Beneficial Bacteria Myths Busted! (Aquarium Keeping 101)
- Jan 06, 2024
- Anshika Mishra
- 78 0 0
Many people in the hobby have a misunderstanding of what the beneficial bacteria does, how it works, and where it lives.
What beneficial bacteria do not do is swim around and hang out in your water columns. This is the biggest misunderstanding. Many people are afraid of making bigger water changes because they think they'll lose all the beneficial bacteria in the tank and crash the cycle.
Nitrifying beneficial bacteria that keep the tank cycled by converting ammonia and nitrite into nitrate must attach them to a surface. They are not free-flowing in the water column.
It's the same reason why many bio-media products in the market strive to have as much surface area as possible to allow for the most beneficial bacteria to have a home. Keep in mind, though, that you cannot produce more beneficial bacteria than your tank needs.
Besides Biomedia, there are also tons of surfaces in your tanks for the bacteria to live on. They can live on your decor, on your equipment, on the glass, on the substrate, and on any surface in your tank. That's why you can do a 100% water change and not crash your cycle when done correctly with a good water conditioner.
100% Water Change
If you are keeping track of your tank, you will never have a problem that requires a 100% water change. But, what about when you upgrade or downgrade a tank?
You can fill that entire new tank 100% with dechlorinated tape water and use the filter or media in the filter fro the old tank and it will be cycled instantly. Why? Because the bacteria are living there onteh media in the filter.
And while you won't be transferring 100% of all the beneficial bacteria from the old tank, you will be transferring the majority of it which will quickly reproduce to get back to its previous levels.
Ever had to remove or replace your substrate completely? You'll have to remove all the fish, decor, and water to remove all of the substrate. When the new stuff will be installed, you'll have to fill the tank again with dechlorinated water, add the fishes, start your filters back up - but there wouldn't be any crash because the bacteria is not in the water.
If you want to create a quarentine tank. Just add a sponge filter from already-established tank and your tank will be instantly cycled from bacteria living on the surfaces.
Cloudy Water
Another big misunderstanding is that the beneficial bacteria is causing your tank to look cloudy during a bacterial bloom. But the bacteria causing your bacterial bloom is not your beneficial bacteria. They are different species of bacteria feeding on the organics and dissolved organics in the tank.
These bacteria, also called Heterotrophic bacteria, are much bigger and can be seen by the human eye - hence the cloudy water you see.
Once your beneficial bacteria have grown and established, they take over and the bloom cloud is gone. So, don't blame the beneficial bacteria they are the good guy.
Don't always assume that your cloudy water issue is due to the bacterial blooms because there can be many other reasons behind. Many beginners tend to overfeed, overclean, and leave the lights on for too long.
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