Do you know if there are bacteria used for this purpose that could live in an anoxic environment and hypothetically out compete the facultative anaerobes?

Hello Kevin,

Thanks for your time. I am not trying to take advantage of your willingness to give the benefits of your knowledge and experience. Needless to say I greatly appreciate it. Hypothetically, say I could find a product that was free from pathogens to hopefully colonize the surfaces of the aquariums that would breakdown waste and out compete unwanted bacteria as an adjunct to the anoxic filter for my application. Without knowing the specific bacteria being added at the time of me writing this, could you say whether or not there could be disruption in the anoxic filter? Do you know if there are bacteria used for this purpose that could live in an anoxic environment and hypothetically out compete the facultative anaerobes?

Thanks Again,

Jeff

Sent from my iPhone

Hi Jeff,

I think you almost answered your own question in your question itself. Too find a bacterium free from pathogens is not hard to do for most, but not all, are grown on a sterile medium of nutrient broths for hobbyist use. The problem is you don’t know what you’re getting when you buy bacteria cultures and that is the big secret that manufactures like to keep to themselves. The microbiological cultures you buy are “ you take their word for it” mentality or do it the old fashion way and let nature take its course in your aquatic environment.

Would such bacteria cultures be counterproductive to the Anoxic Filtrations BCB’s? NO and YES! I’ve use different bacteria cultures myself just to find that they, being use with an Anoxic filter, were useless in providing anything that was worth the money spent on them. Maybe in a conventional filter they have their place but not so in an Anoxic filter.

The BCB’s provide is a nutrient rich media that literally provides all the available elements that most bacteria need for growth like glucose, various salts like nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium and sulfur, lets not forget amino acids too.  Because the BCB’s are not what in a lab would call a “selective media” those new bacteria you add may become antibiotic resistant bacteria if selectivity is not known. Will the new bacteria outcompete the facultative bacteria and insure their survival or worse yet out proliferated those bacteria that the Anoxic filter depends on…the possibility are there. Especially if they are heterotrophic bacteria type cells that have a quick regenerative life.  If the available foodstuff is there and the environment is friendly then any bacterium that is aggressive enough will outcompete with other bacteria for space, carbon and oxygen.

Cheers,

Kevin

Petri dish full of E. Coli bacteria the same used in agriculture.

Photo taken from Internet archives.