It seems like every third thread has some mention in it of inoculating new tanks with some whiz-bang concoction that supposedly introduces healthy live bacteria to by-pass the process of cycling, or at least quicken it. I even see people adding this stuff to well-established tanks to help correct some real or imagined problem.
The idea of live bacteria sold this way isn't new; I remember a Fritz product being sold many years ago that claimed to do this. I've never tried the method, can't say from personal experience that it's BS...but I still have a strong suspicion that it is. A cycled tank relies on large populations of bacteria to perform their magic and turn that nasty ammonia into slightly less nasty nitrite and finally into almost-benign nitrate. Those bacteria require an aerobic environment to survive and grow. A factory sealed bottle sitting on a shelf for weeks or months doesn't sound ideal.
Even if the bacteria could "hold their breath" that long, they still require food. It's well known that a tank with a specific bioload will support a specific population of bacteria that utilizes the ammonia produced. A sudden increase in bioload...from the addition of a large number of new fish, for example...results in a noticeable ammonia "spike" for a few days, until the bacterial population increases enough to catch up with the new bioload. Similarly, if the bioload of a tank is drastically reduced, say by removing half of the fish all at once, the bacteria will die off to a lower level. This won't be obvious until more fish are again added, causing the ammonia to again spike...even though the total bioload might still be less than it originally was before fish were removed in the first place.
Did the scientists at Fritz and all those other companies find a way to put live bacteria into suspended animation, leaving them able to survive without oxygen or food...but ready to spring into action at a moment's notice every time someone decides they want a cycled mature tank right now!!! Or...did a few marketing guys look at some of the ridiculous product claims in the past that have successfully roped in numerous gullible buyers, and then said to themselves "Hmmmm...I can't believe people ever bought that...but they did, so...I'll bet they will be willing to buy this too!"
Am I a realist? A cynic? A cheapskate? Or just an overly-negative jerk with an attitude problem?
Once you have a cycled tank, you have a source of live bacteria ready to go whenever you want to start another aquarium. Using it speeds up the process of cycling to the point where, depending upon stocking levels, it could almost be referred to as "instant". It's also free, it's totally renewable, and it works. Why go any other way?
The idea of live bacteria sold this way isn't new; I remember a Fritz product being sold many years ago that claimed to do this. I've never tried the method, can't say from personal experience that it's BS...but I still have a strong suspicion that it is. A cycled tank relies on large populations of bacteria to perform their magic and turn that nasty ammonia into slightly less nasty nitrite and finally into almost-benign nitrate. Those bacteria require an aerobic environment to survive and grow. A factory sealed bottle sitting on a shelf for weeks or months doesn't sound ideal.
Even if the bacteria could "hold their breath" that long, they still require food. It's well known that a tank with a specific bioload will support a specific population of bacteria that utilizes the ammonia produced. A sudden increase in bioload...from the addition of a large number of new fish, for example...results in a noticeable ammonia "spike" for a few days, until the bacterial population increases enough to catch up with the new bioload. Similarly, if the bioload of a tank is drastically reduced, say by removing half of the fish all at once, the bacteria will die off to a lower level. This won't be obvious until more fish are again added, causing the ammonia to again spike...even though the total bioload might still be less than it originally was before fish were removed in the first place.
Did the scientists at Fritz and all those other companies find a way to put live bacteria into suspended animation, leaving them able to survive without oxygen or food...but ready to spring into action at a moment's notice every time someone decides they want a cycled mature tank right now!!! Or...did a few marketing guys look at some of the ridiculous product claims in the past that have successfully roped in numerous gullible buyers, and then said to themselves "Hmmmm...I can't believe people ever bought that...but they did, so...I'll bet they will be willing to buy this too!"
Am I a realist? A cynic? A cheapskate? Or just an overly-negative jerk with an attitude problem?
Once you have a cycled tank, you have a source of live bacteria ready to go whenever you want to start another aquarium. Using it speeds up the process of cycling to the point where, depending upon stocking levels, it could almost be referred to as "instant". It's also free, it's totally renewable, and it works. Why go any other way?
