Biozyme

[Dieses Madchen]

I am pretty anxious myself. I am amzed at the results I am getting so far, as I have done a fishless cycle from scratch and never had nitrites on day 2, much less nitrates on day 3! I am really anxious now for the 2 weeks following doses. I hope it holds. If so, this may be a good alternative for newbies that cannot get mature media.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Most definitely agree. It is looking great. We shall see how it goes long term. Please continue to post updates to this thread!

 

[Xraymark]

Is this an American product? Haven't seen it in the UK.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Is this an American product? Haven't seen it in the UK.

I do not know if it is strictly and american product. I know i found it at petco about a year ago. It was recommended to me by a fish hobbyist ( i know, crazy) as a culture in a bottle that actually works. Used it on my tank when I first started a year ago. I do not know if it helped my first tank or not.

I can do some research to see if it is US only.

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

Ooohh please keep me posted this is awesome!

 

[moochy13]

dont want to hijack, but i found this at swallow aquatics in norfolk, england. not your usual bacteria in a bottle, as ive never seen any kept in fridges.

 

[kribensis12]

I've used Bio-zyme before. It's super cheap but harder to find since I bought it. I used it as a back up when I cloned filters just incase for some reason the actual bacteria didn't take. I can't say if it helped or not though.

 

[TheRedDarren]

Personally I have had success with these bottled bacteria products, you just need to follow the instructions to the letter.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Makes em wonder which ones MAY work and which ones flat out dont work...

Day 4
(morning)

Ammonia 2ppm
Nitrites 5ppm
Nitrates 50ppm

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Are you dosing ammonia daily, or just when the ammonia drops to zero? How much are you dosing?


That is a rapid rise in nitrates, but it seems a little too high. Maybe it is just my skepticism. I want to believe it, and I want to believe it will hold once you stop dosing the stuff, but I just don't see why a continual dose is necessary. If it does what it says, then shouldn't one dose be sufficient? Why dose daily? Unless of course, there is something chemical, not biological going on.

Sorry to spread the negativity, but I just don't get why there needs to be this continual dosing. The same thing happens with "Cycle". Why do you have to dose it for a full week? Wouldn't the stuff in the tank be better off than the stuff in the bottle? I would think that if it were biological, you'd just want to bang in all the bacteria right away and let the strongest ones of the group survive. Other products work that way (or at least claim to). One and Only by Dr. Tim is a one time additive. SafeStart, which used to be Biospira is also a one time additive. If anyone understands why they need to consistently add, please information me.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Continual dosing for rapid accumulation of bacterial colonies. Microbiology 101. More bacteria, higher colonization

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I understand that part of it, but why not just bash it all into the tank at once? Is there more bacteria in the bottle when you wait than if you just put it all in? I don't get the reason for only adding a few mLs at a time.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I understand that part of it, but why not just bash it all into the tank at once? Is there more bacteria in the bottle when you wait than if you just put it all in? I don't get the reason for only adding a few mLs at a time.

I don't understand that either, other than if you add more bacteria than there is nutrition for them, most of them will die. And yes I am dosing ammonia when it reaches 0ppm, not everyday.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Why would they die more readily in the tank rather than the bottle? Coming at this from the physical science side, I just don't get it. Maybe I just don't understand bacteria enough.


I would think bashing them all in at once with 5ppm ammonia would be best, but I guess they don't really sell this product to fishless cycle folks, instead their market is for the folks who want or expect an instant cycle. I buy the tank on Friday, set it up and let it run over night, then head off to the store to get fish the next day. I guess that does make a bit of sense. The initial dose of bacteria would have very little to live on if added the same day as the fish. So, adding more the second day would enable the second group to survive better than the first, because there would be a bit more ammonia available to them. And if the fish are getting overfed (which they often do by novices) then the bacteria would get more and more ammonia to munch for the next week before hopefully the bacteria start multiplying in the filter. I guess it does make a bit more sense, when looking at it from the fish-in cycle perspective. I wonder if it would work differently (or better) in a fishless cycle to just bash them all in at once, since the ammonia would be there from the start, the A-bacs would have plenty to munch, and in turn the N-bacs would as well in rapid succession. Or maybe add them in two shifts rather than a full week.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Biozyme isn't your typical "bottled" bacteria. It is actually a freeze dried for so it comes in a powder rather than a liquid. This is why I wasn't as skeptical about trying it. Most quality control in a microbiology lab are freeze dried culture that are activated with water prior to plating them. The plates that they are put on the verify growth contain nutrients to feed the bacteria and help it grow. This same concept can be applied to a fish tank that has an adequate food source.

When added to the water in the tank, this activates the bacteria, or wakes it up, for lack of better terms. If there is a food source (fish food, poo, bottled ammonia) the bacteria can feed and multiply.

Going back to the bottles of liquid claiming to contain beneficial bacteria, I did speak to our micro supervisor, and she doesnt see how these could possibly work. There is not enoough nutrients to supply a bacteria for the shelf life claimed, and even if there were, the bacteria would likely over populate and burst the bottle! Also, the fact of anaerobic conditions, as well as the fact of room temperature just doesnt seem adequate to house a bacterial ecosystem. She is going to help me out with a little experiment. We have done a little reading and verified the type of media that nitrbacter sp. would need to flourish in an incubated setting, and we are going to culture one of those "miracle insta-cycle" products to see if there is actually bacteria alive in the bottle. If there is, then a fresh bottle used as soon as it is opened could potentially work. Hope this helps your understanding.

Considering the route this whole topic is taking...I wonder if it would do better in the Science section of the forum, rather than tropical discussion....i will let the mods decide that one