AquariaCentral now has the esteemed Dr. Tim Hovanec as a member! I've seen him regularly posting in other forums but apparently our debate/discussion about bacteria in a bottle products and my layman's explanation about WHY Dr. Tim's One And Only http://www.DrTimsAquatics.com works where Stability, Cycle, etc. do not work as advertised, prompted him to join AC. Well, I stand corrected... by looking at the Join Date, he joined back in March 2007 but this was his first post/reply today. I guess he uses Google Alerts or Yahoo Alerts to let him know when folks are talking about him or his products on the internet and that may have prompted his reply in the thread.
Here's his first post on AC's forums...
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2447058&postcount=51
DocTim
Registered User
Usergroup: Members
Real Name: Dr Tim Hovanec
Join Date: Mar 2007
Last Activity: Today 1:21 AM
Marketplace Feedback: (0)
Posts: 1
Today, 12:51 AM (August 28, 2010)
He also sent me a PM thanking me, for trying to explain how his product works and many other bacteria in a bottle products do not work as advertised. It's always nice to know that the owner's of companies actually care about their customers and listen to what we are saying!!!
Here's his first post on AC's forums...
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2447058&postcount=51
DocTim
Registered User
Usergroup: Members
Real Name: Dr Tim Hovanec
Join Date: Mar 2007
Last Activity: Today 1:21 AM
Marketplace Feedback: (0)
Posts: 1
Today, 12:51 AM (August 28, 2010)
Hello Everyone:
DrTim here. Yes, THAT DrTim. I thought I would jump in here to try and answer the question of how bacteria can 'live' in a bottle for 6 months to a year. I have written an article on my blog that covers this which you can access here http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/Blog_t...27a461b-4.html
Basically - bacteria are not human. They don't have to eat everyday to survive. Note I said survive. We are not talking about growing just surviving. You can think of the bacteria as a rechargeable battery. The bacteria don't get any better in the bottle so they have to be in top condition when they are put into the bottle (also you have to start with the right bacteria but that's another story). For nitrifiers, this means their ribosomes (the energy factory) have to be fully charged when you bottle them. After that you do not want to freeze them or get them too hot. There is no evidence that any magic solution extends their shelf-life and we don't put anything other than water and nitrifiers in One and Only. Once in the bottle since there is no food (ammonia) they do not have to expend much energy but they are using up the energy they have slowly. This is why after a time they are not as 'good' as when they were bottled but that does not mean they are dead. To kill a bacterium you have to break its cell wall or poison it. So even after their energy is gone they are still intact and can respond to a better environment condition (ammonia will get them going again) but they are slow because they energy center is weak. Think about it - if the above wasn't true how would nitrifiers have ever survived? Ammonia/nitrite is not always around. Bacteria, even non-spore formers like nitrifiers, have evolved ways to survive in poor conditions that's why they have been able to survive for millions of years.
Hope this helps.
He also sent me a PM thanking me, for trying to explain how his product works and many other bacteria in a bottle products do not work as advertised. It's always nice to know that the owner's of companies actually care about their customers and listen to what we are saying!!!