For changing water in the tank, still need add bacteria starter?

[goodman123]

Guess i had post a lot of stupid topic recently.... really sorry...

Could anyone please advise me whether do we need to add in the bacteria starter if we are doing the water change for the first or second time after the tank is fully cycled.

thanks.

[onizukaa]

for prodibio bacteria, you can dose the bacteria inside the water change and pour it inside the sump (or take your tank water, mixed it and pour it back) dont need change water then dose.

prodibio - 15 days each dose.

so if you change water weekly, you can change water one week (without dosing)one week later dose the bacteria inside the water change and pour it inside the sump.

[comycus]

I dose bacteria after every water change. It is more impt to dose in new systems where the bacteria colony has not stabilised. You should be dosing after every water change.

[jackywongto]

Hi roger,

no worries on the questions asked. This is one of the many reasons what this forum is for anyway - to help newbies.

Well one of the other reason of this forum exsistenc is for us to TCSS

Some background:

When you start a new tank, add in live rocks (there are organisms on the rocks that are dying), drop a market prawn etc, these will produce ammonia. A strain of bacteria will slowly convert this ammonia to nitrite. another strain of bacteria will slowly colonize and convert nitrite to nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite are toxic to livestock. Nitrate is not.

The colonization of this bacteria takes time .. maybe 3 - 4 weeks. People speed up this process by adding livesand, dosing bacterias etc. Once they are colonized, all ammonia and nitrite will be reduced to 0 (This is based on your current stocking level!) This is when your tank is cycled.

Now that when your tank is fully cycled, it does not mean that the colonies of bacteria will stay forever in the tank. They may increase or decrease depending on amount of feeding, stocking level etc. Now assuming your tank is cycled and ready. You purhcase 2 - 3 fishes and put them in. Now the waste produced by these fishes may be greater than what the current amount of bacterias in your tank can handle. This is the reason why people advise to go slow. add minimum fishes, let the bacterias cope and multiply and then add another fish later so that there will be no ammonia or nitrite spike. Then to speed up the bacteria multiplication, they add bacterias starter to help dreak down the waste. So cycling is an ongoing process until you decided you don't want to add any livestock anymore

Do note that if you add too much bacteria (overdosed greatly), they take in more dissolve oxygen too and if there are insufficent waste, they die off and your water quality will be affected. That's why you need to follow reccommended dosage amount indicated on the product and not to overdo it.

Back to your question:

As your tank is pretty new, I would suggest you dose them regularly (weekly/ bi-weekly) as you add fishes for 1 month or so (after Water change). Then once your tank is stable and you notice that the fishes are doing well, you can skip dosing and keep the bacterias as emergency toolkit.

Sorry I am a bit long winded today.

[TayHongSiang]

Hi roger,

no worries on the questions asked. This is one of the many reasons what this forum is for anyway - to help newbies.

Well one of the other reason of this forum exsistenc is for us to TCSS

Some background:

When you start a new tank, add in live rocks (there are organisms on the rocks that are dying), drop a market prawn etc, these will produce ammonia. A strain of bacteria will slowly convert this ammonia to nitrite. another strain of bacteria will slowly colonize and convert nitrite to nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite are toxic to livestock. Nitrate is not.

The colonization of this bacteria takes time .. maybe 3 - 4 weeks. People speed up this process by adding livesand, dosing bacterias etc. Once they are colonized, all ammonia and nitrite will be reduced to 0 (This is based on your current stocking level!) This is when your tank is cycled.

Now that when your tank is fully cycled, it does not mean that the colonies of bacteria will stay forever in the tank. They may increase or decrease depending on amount of feeding, stocking level etc. Now assuming your tank is cycled and ready. You purhcase 2 - 3 fishes and put them in. Now the waste produced by these fishes may be greater than what the current amount of bacterias in your tank can handle. This is the reason why people advise to go slow. add minimum fishes, let the bacterias cope and multiply and then add another fish later so that there will be no ammonia or nitrite spike. Then to speed up the bacteria multiplication, they add bacterias starter to help dreak down the waste. So cycling is an ongoing process until you decided you don't want to add any livestock anymore

Do note that if you add too much bacteria (overdosed greatly), they take in more dissolve oxygen too and if there are insufficent waste, they die off and your water quality will be affected. That's why you need to follow reccommended dosage amount indicated on the product.

Back to your question:

As your tank is pretty new, I would suggest you dose them regularly (weekly/ bi-weekly) as you add fishes for 1 month or so (after Water change). Then once your tank is stable and you notice that the fishes are doing well, you can skip dosing and keep the bacterias as emergency toolkit.

Sorry I am a bit long winded today.

u dun talk much outside...online talk a lot...

[jackywongto]

u dun talk much outside...online talk a lot...

hello??? I thought I talk a lot..... (cannot compare me to Desi of course) but I do blabber quite a fair bit.

you are the one is the most mismatched persona - online and live in person. keke

[TayHongSiang]

hello??? I thought I talk a lot..... (cannot compare me to Desi of course) but I do blabber quite a fair bit.

you are the one is the most mismatched persona - online and live in person. keke

...i'm not responsible for how i look...i dun really have a choice...

[jackywongto]

...i'm not responsible for how i look...i dun really have a choice...

yeah you are right and should be very thankful that you do not look anywhere near how you behave online. hehe...

sorry Roger, we OT your thread liao.....

[TayHongSiang]

since i OT yr thread...allow me to share also...

for small tanks...try not to dose too much or too often...once every 2 weeks or once a month can already...if dose too much...will cause water parameters to fluctuate and bioload for small tanks usually is quite low...n wat happen if dose too much...so far nothing happen to my nano tank last time...just that nitrate level will go up and u c more algae appearing...

n doing water change for small tank...when u pour the newly mixed saltwater into the tank...avoid pouring directly onto your corals...may cause yr corals to be stressed...some may melt...

i shall end here....dun want to be long-winded...

cheers!

[goodman123]

ok noted... i think i put half of the tablets of the bacteria starter in there when changing the water....