Tunze Care Bacter 0220.005

[unze]

If they said that everyone else with a bio lab could produce it. All the info we have is non pathogenic, meets all EU directives and non genetically engineered

.
I hardly think it is rocket science, if I was dosing something in my tank I would like to know what I am adding.
Providing ingredients gives a product more credibility.

[cboberg]

I've been having issues with some algae and cyano that traditional methods don't seem to cure. I've cut my feeding back. I do regular water changes with RODI water, I have an algae turf scrubber that is growning algae in my sump and still can't seem to get 100% to go away. I dosed my first care bacter on Thursday and by morning the cyano was starting to let go and filter out. I'll update my results after 6 weeks. Carbon dosing was hard on my sps.

[rvitko]

My experience with cyano is that lighting spectrum is a big culprit, I have seen it only grow in areas getting direct sunlight. I have also found low flow and low oxygen levels can contribute, usually with cyano I treat with hydrogen peroxide, 1 tsp per 50 gallons per day, this seems to defeat it within 2 weeks though it may come back if the underlying cause is not resolved, lights off for 1 day will accelerate the results. I have learned dosing hydrogen peroxide is controversial but I have never had any issues, there is some discussion it can cause a toxic byproduct with iodine and bromine in the tank. I believe the Care Bacter may help, primarily by decomposing detritus it may be feeding on or that is lowering the redox and dissolved oxygen. Carbon dosing does seem to aggravate existing cyano blooms in my experience, I have some in my DSB visible on the sides though it below the surface and I have been playing with Vitamin C dosing lately and after a dose it pops up on the sand bed top.

[smatter]

I administered my first dose of Care Bacter on Friday by sprinkling it directly into the tank as per the directions. It was raining down on my corals, and I was a little worried, but they could've cared less. Nothing closed up even a little bit. I left the skimmer off for a while and took the Macro Wadding offline. For as cloudy as it was initially, it cleared up quickly. I figured the skimmer would go bonkers when I turned it back on but it didn't. I will report back with my observations.

[cboberg]

Originally Posted by rvitko

My experience with cyano is that lighting spectrum is a big culprit, I have seen it only grow in areas getting direct sunlight. I have also found low flow and low oxygen levels can contribute, usually with cyano I treat with hydrogen peroxide, 1 tsp per 50 gallons per day, this seems to defeat it within 2 weeks though it may come back if the underlying cause is not resolved, lights off for 1 day will accelerate the results. I have learned dosing hydrogen peroxide is controversial but I have never had any issues, there is some discussion it can cause a toxic byproduct with iodine and bromine in the tank. I believe the Care Bacter may help, primarily by decomposing detritus it may be feeding on or that is lowering the redox and dissolved oxygen. Carbon dosing does seem to aggravate existing cyano blooms in my experience, I have some in my DSB visible on the sides though it below the surface and I have been playing with Vitamin C dosing lately and after a dose it pops up on the sand bed top.

I didn't purchase it for cyano. I purchased for the algae I haven't been able to get rid of. My lighting is pretty blue with the spectrum I run my kessils at. The tank doesn't get a ton of sunlight and there's a lot of flow. In keeping mixed reefs for nearly 20 years, I've never had one give me this much trouble. I thought it was interesting the cyano quickly started to go away. My coral didn't care about the product landing on it. I too thought it cleared up quickly and had no issues once my skimmer came back on...

[Madehtsobi]

Originally Posted by cboberg

I didn't purchase it for cyano. I purchased for the algae I haven't been able to get rid of. My lighting is pretty blue with the spectrum I run my kessils at. The tank doesn't get a ton of sunlight and there's a lot of flow. In keeping mixed reefs for nearly 20 years, I've never had one give me this much trouble. I thought it was interesting the cyano quickly started to go away. My coral didn't care about the product landing on it. I too thought it cleared up quickly and had no issues once my skimmer came back on...

have u noticed any difference in your algae and cyano?

thinking of trying this product for my cyano..

[rvitko]

It might help with cyano but I am skeptical, I think it has the most benefit against some hair algaes and green algae. The basic idea is algae and bacteria compete for the same nutrients, in a new tank the bacteria are not well established so the equilibrium shifts to algae doing this job, we shift it back to bacteria and the algae starve. The issue with cyano is it doesn't have the same limits as algae, it can fix nitrogen, it is a bacteria and not an algae. Most cyano remedies are going to be an oxidizer to raise redox or a antibacterial product (antibiotic). I have good luck with limiting light and using hydrogen peroxide and increasing skimming/ flow (make sure everything is clean and working optimally, if something is suspect or questionable for the job, replace it with a better one).

[cboberg]

I'm in week 3 where the algae starts to look "worse" before it gets better...It's making me a bit nervous but if it goes away it's definitely a worth while product...

[Madehtsobi]

Originally Posted by rvitko

It might help with cyano but I am skeptical, I think it has the most benefit against some hair algaes and green algae. The basic idea is algae and bacteria compete for the same nutrients, in a new tank the bacteria are not well established so the equilibrium shifts to algae doing this job, we shift it back to bacteria and the algae starve. The issue with cyano is it doesn't have the same limits as algae, it can fix nitrogen, it is a bacteria and not an algae. Most cyano remedies are going to be an oxidizer to raise redox or a antibacterial product (antibiotic). I have good luck with limiting light and using hydrogen peroxide and increasing skimming/ flow (make sure everything is clean and working optimally, if something is suspect or questionable for the job, replace it with a better one).

Will try the lights out again although I did it before and it helped but it's coming back.

I have tons of flow too

Originally Posted by cboberg

I'm in week 3 where the algae starts to look "worse" before it gets better...It's making me a bit nervous but if it goes away it's definitely a worth while product...

Cool keep us updated!


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[cboberg]

Originally Posted by rvitko

My experience was it took 6 weeks and it got worse before it got better. However, I have no way of knowing if in 6 weeks it would have gone away on its own or if my shotgun approach something else or the combination effected a remedy. In my tank I had an algae that looked like derbasia but was brown, I so no results weeks 1 and 2 other than clearer water, less film on the glass and no piles of detritus, weeks 3 and 4 the algae growth accelerated, week 5 it stopped, week 6 right after the dose, the next day it was just completely gone.

Roger, just finished week 3 and into week 4 same results as you had. Hair algae has gotten worse but is loosening and letting go some. Glad you posted your experience because I would have freaked out by now and quit using the product after seeing week 3 and 4.... will continue to update my progress. I have only used the care bacter to battle my algae because I wanted to give the product an honest assessment. This algae needs to be 100 percent gone before I do a tank transfer next month into my new rimless 120 I'm having built...

[rvitko]

Great news, I am happy someone has replicated what I experienced as that says to me it was not just a fluke. I think by week 5 you will see it thining and in my case, the morning after the 6 dose it was just gone, not a speck left.

[ReefTeacher]

I just used my first dose last night, so I am looking forward to the results over the next few weeks.

Are there any thoughts to using a UV with Care Bacter? Should we turn it off like the skimmer when first dosing? The instructions do not seem to address it.

[rvitko]

I run a UV and I just unplugged the pump powering it for 10 minutes as with the filter and skimmer. My assumption is you just need to give the powder time to settle out so the UV doesn't kill it. It worked for me in those circumstances.

[ReefTeacher]

Thanks Roger!

[smatter]

I'm a few doses in now. I didn't have an algae problem to begin with so I can't comment on that. I can report that the glass requires less frequent cleaning. The sand also appears cleaner and whiter. Water clarity has improved. I think the clay or whatever it is may have a flocculent quality to it.

[rvitko]

I would agree on the flocculent, I have assumed the same, but floccullents generally result in particulate clinging to the glass and a pile of detritus so there has to be more at play than that.

[ReefTeacher]

I have also noticed the increased water clarity after only one dose. My skimmer is also putting out more skimmate than usual.

[smatter]

There's definitely bacteria at work here. The clay dust effect is just a bonus. There's a thread going on right now about dosing calcium carbonate and water clarity. I don't think the dust in Care Bacter is calcium carbonate, but it might have a similar effect. Friday is my dosing day. I look forward to sprinkling it on the surface later and a gin-clear tank in the morning

[ReefTeacher]

Originally Posted by smatter

and a gin-clear tank in the morning

It IS Friday isn't it!

[smatter]

Happy Friday!!!

[rvitko]

As I recall in the instructions the clay is named, I have not looked it up yet.

[smatter]

It's powdered Maerl gravel which is coralline algae. Calcium carbonate it is!

[cboberg]

I just finished a full reccomened dose of the product without deviating from the instructions. My experience was very similar to Roger's. The hair algae and bryopsis got worse before it got better but it does die in the last few weeks of the treatment. The only thing I had at the end was some green algae on my rocks that I brushed off with a tooth brush. I just did a full tank transfer to a new rimless 120 and I'm going to order more care bacter. I want to seed some of the beneficial bacteria in the new tank to perhaps keep the algae from coming back. The product worked as described in the earlier posts by Roger. I fear though that people may not have the patience to see it through to the end. One thing I learned a decade ago in this hobby is nothing GOOD happens FAST in a reef tank...

[ReefTeacher]

I am adding my second dose tonight. I was looking at the powder in anticipation and I noticed a similarity to another product; ZEOZYME. That product had almost the same powdery consistency and color. It is dosed very differently, you must mix it with water ahead of time and let it settle. It turns the water a little yellow and then you dump it in. I believe it does not claim to have bacteria, just bacterial enzymes that break down waste so that the bacteria can use it more efficiently. It was very expensive.

I just wonder if there is any relationship between the two products. Obviously there are big differences, not the least of which is price, but Tunze does have a way of greatly improving products that are already out there.

Speaking of which, my skimmer is getting old....

[rvitko]

I am happy to see my results were replicated. So far this is the experience of everyone who tried it except one person and that tank was very old and had other issues and probably could only be restored by a massive tear down and redo. We generally expect that this product will be most useful in balancing newer tanks under 2 years old. I wholeheartedly agree nothing good happens fast, only things that have been fast in my reef tank are brown jelly infections and sweeper tentacle attacks, LOL.