The Puffer Forum

Anyone have opinions on the product Reef Bugs??

What purpose?

I wouldn't presume the product is necessary but wondering if it might be a useful support in a reef tank. The manufacturer's link is http://www.marcweissaquariumproducts.com/reef_bugs.htm A bit of the promo for the product is copied:

Reef Bugs™ yields particle sizes down to less than a micron and up to macroscopic particles. The individual living organisms are microscopic.
These microbes, primarily bacterial, and fungal (yeasts and related organisms) provide 30% of the planktonic matter raining down on the reef.
True reef / marine snow is alive and has the ability to nourish the reef with desirable edible organisms which are necessary for balancing the substrate and the creatures colonizing it. Reef Bugs™ is a unique product having these characteristics.

From the description, it sounds like it claims to be a bottled source of someone's best guess as to the microorganisms which give reef tanks their ecosystems. If I had a FOWL and not much on the live rock, I might think about it. But IMO, the absolute best way to spread the beneficial creatures of the wild is to just get a couple pounds of great rock form a friend with a thriving tank. My tank has been down to half marine SG for SW ich treatment, and Shakespeare and Jillybean still found plenty of these 'pods to occupy their time throughout. However, all marine macro-algae died, and I lost 60% of my coraline algae, so I would love to repopulate the tank with some nice materials from established reef tanks.

I dont think PP was questioning what the product does but rather asking to what end would you need to use such a product. Why do you want to use it?

JoseDepacos wrote:I dont think PP was questioning what the product does but rather asking to what end would you need to use such a product. Why do you want to use it?

The ONLY reason I can come up with for buying this stuff is a lack of available heavily bio-active live rock, at least if you are running the tank at full marine SG.

Nick wrote:

JoseDepacos wrote:I dont think PP was questioning what the product does but rather asking to what end would you need to use such a product. Why do you want to use it?

The ONLY reason I can come up with for buying this stuff is a lack of available heavily bio-active live rock, at least if you are running the tank at full marine SG.

Which I understand completely. As to wether or not the stuff actually works, I havent a clue. I have seen jars of copepods in shops. Its nice if you can actually look through the clear plastic jar and see them swimming around. I seen some copepods so big in a tank recently I swear you coulda battered and deep fried them.

Its intended as food, not to increase bio diversity:

All the microbes won’t succeed in colonization long term unless the product is used minimally three times a week.

I've considered purchasing it, if it wasn't for the price. Always looking for new tiny foods to feed my filter feeders. I even have a sea apple now & they generally starve to death without the regular 2x/daily feedings of tiny powdered foods.