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Micro Bacter 7 (1 Viewer)

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Tangs

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Hey.. I saw a video on u tube yesterday. They said that this stuff is awesome for reducing Nitrates if you have a lot of filter media. Has or is anybody here using it? And is it as good as they say it is.
 

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it works pretty good. I've used that and vibrant to varying degrees of success. It lowers your nitrate and phosphate.
 
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My Nitrates could be lower. How often do you dose and how much do you use? I have a 125. Thanks for the info.
 

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do you have a skimmer? last i remember, you said you weren't running one. if you're not then, you're better off just doing water changes.

to my knowledge, microbacter 7 is bacteria that consumes nitrates and phosphates. It'll multiply eating up available nitrates and phosphates. Usually your skimmer will take them out of the water column. Without a skimmer, the bacteria will just multiply and then die off when all their food is consumed. If they die and decompose, then the nitrate and phosphate just end up getting released again.
 
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Ok thanks for the info. I do have a small skimmer now that I can run. I did run a medium sized one years ago...I just got no protein scum from it. So after a few years I just gave up and sold it.
 

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the new skimmers work a lot better than the ones from 10 years ago. I would highly suggest trying out a skimmer now.
 
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A quarter Holly Toledo Bat Man. I usually do double. I have lots of filter media now so maybe a protein skimmer will work this time.
 
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A quarter Holly Toledo Bat Man. I usually do double. I have lots of filter media now so maybe a protein skimmer will work this time.
I would avoid a double dose unless you want to nuke the system. Even if the system has seen these bacteria before… I would only do the recommended dose. Heterotrophic bacteria are very aggressive and instead of using light for energy like algae does, they use organic carbon. If it were me I’d start with 1/4 dose like RR-MAN mentioned and then move to 1/2 and finally a full dose. If overdosed it will drop your pH, because when the bacteria digest or mineralize the organics (a by-products is ammonia), the ammonia goes into the nitrification cycle and nitrification produce “hydrogen ions” which causes the pH to drop. This is how you can know the bacteria are working.

All these products need to be dosed carefully. 1/2 or even 1/4 dose to start out IMO. Just about all of them use multiple species of aggressive Heterotrophic bacteria. To name a few, Dr Tim’s Waste Away, MB Clean, MB7 etc.

Proceed at your own risk! 🙂
 
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Thanks Reef. I need to get my protein skimmer up and running first. Some plants also reduce Nitrates but apparently you need a lot and it and is a favorite food of Tangs.
 
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I got my mini protein skimmer running last night. This morning I looked and got a were bit of protien in the collection cup. I had to look twice to believe it.... Yaaaaa. I always got Alberta Vodka in the fridge. I think I once read to put a bit of vodka in the water to enhance the protien skimmer??? How much should I put into my 125 and how often?
 
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I got my mini protein skimmer running last night. This morning I looked and got a were bit of protien in the collection cup. I had to look twice to believe it.... Yaaaaa. I always got Alberta Vodka in the fridge. I think I once read to put a bit of vodka in the water to enhance the protien skimmer??? How much should I put into my 125 and how often?
I doubt you need vodka. First, what are your parameters?
 
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I am too embarrassed. To tell ya. My Nitrates are very high. But I can keep hardy fish and corals. I will take a picture of the dip stick and go from there. Lol.
 
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Brace yourself. I feel like it is report card time. Ha ha.
 

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I think my nitrate is 4.....0. As in 40. Nitrite is 0.5 ish ph is 7.5. Carbonate is 40 ish. It is Nitrate that is the issue. But I am working on it.
 

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I think my nitrate is 4.....0. As in 40. Nitrite is 0.5 ish ph is 7.5. Carbonate is 40 ish. It is Nitrate that is the issue. But I am working on it.
Nitrate is high but it’s not like crazy high.

Your KH is 40 ppm? That’s like 2.2 dKH. My gosh.

You need some real test kits. Get a Hanna ALK checker

Salifert for high range Nitrate.

Nyos is better on the low end from 1-10.

Hanna Phosphorus ULR for PO4.

If you run higher then get the regular Phosphate low range.
 
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Tangs, I’m being dead serious…I don’t know anybody that has a nice reef that uses API test kits. As long as you’ve been on this forum and you have not bought some quality test kits. :faint2: I know you have seen what most people use.

🙌 Do I need to setup a test kit fund for you?
 
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