The Puffer Forum

Hey hey!

Right, I am investigating a product which is becoming more popular in the UK and Europe. It is called bactinetts and is supposed to be live bacteria which you can add to your tank and add fish pretty much straight away.
Have any people tried this out? I have used it on a lot of tanks (100 ) with differing results.

So please post your views and stories here!

Thanks,
George

Is it refrigerated?

OK, doing a search on it, I'd say it's just more dried bacteria in a bottle. The fact that is says: "ammonium, nitrite and nitrate are quickly decomposed", concerns me. You can't "decompose" nitrAtes, as far as I know.

you can actually anerobic bacteria eat it easily.

however they die when exposed to air, so there is no way they got that into a bottle easily. even bio spira doesnt have anerobic bacteria in it.

I have seen it reduce nitrates dramatically. doesn't come in a sealed bottle, it is in a machine which aerates it and feeds it too. Allegedly...

I'm sure RTR will come by to straighten us all out soon!

Bactinettes "Life in Pearls" , millions of hungry bacteria in a capsule, sounds too good to be true. It would be great if it did do what it says, in the meantime i'll keep hunting for BIO-spira in the UK.

George as you work in a FS I wondered if you'd heard of any marineland UK distibutors that import bio-spira into the UK?

That's what I am banking on! I have had lots of long conversations with the people who make it, but still I am not sure. There must be some people on this forum who have used it other than me!
I have a little tank (24x12x15) which will undoubtedly end up as an experiment!
Isn't there giant projector with RTR's initials that we can shine onto the clouds to call him, just like Batman?

Hilly, I will chat to my marine guy about Bio-spira and see if he can investigate for us! Bactinetts use with SW is a very vague subject...

If I am ignoring a thread, PM me. But I am getting a but more erratic about visiting the forum as frequently as i used to do, very heavy schedule currently.

Unfortunately, I have never heard of the stuff. Have a web site?

There are many nitrifying bacteria in the world, but the ones which do establish in FW tanks have no spore form, so don't package readily. The commercial forms available this side of the pond (other than BioSpira), should they be fresh enough to be alive (rare), do not establish in tank - they die out.

I have read the site. Not impressed with the info but it was a while ago. I'll try to post the link.

As for bio spira - I stumbled across a site that says it will ship to the UK. Big money though when you can cycle your own tank in the time it'll take to get here.

http://www.soelltec.de/gb/

then look under Aquarium products, then bactinettes

Thanks, saw the site but still no real info.

Google search did not come out too positive - as many negatives as positives, plus comparisons to Cycle and Stresszyme (which are snake oil to me).

That's what I thought. If this stuff is all junk, how come folks have some sucess w/them?

I think the answer might lie in what RTR said about nitrifying bacteria. If it contains any bacteria at all, it may allow for temporary nitrification by these bacteria before the real long term ones establish themselves in the tank.

Yup, much like the comparable products this side of the pond. If the product is fresh and the bacteria either still alive or in a spore form, they will work. But then they have to added routinely/regularly as they die off - making you a customer for life unless/until the real bacteria which do establish move in. NIMT.