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I've seen this method posted about and tried here and there. It has more than enough success to warrant its own thread and a closer look. Failures have been of the form - it bloomed too hard and killed things. Because it relies almost entirely on the invisible activity of bottled bacterial products, it's hard to evaluate the claims about what it does and how it works.
That's what I'd like to take a closer look at. Hope to get some knowledgable eyeballs in this thread who can help understand what's going on, see if the mechanics are described properly and maybe evaluate some of the points.
This is from Elegant Corals
And here is a youtube video where the author, Cruz Arias discusses the method in more detail (from 5 min to 29 min).
The overall theme is two bacterial blends: one a grunge-eater remineralizes debris particles into inorganic nutrients, and a second bacterial actor consumes the nutrients, multiplies forming a bacterial bloom and is removed by skimming.
Here as I understand it - are the details of the mechanics of the process:
That's what I'd like to take a closer look at. Hope to get some knowledgable eyeballs in this thread who can help understand what's going on, see if the mechanics are described properly and maybe evaluate some of the points.
This is from Elegant Corals
And here is a youtube video where the author, Cruz Arias discusses the method in more detail (from 5 min to 29 min).
The overall theme is two bacterial blends: one a grunge-eater remineralizes debris particles into inorganic nutrients, and a second bacterial actor consumes the nutrients, multiplies forming a bacterial bloom and is removed by skimming.
Here as I understand it - are the details of the mechanics of the process:
- Aerate the system using a low-CO2 air input with very fine bubbles to drive off as much CO2 as possible:
a. limit encouragement to dino growth.
b. [author claim] some dinos die from CO2 deprivation caused by aggressive low-CO2 aeration
c. prevent oxygen deprivation from the large bacterial bloom to come.
d. Bacterial activity later will generate CO2, and aggressive bubbling drives this away - Dr Tim's Waste Away - consume debris and organic matter and remineralize it to N and P
a. may also break down dino mucus mats, disrupt dino bacterial partners
b. [author claim] there is no comparable substitute for Waste-Away(!) - ATM Colony (or Dr Tim One and Only or other tank starter nitrifying bacteria)
a. consume the liberated nutrients from the Waste-Away breakdown process
b. may multiply as nutrients are consumed and serve as nutrient export through skimming (do nitrifying bacteria multiply quickly?)
c. [author claim] the nitrifier bacteria blend are the ones that get exported through skimming
d. may also serve to ensure ammonia generated anywhere in tank is immediately processed - Vodka as a large carbon source from beginning
a. boost and accelerate the bacterial processes
b. help the Waste-Away digest particulates?
c. help grow the nitrifiers?
d. [author claim] most tanks tend to be carbon limited unless specifically dosed - Turn off Skimming - early on, trying to create a bacterial bloom
- Stir 1/3 of sand bed
-bring bacterial population in contact with pockets of debris and dino matter packed in the sandbed
-agitation of dinos (cyano) creates a clumping response, making them easier to remove - Manually siphon any visible clumps of dinos/cyano - direct cell removal is always a good step forward
- Turn on skimming - at day 3, if the bloom is pushing pH too low (<7.6)
a. day 4, skimmer gets turned on regardless, and the bacterial export begins - Hydrogen peroxide (common 3%) - at day 3 if bloom is too aggressive, add h2o2.
a. day 4, h2o2 gets dosed to begin cutting down bacterial activity
b. peroxide slow the bacterial activity or kill them?