Hi all,
I will search to find details about third kind of bacteria. If this kind of bacteria can survive in a very different concentration of oxygen, then this can be the promoter of the orientation of the methabolism of bacteria : aerobic or anaerobic, accordingly.
You get these micro-organisms in zones with fluctuating REDOX values, they are called <"
facultative anaerobes">, there is quite a bit of scientific research on them, mainly because of their relevance to Rice production etc.
Have you tried Evolution pure bomb for tank?
None of these products really offer any advantage to us, we have planted tanks, with active plant growth, and a substrate etc.
My personal thought is that all these things are just sticking plasters, and if you continually have to add them you need to address your biological filtration, because it is compromised and not fit for purpose.
If you were starting a tank entirely from scratch they might add an initial microbial inoculum, but that would be the only case where they might offer any advantage. In a similar manner taking a probiotic might be worth while after taking antibiotics, but is otherwise totally pointless. It doesn't relate to aquariums, but if any-one wants a popular science read on microbial diversity Ed Yong's <"
I contain multitudes..."> is a good place to start.
<"
Plant/microbe filtration is a lot more efficient than microbe only filtration"> and the bottom line is that a planted tank will provide more different niches for micro-organisms.
As general rule, in ecology, diversity brings stability. This is from <
Finlay et. al, (1997) "Microbial diversity and ecosystem function" Oikos, 80:2, pp. 209-213>.
The nature and scale of ecosystem functions, such as carbon-fixation and nutrient cycling in a freshwater pond, appear to be governed by complex reciprocal interactions involving physical, chemical and microbiological factors. Moreover, these interactions continuously create new microbial niches that are quickly filled from the resident pool of rare and 'cryptic' (and probably cosmopolitan) microbial species. This could mean that microbial activity and diversity are both a part of, and inseparable from, pond ecosystem function....
Because we can now use RNA to estimate the diversity of micro-organisms in an environment (rather than being dependent upon what you can culture in the lab.) we know that they were right, and that they actually only
<"just scratched the surface">.
The microbial assemblage in a tank will continually change dependent upon the supply of oxygen, food etc, and it isn't a case where microbes are either present or not, but that over time a robust microbial assemblage will develop, that can respond to changes in the availability oxygen, fixed nitrogen, carbohydrates etc.
Our tanks:
- Have high levels of dissolved oxygen.
- Have low levels of ammonia.
- Aren't wholly reliant on a filter for nitrification.
- Have a substrate with fluctuating REDOX zones.
- Aren't reliant on water changes and anaerobic denitrification for NO3 reduction, in fact NO3 levels tend to fall over time, rather than rising.
So we don't need to add any microbial supplements.
cheers Darrel