Best 'bacteria Booster'?

[pablothebetta]

I'll be doing a massive water change tomorrow but if this sort of thing will help, I would really appriciate some advice. 
 
I've had problems after a die-back in bacteria after the filter cut out for a few days. I know my local PaH store has API Stress Zyme and a PaH own-brand filter booster (Love Fish I think it's called). Anyone have any experience with these in getting rid of ammonia and nitrIte very quickly?
 
There are so many on the market that claim to boost the bacteria as well as these, so if anyone knows the name of one which they know does work well please do give us a hand.
 
Thanks
 
Added:
 
Anyone ever tried either of these?
 
TAP Aquarium Doctor Rapid Filter Boost
 
Interpet Filter Boost
 
 
http/www.seapets.co.uk/search/aquarium-supplies/filter-boost.html
 
Added:
 
Or Seachem Stability? (always seems a reliable brand)

 

[ShinySideUp]

I cannot vouch for any of these products but the thing that has always stuck in my mind is how they keep wonderful bacteria viable in a bottle for what can be years sometimes when all bacteria will die within a few hours, or at most weeks, after they are removed from a suitable environment. I am aware that bacteria can become dormant but there is a limit.
 
I would have thought that the best way to boost bacteria is to give them a warm, moist environment with plenty of nutrients...a fish tank would be an excellent place! Water changes and patience would be my suggestion, and it's a lot cheaper and more reliable.

 

[Chad]

A simple water change, even a large one, shouldn't alter your bacterial filtration to any significant amount. Though there is bacteria in the water the vast majority is on the surfaces in the tank and in the filter itself.

 

[pablothebetta]

ShinySideUp - Yeah, that's what I'd thought too, but I'd guessed they must have some good effect as I have heard some positive stories from them
 
 
Earlier I went to a local store I don't usually visit and they had Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability - I've dosed enough Prime to get rid of the ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte and I've actually put a bit too much of the Stability in the tank in an attempt to boost the bacteria back to where it was before the problems. 
 
Would it be recommended that I still do lots of w/c's even though I've put those products in the tank (I'm guessing not today now they're in there)?  How often should I be dosing prime to keep the ammonia/nitrIte/nitrAte down? I know the nitrAte isn't quite so harmful but I don't like to think that it's at scarily high levels.
 
I checked the water maybe 6 days ago the first time and ammonia and nitrIte were both really high, a few days later ammonia was reduced and nitrIte still high if I remember correctly. Would I be correct in taking from this that there is some bacteria doing their job in there for this to happen? My fish since became even more lethargic to the point of worrying if he was still alive.
 
Sorry, this isn't really related to the thread title 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

There are very few products that actually contain the desired live nitrifying bacteria.
 
Stability contains 0 live bacteria.
 
I have done more research into this topic than most. So when I see folks toss off statement about the bacteria and the various products with an air of certainty and virtually 0 basis in the scientific literature, I am amused. Nitrifying bacteria does go dormant and can stay viable for well over a year. However, staying viable and being immediately helpful for cycling are two different things. The time frames for being immediately helpful are about 6 months if nor refrigerated and about 1 year if refrigerated. After this point it can take a bit of time for the bacteria to resume nitrification and even more for them to be doing so at the same capacity as when they went into the bottle.
 
There is research out there identifying the bacteria at work in fw tanks, it has led to patents on some of the bacteria which means they can not be in most products unless they obtain the rights to use them.
 
Go for Dr Tim's One and Only as a 1st choice. Use Tetra Safe Start as a backup, ie a 2nd choice. Better yet use cycled media, substrate, live plants and decor from established tanks.
 
If you are truly curious about this subject and want to know what the scientific research has shown, here are two good studies:
 
Growth at Low Ammonium Concentrations and Starvation Response as Potential Factors Involved in Niche Differentiation among Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria
http/aem.asm.org/content/68/10/4751.full
 
Strategies of aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria for coping with nutrient and oxygen fluctuations
http/onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00170.x/full

 

[pablothebetta]

There are very few products that actually contain the desired live nitrifying bacteria.
 
Stability contains 0 live bacteria.
 
I have done more research into this topic than most. So when I see folks toss off statement about the bacteria and the various products with an air of certainty and virtually 0 basis in the scientific literature, I am amused. Nitrifying bacteria does go dormant and can stay viable for well over a year. However, staying viable and being immediately helpful for cycling are two different things. The time frames for being immediately helpful are about 6 months if nor refrigerated and about 1 year if refrigerated. After this point it can take a bit of time for the bacteria to resume nitrification and even more for them to be doing so at the same capacity as when they went into the bottle.
 
There is research out there identifying the bacteria at work in fw tanks, it has led to patents on some of the bacteria which means they can not be in most products unless they obtain the rights to use them.
 
Go for Dr Tim's One and Only as a 1st choice. Use Tetra Safe Start as a backup, ie a 2nd choice. Better yet use cycled media, substrate, live plants and decor from established tanks.
 
If you are truly curious about this subject and want to know what the scientific research has shown, here are two good studies:
 
Growth at Low Ammonium Concentrations and Starvation Response as Potential Factors Involved in Niche Differentiation among Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria
http/aem.asm.org/content/68/10/4751.full
 
Strategies of aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria for coping with nutrient and oxygen fluctuations
http/onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00170.x/full

Thanks for that TwoTankAmin. Does that mean that the Seachem Stability will have no effect on the bacteria levels in there? I bought it with the impression that Seachem was a good brand and hence presumed it'd work after reading some good reviews on people setting up tanks with it. I don't think I can get hold of that Dr Tims here in the UK 

 
 
What should I be doing in regards to dosing the Prime and w/c's? Should I be dosing prime daily until the ammonia and nitrIte readings disappear, or in combination with w/c's, or just w/c's? In fairness I think I'd really struggle time-wise to do large w/c's daily once I've got in on an evening etc, but I don't want the fish to suffer any further unnecessarily. Any advice from someone would be really helpful.
 
Thanks again.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

SeaChem has a better rep than it has products wgich are deserving of that rep. They know that live bacteria are what handles the cycling yet they also state that is is fragile stuff and their product of non-living bacterial spores is the stuff to use. The problem is they have 0 published science to support this position, will not identify the bacteria in Stability and then tangentially imply all the science, and there is a mountain of it, is therefore wrong about the nitrifiers.
 
They make a number of claims that I cannot find any support for except on their site. However, they do make a number of excellent products, a number of which I have used for years.  But they are in business to make money and like any company they will do their best to sell as much as they can to anybody they can.
 
They claim Stability works in sw and fw, but can you find find me a single piece of scientific research that supports this. Salinity actually determines which strains of live nitrifiers dominate in fw vs sw- they are not the same in terms of the ammonia oxidizers. So either decades of science is wrong or SeaChem is- you can decide which for yourself. I would not pour a free bottle of Stability into any of my tanks- that is my conclusion based on everything I know from reading the available science.
 
Use the normal amount of Prime when doing water changes. Do not overdose it.

 

[Kehza]

One bacteria booster that I used that had superb effects was Pure Aquarium (clear balls), it's not an instant effect bacteria booster however the effects are very clear over a few days. I used to regularly use it on my messy goldfish tank, crystal clear water, perfect water measurements etc. It is a tad on the expensive side though, you can order a free test sample through their website however. 

 

[pablothebetta]

Thanks guys. Will look up that pure aquarium, kehza. So, should I just be doing w/c's more regularly, then, rather than dosing prime daily, or a combo?

One bacteria booster that I used that had superb effects was Pure Aquarium (clear balls), it's not an instant effect bacteria booster however the effects are very clear over a few days. I used to regularly use it on my messy goldfish tank, crystal clear water, perfect water measurements etc. It is a tad on the expensive side though, you can order a free test sample through their website however. 

Can't find a sample on the site, will keep looking.