Just wondering

[oro50]

I am wondering if you can overdose on adding live nitrifying bacteria?
I am thinking that eventually the bacteria in your tank that makes up the bio filter, will eventually cover all surface area, through natural replication?
Thus I am wondering if you add a bit more through a bottle, can the bacteria in your tank already reach a point, where adding more does nothing?

 

[Jlavine]

Again, what's up with your punctuation?


You should probably hold off on adding chemicals to the tank right now. Just watch your top offs as your water will evaporate and change your values in a 20g fast. You will also have a nitrate sink in your canister filter so be careful down the road.

 

[ReefWreak]

No. Adding more will do nothing, maybe (but unlikely) they could spike ammonia if they die and pollute the water.

I tossed a bunch in of that Dr. Tim's nitrifying bacteria crap when setting up my tank and never saw an ammonia spike.

I thought we were stopping adding things to the tank for a while....?

 

[edd]

your tank will balance the bacteria needed based on bioload. the heavier bioload the bacteria will multiply. if theirs less some will die off.

 

[KathyC]

your tank will balance the bacteria needed based on bioload. the heavier bioload the bacteria will multiply. if theirs less some will die off.

Agreed.
You need to stop adding anything to this tank except for top off water, food (if you have a fish to eat it...) and doing yor water chances.
The bacteria will take care of itself.
If you pour Dr Tims (or anything else similar in there..all you are doing is adding nitrites back into the tank and continuing the cycling process..and NOT in a good way.

 

[oro50]

So by adding more live nitrifying bacteria (which contains both ammonia eating nitrifying bacteria and nitrite eating nitrifying bacteria) I'm adding nitrites?

Can you explain this reasoning a bit more?

I had my water tested today. I have 0 ammonia, maybe .24 nitrites and about 10-20 ppm for nitrate.

 

[oro50]

I don't have a fish in the tank yet. I've been doing a fishless cycle.

 

[oro50]

I just have a few invertebrates in the tank. 3 nassarius snails. 3 blue leg hermit crabs, and 1 bumblebee snail.

Last time I added a little bit of fish food was this last tuesday at 5:30am for them. Except for adding new water (due to evaporation), I've left the tank on it's own

 

[Dan_P]

So by adding more live nitrifying bacteria (which contains both ammonia eating nitrifying bacteria and nitrite eating nitrifying bacteria) I'm adding nitrites?

Can you explain this reasoning a bit more?

I had my water tested today. I have 0 ammonia, maybe .24 nitrites and about 10-20 ppm for nitrate.

If your have nitrites, the biological filter is still developing. Of course, that conclusion depends on the accuracy of your test kit and how good you are at using it.

The term biological filter typically refers to the group of bacteria that oxidize ammonia to nitrate. These bacteria are slow growers, depend on oxygen to do there job (that is one of the reasons why water flow is important) and reside on the surfaces of your aquarium. But these bacteria, the autotrophs, that get energy from ammonia and nitrite oxidation and assimilate carbon dioxide, are only part of the bacteria community that is developing in your aquarium. The other big group are the heterotrophic bacteria, the ones that will digest the organic material, such as uneaten food and other dead bacteria. These are fast growing bacteria and reside in the water and surfaces of the aquarium. These bacteria are the ones that need organic carbon for energy and to grow. When they digest organic material, they typically do not need all the nitrogen and phosphorous they take in. You will see this decribed as a low C:N and C ratio. As a consequence, they excrete ammonia and phosphate. And if the heterotrophs produce ammonia faster than the autotrophs can oxidize it, the ammonia level in the aquarium can rise, possibly to toxic levels.

So, dosing organic matter and heterotrophic bacteria that might die because of a lack of food in a new aquarium could result in the production of high levels of ammonia and possibly nitrite.

 

[oro50]

Hello
Well last night, I had my water tested.
I have 0 ammonia, I had a touch of nitrite, something like .025, and nitrate (don't remember the value) because it was low.
Now as of 5:30am today I added some fish food for the invertebrates I had. I just gave what I thought was a little bit.
I won't feed them until saturday 5:30am. Every other day.
Other than that
I thought out of the autotrophs you were talking about, there is a different strain of bacteria that specifically eats nitrites.
When I was dosing, I thought I was just adding more of just these two strains?
If anything to increase the colony of autotrophic bacteria, so that I would have a sufficient colony now to take on any slight ammonia load that would soon come now from a fish.

In any case the last dose was more than a week ago. In terms of bacteria, I don't plan on adding anymore for awhile.

Furthermore yes I read this before, and even if the heterotrophic bacteria produces more ammonia, then the tank can currently handle, I would think adding more of the two strains that eat up ammonia if anything would just help level out the playing field again?