Bacteria???

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Dustin

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Jan 7, 2003
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This may be an odd question, but does anyone no what type of bacteria it is that live in the cycled tank. Could it be possible to grow cultures and then put them into the tank?

Just wondering if there are any microbiology experts out there that may be able to answer this question.
 
The lastest belief is that they're some form of Nitrospira. If you were going to grow cultures in a lab, you'd have to fairly closely emulate the environment of a tank or else you'd probably kill the bacteria when you added them. So I think probably the best way to "grow" them is in a cycled tank...when you need some for a new tank, grab a sponge or something out of your cycled tank and you're all set.
 
It's easy to culture them... just get a container that will hold water, add a simple sponge filter, dose the water with ammonia daily to 5 ppm and wait. You'll get a healthy colony on the sponge filter. These bacteria seem to be ubiquitous, so obtaining them isn't the problem, but getting them in sufficient numbers is.

I've often wondered why LFSs don't keep a clean tank running with sponge filters that they could sell/give to people buying new tanks. The cost would be minimal and I would think there would be a lot more happy customers...

Jim
 
Last night on another forum that I'll not mention :D , a person stated that they keep an tank in the fs where they work. There are no fish but several filters on it and it's dosed daily with ammonia. He swaps out the media in new filters for beginners when they get a tank to reduce fish loss from cycling.
 
Originally posted by jafo
Last night on another forum that I'll not mention :D ,
Click to expand...

Why the hesitancy to mention the other forum? Or at least give the name and location of the lfs. That might benefit someone here.
 
Well I would but I don't know where or the name of the lfs. I don't mention 1 forum on another out of respect to the people who run them. I consider that like an advertisement for the competition in your store. Sorry just not my style.
 
I think they dont give you the media because of some people's hesitancy to buy things like that. Begginers wouldnt think they would need something like that, and I know some people who still woulnt think they would need it even if the LFS told them they did. THe other reason? After your first fish die from the cycling, you come back for more because you just invested in this new aquarium system. The LFS likes this return business, Im sure.
 
I'd like to thank you all for your insight into this topic and I guess the best way to grow this bacteria is still through old filters so I'll just stick to that.

I'll be asking questions later and would like to express my appreciation to you reply's.
 
Bacteria are everywhere in the aquarium, not just in the filter media, and the nitrogen cycle is just one of the cycles powered by bacterial action. Bacteria are involved in the cycling of phosphates between organic and inorganic forms. Bacteria mediate the interconversion of sulfates and sulfides. Bacteria are actively reworking all the organic substances in the aquarium too.
 
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