Has anyone ever had a biomics test on the major bottled bacteria? Is any more diverse than others?

[Reef Puncher]

As title states was wondering if any bottled bacterias are more diverse than others. There is tons of anecdotal evidence but has anyone ever actually tested, done an aquabiomics comparison? Or have any type of data or study at which one is best to increase a healthy diverse microbiome? Im currently dosing microbacter 7, but some people swear by Dr Tims, or SEED, or Biodigest. Would be fascinating to see actual test results.

 

[Spare time]

Someone supposedly did this with mb7. I know eco balance is mostly just bacillus, and pns is, well, pns. I don't think any of them are advertised for diversity so I wouldn't expect much of that.

 

[taricha]

@telegraham posts some bottled bacteria aquabiomics snapshots on his instagram.
Deciding which bottled bacteria adds the most diversity might be like deciding which kid on the 9th grade basketball team would be the best in a 1v1 vs an NBA player.
Could be the most diverse and still not useful from a tank diversity standpoint (compared to live established rock substrate). There may be good reasons to add bottle bacteria - diversity probably isn't one of them.

 

[telegraham]

There may be good reasons to add bottle bacteria - diversity probably isn't one of them.

Agreed. Regarding diversity, find a tank online or locally, and ask the owner if they have performed an AB test. If yes, if the tank is "clean," and they have decent diversity numbers, ask them for water/rubble/sand. Offer to buy them lunch and pay for shipping.

I have results for MB7, MB Clean, Eco-Balance, BioDigest, and PNS. I have two more products here that I'll send in for testing shortly.

I know eco balance is mostly just bacillus

Almost accurate. Various species of bacillus make up ~50% of the contents. Another genus makes up the majority of the remainder.

and pns is, well, pns

There's more in that bottle than PNS.

 

[Reef Puncher]

Agreed. Regarding diversity, find a tank online or locally, and ask the owner if they have performed an AB test. If yes, if the tank is "clean," and they have decent diversity numbers, ask them for water/rubble/sand. Offer to buy them lunch and pay for shipping.

I have results for MB7, MB Clean, Eco-Balance, BioDigest, and PNS. I have two more products here that I'll send in for testing shortly.

Almost accurate. Various species of bacillus make up ~50% of the contents. Another genus makes up the majority of the remainder.

There's more in that bottle than PNS.

do you have those results listed somewhere? im super curious.

 

[Spare time]

Agreed. Regarding diversity, find a tank online or locally, and ask the owner if they have performed an AB test. If yes, if the tank is "clean," and they have decent diversity numbers, ask them for water/rubble/sand. Offer to buy them lunch and pay for shipping.

I have results for MB7, MB Clean, Eco-Balance, BioDigest, and PNS. I have two more products here that I'll send in for testing shortly.

Almost accurate. Various species of bacillus make up ~50% of the contents. Another genus makes up the majority of the remainder.

There's more in that bottle than PNS.

Dr Tim's didn't mention that when I asked them.

 

[telegraham]

Dr Tim's didn't mention that when I asked them.

I've asked them to comment on the results. I've tested it twice, and another has tested once. The results of the three tests are essentially the same, and I'm hoping Tim's provides insight regarding the contents.

 

[telegraham]

do you have those results listed somewhere? im super curious.

What I've shared is mostly on IG. I still need more info before I group all of the results in something digestable. If you have specific questions, I may be able to answer. I can say the only product I routinely use in my system is BioDigest, and that's for diversity's sake.

 

[Garf]

There's more in that bottle than PNS

As in a "contaminant"? While I was messing about with a Fritz cycling product they fully accept that it's not a sterile culture containing just what they target, and other stuff gets in.

 

[telegraham]

As in a "contaminant"? While I was messing about with a Fritz cycling product they fully accept that it's not a sterile culture containing just what they target, and other stuff gets in.

R. palustris made up only 22% of the bacterial contents of the bottle I tested. I can't speak to contaminants.

 

[Reef Puncher]

What I've shared is mostly on IG. I still need more info before I group all of the results in something digestable. If you have specific questions, I may be able to answer. I can say the only product I routinely use in my system is BioDigest, and that's for diversity's sake.

my questions is just basically, if i had to spend my money on one bacteria which one is ideal? i have been using MB7 so far, but as of friday, i just swapped to biodigest because someone said that one is more diverse.

Its just odd because they have you only doing one tiny little vial, 2 times a month, vs me doing 10 ml's of MB7 every day. how can they both be equal amounts of bacteria or even the same effectiveness at such crazy difference in dosage.
The first step to find out what the difference are is to find out what is in them, and how diverse are they really. MB7 doesnt list their strains, so i was hoping someone had done biomics.

Bacteria is one of those things where you can really leave a good review because you cant show if its doing anything unless you do a biomics test. sure you might notice a reduction in nutrients, but there are so many factors in nutrient density besides bacteria. Was mainly interested in increasing my biome as i got hit with Dinos, now im getting cyano. and they told me i need better biome and more stable bacteria and nutrients.

So anyways just hoping to add some science and testing to an area of our hobby that doesnt have much clarity.

 

[telegraham]

my questions is just basically, if i had to spend my money on one bacteria which one is ideal? i have been using MB7 so far, but as of friday, i just swapped to biodigest because someone said that one is more diverse.

Its just odd because they have you only doing one tiny little vial, 2 times a month, vs me doing 10 ml's of MB7 every day. how can they both be equal amounts of bacteria or even the same effectiveness at such crazy difference in dosage.
The first step to find out what the difference are is to find out what is in them, and how diverse are they really. MB7 doesnt list their strains, so i was hoping someone had done biomics.

Bacteria is one of those things where you can really leave a good review because you cant show if its doing anything unless you do a biomics test. sure you might notice a reduction in nutrients, but there are so many factors in nutrient density besides bacteria. Was mainly interested in increasing my biome as i got hit with Dinos, now im getting cyano. and they told me i need better biome and more stable bacteria and nutrients.

So anyways just hoping to add some science and testing to an area of our hobby that doesnt have much clarity.

I can't speak to "ideal," but BioDigest seems to be the most diverse in terms of bugs you may be transferring to your reef tank. I see no reason to add MB7 unless you're using it as you would for wastewater treatment.