Maybe It's A Stupid Question...

[frida]

...but where does the nitrifying bacteria come from? Are small amounts present in our water, despite the chlorine and chloramines?

It's just something I've been pondering about having read so many posts about fishless cycling lately!

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, the vast majority are thought to make it in via the tap water and many of those may be just resistant enough to the chlorine/chloramine to make it. It helps also to understand that we're talking about really tiny microscopic amounts and sizes, not anything a human is going to remotely notice or be effected by. Its possible but not likely that some make it by air. Some may also make it in on wet plants for those you buy and add plants. All these types of initial numbers of cells are next to nothing compared to the millions that would come in on pieces of mature media from another tank. But of course, those transfers from other tanks have their own troubles as their high numbers are partly due to the biofilms they are living in and plenty of them will die when the biofilms are physically disturbed.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[K-Holed]

Bacteria multiplies remarkably quickly. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, 65536, 131072, 262144, 524288, 1048576 ... etc.

 

[frida]

Thanks for the replies! It's a cool thought that these minute amounts eventually multiply to thrive in the filter media Good job that some are chlorine resistant though, otherwise setting up a tank would be so complicated!!

 

[Rooster]

I doubt they are in the tap water.... probably airborne, but IS there a definitive answer to this ? Ive never heard one ;-)

 

[waterdrop]

I doubt they are in the tap water.... probably airborne, but IS there a definitive answer to this ? Ive never heard one ;-)

Oh man, he really -is- a devil isn't he, lol.