best guess" to remedy the problem. While I agree that you can often "see" a problem early, It doesn't lead to a fix without the testing.
