Should nitrifying bacteria be added after water changes?

[FishHobby99]

All of my tanks are relatively new, <3 months. Getting good params. API, Fritz Zyme7 & another one say to use their product with each change. I remain unconvinced as to their effectiveness re “instantly cycling“ or doing so in 48-72 hours as some claim. What about water changes? Can anyone recommend the best product?
Thank you.

 

[DoubleDutch]

In a cycled tank there is no need to.
At least as you don't believe the marketingstory of the aquabrands.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Your question Should Nitrfying bacteria be added after water changes?

Short answer is no.

As DoubleDutch says, if the tank is already cycled you should not have to add anything as there is no need to.

Only thing we should add for water changes is dechlorinator and perhaps liquid ferts if needed.

The marketing hype of a lot of brands are sometimes hard to swallow and should be taken with a extra large dose of salt.

 

[Byron]

I concur with other members here. If the tank is "cycled" and ammonia and nitrite are testing zero, you do not need to be adding any bacterial supplement. It generally won't harm fish if you do (hence the manufacturer's advice to buy more and use it regularly!) but it can sometimes cause issues like hazy/cloudy water from the bacterial bloom perspective, and then of course many would go after water clarifiers (which are dangerous to fish) and buy more products.

Water changes should be regular and use only a good conditioner which means one suited for what you need (chlorine, chloramine, etc) and no more. Bacteria will not be removed or harmed with water changes. If your question about "best product" relates to conditioners, just ask and I (and others) can respond.

As for the bacterial supplements...Dr. Tim's One and Only does instantly cycle if used according to the directions. This has never been disputed with evidence so we can accept the claim as true. Tetra's SafeStart is also a good product, the formula was developed by the same Dr. Tim Hovanec and sold to Tetra; follow directions and it does work to do whatever it says it will do (never had to use these and can't remember directions). All the rest may or may not have some benefit in cycling, but the benefit is only that of speeding up the cycling period by a few days. If that. Dr. Hovanec did test some of these products and found some did reduce the cycling time by a few days but no more.

As @Ch4rlie mentioned adding liquid plant fertilizer, I'll just mention that these may be more effective if added the day following the water change. The reason is that conditioners also detoxify heavy metals (most do anyway, I've only ever encountered two private label conditioners that did not include this), and some of these (copper, iron, zinc, manganese) are plant nutrients continaed in comprehensive supplements. It may be that the conditioner will detoxify these metals, and thus negate their use as plant nutrients, for 24-36 hours (after which most conditioners become ineffective). Adding the fertilizer the day after may work better, or it may not, I've really no evidence but this was suggested to me (by Seachem actually) and I've done it ever since.

 

[Naughts]

Agree with posters above. Once your tank is cycled, by all means use the bottle up, but don't buy more, there's no need. The expiry is only a few months so there is no point in saving partially used bottles, plus, once you have an established tank, any further tanks can be quickly cycled with mature filter media and substrates.

 

[FishHobby99]

In a cycled tank there is no need to.
At least as you don't believe the marketingstory of the aquabrands.

Thanks, the answer I wanted to hear.

 

[FishHobby99]

I concur with other members here. If the tank is "cycled" and ammonia and nitrite are testing zero, you do not need to be adding any bacterial supplement. It generally won't harm fish if you do (hence the manufacturer's advice to buy more and use it regularly!) but it can sometimes cause issues like hazy/cloudy water from the bacterial bloom perspective, and then of course many would go after water clarifiers (which are dangerous to fish) and buy more products.

Water changes should be regular and use only a good conditioner which means one suited for what you need (chlorine, chloramine, etc) and no more. Bacteria will not be removed or harmed with water changes. If your question about "best product" relates to conditioners, just ask and I (and others) can respond.

As for the bacterial supplements...Dr. Tim's One and Only does instantly cycle if used according to the directions. This has never been disputed with evidence so we can accept the claim as true. Tetra's SafeStart is also a good product, the formula was developed by the same Dr. Tim Hovanec and sold to Tetra; follow directions and it does work to do whatever it says it will do (never had to use these and can't remember directions). All the rest may or may not have some benefit in cycling, but the benefit is only that of speeding up the cycling period by a few days. If that. Dr. Hovanec did test some of these products and found some did reduce the cycling time by a few days but no more.

As @Ch4rlie mentioned adding liquid plant fertilizer, I'll just mention that these may be more effective if added the day following the water change. The reason is that conditioners also detoxify heavy metals (most do anyway, I've only ever encountered two private label conditioners that did not include this), and some of these (copper, iron, zinc, manganese) are plant nutrients continaed in comprehensive supplements. It may be that the conditioner will detoxify these metals, and thus negate their use as plant nutrients, for 24-36 hours (after which most conditioners become ineffective). Adding the fertilizer the day after may work better, or it may not, I've really no evidence but this was suggested to me (by Seachem actually) and I've done it ever since.

Much appreciated. Have no experience with Tim’s. May have used Tetra Safe Start on my very 1st tank, 2 guppies & 5 silver clouds & 3 WCs died. Added to “cycled“ tank 2-3 days later. My mistake in not doing params even though I had the api master test kit. Live & learn & all fish in subsequent 5 tanks doing well.