BACTERIA STARTER

[JeffW]

I am trying a small bottle of Bacteria Supplement that is suppose to help "kick in" a new system. They sell this product for aquariums and new fish water but I was wondering if it would also boost the grow bed into developing bacteria quicker so I don't have to wait for 2-3 weeks when starting a new system.

I am planning on an outdoor system in a few months, wonder if this would be worth my money to try out. I have this small setup I just made for the shop and put some in a few days ago and now I will watch the bed to see if I notice any advantage or if I will just have to wait for bacteria to grow at it's own rate.

Any thoughts on that one..thanks.

[JCO]

Jeff,

Don't know if you've got this or not, but if you have an aquarium with fish in it, take the dirty filter media out and put it in the water for your grow beds. That media will contain more bacteria than you could ever buy in a bottle form the store and it's free. Also, a big scoop full of the gravel from the bottom of an established aquarium will contain the bacteria you seek.

JCO

[badflash]

I'll second that. The bottled bacteria is a big waste of money. Find someone with a disease free tank, if you don't have one yourself, and offer to clean their filter. Quicks out the grungies and dump it in your system.

[JeffW]

Awesome idea's...I will do that...thanks.
and maybe I found myself a sideline business cleaning peoples aquariums..ha ha.

Really strange how something so simple could be of so much help. You can tell this only comes from actual experience acquired over time on the parts of both JCO & Badflash. I didn't mean to say you were old, just experienced

[badflash]

Old too
I watched Howdy Doody when it was on live and TV went to a test pattern with a Indian on it. They weren't "native Americans" yet.

Anyway, the glop in your filter gives you an instant cycle. I once started up a 300 gallon system using the filter goop from my feeder guppy tank. I added 1000 Malaysian Prawn juvies the same day. No issues. In a large system the bacteria can multiply to meet the needs long before the system goes toxic.

[JeffW]

Just a thought is that green algae on rocks next to running water such as a spring
or a small river on the wet rocks..is that the same type of bacteria?

Can I simply take that and scoop some up and use it?

Jeff.

"YOU DO NOT...I REPEAT...YOU DO NOT WANT TO BRING IN ANYTHING FROM A CREEK, RIVER, LAKE OR POND AND PLACE IT IN YOUR TANKS"

You really have no idea what kinds of infestations of all kind of little creatures from leaches to all sorts of tiny insects etc. you'll introduce to your system that feed on fish. If you do that, you'll loose all your fish and then have to break down the entire AP and sterilize and rebuild it from the ground up because they will get into your grow medium and breed like rabbits.

Years ago, I was wading in small creek looking for sailfin mollies (the green variety grow wild in Florida) when I spied some ghost shrimp. I caught a few, took them home and put them in a 10 galleon tank with some Convict chiclids thinking they would eat the shrimp (they didn’t) but I noticed little black spots on the shrimp that looked strange. That afternoon the spots disappeared from the shrimp and appeared on the Convicts. I caught one in a net to investigate and quickly found out they were young leaches and I tried everything to get the off the fish and get rid of them to no avail. Finally the fish died and I was so disgusted, I threw the entire setup, tank, filter and all in the trash.

Even if you live in Florida or elsewhere that Blue Tilapia are found in the wild and you catch some and want to bring them home to put into an AP system, quarantine them for no less than six months and watch them vigilantly every minute for anything that looks suspicious, swimming funny, body shaking, strange spots (that may or may not move around) anything and then think twice more before introducing them in with fish you know to be healthy and parasite free.

[badflash]

Algae and bacteria and not the same.

A quarentine tank is a must for anyone that take this stuff seriously.

[mommyhen42]

Even if you buy the stuff at your local petco..... quarantine!!!!
I frequently see Anchor worm on the local fishes for sale in the local petstores!!! If they have Anchorworm... I shudder to think what else may be lurking!
I have bought feeder fish from my local petco (hey what can I say they are only a block away) and put them into a quarantine tank only to find most dead before they even get out of the bags! The ones that survive develope an ugly fungus within days and it is not unseen for them to begin to develop tumors!
Not in MY TANKS... Even if I use feeders... They are quarantined and fed anti-parisitic feed... Don't want that stuff in my tanks! Or my ponds for that matter...
Scary when you think of it... I am hoping to get my own colony of minnows to grow and reproduce by the end of the summer... I want to supply myself with feeders and not buy them outside... Thess are for my handfull of bass and the channel cats, not tilapia of course.

Sheryl
Riverside, Ca

Jeff.

"YOU DO NOT...I REPEAT...YOU DO NOT WANT TO BRING IN ANYTHING FROM A CREEK, RIVER, LAKE OR POND AND PLACE IT IN YOUR TANKS"

You really have no idea what kinds of infestations of all kind of little creatures from leaches to all sorts of tiny insects etc. you'll introduce to your system that feed on fish. If you do that, you'll loose all your fish and then have to break down the entire AP and sterilize and rebuild it from the ground up because they will get into your grow medium and breed like rabbits.

Years ago, I was wading in small creek looking for sailfin mollies (the green variety grow wild in Florida) when I spied some ghost shrimp. I caught a few, took them home and put them in a 10 galleon tank with some Convict chiclids thinking they would eat the shrimp (they didn’t) but I noticed little black spots on the shrimp that looked strange. That afternoon the spots disappeared from the shrimp and appeared on the Convicts. I caught one in a net to investigate and quickly found out they were young leaches and I tried everything to get the off the fish and get rid of them to no avail. Finally the fish died and I was so disgusted, I threw the entire setup, tank, filter and all in the trash.

Even if you live in Florida or elsewhere that Blue Tilapia are found in the wild and you catch some and want to bring them home to put into an AP system, quarantine them for no less than six months and watch them vigilantly every minute for anything that looks suspicious, swimming funny, body shaking, strange spots (that may or may not move around) anything and then think twice more before introducing them in with fish you know to be healthy and parasite free.