Seeding a Tank/Filter
by Dr. Adrian Lawler
Extracted from the staff Operational Handbook which Dr. Lawler wrote as Aquarium
Supervisor for the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium, of Biloxi, MS
Aquarticles
A tank should be "seeded" (inoculated with waste-oxidizing bacteria)
when:
l. A remodeled tank is stocked-out.
2. An ammonia build-up occurs when:
- A tank is over-fed, or animals throw up their food.
- Air is left off a tank for too long a time and the biological filter bacteria die off.
- A tank's filter is cleaned too well, discarding too many bacteria.
- An organism gets killed or dies (does not survive shedding, injury, or other causes of
death) in a tank.
- Too much city water (high in chlorine and ammonia) is added to a tank killing biological
filter.
- A treatment used in tank kills off biological filter.
Excess ammonia should be decreased by water change or addition of AmQuel prior to re-
seeding a tank.
Bacteria for seeding a tank can be obtained by:
- Getting a commercial product (Fritz-zyme, other commercial products).
- Backflushing a sand filter.
- Squeezing out sponge filters.
- Siphoning from an undergravel filter.
- Adding coral or gravel from an established filter.
- Adding filter floss from an established filter.
Bacteria should be obtained from a tank with a similar salinity to the tank being
seeded. Seed should not be gotten from a tank having recent problems with ammonia, algae,
or disease.
If sufficient bacteria are added, a new tank (or re-seeded tank) can be set-up without
a three to four week "cycling" process.
Experience plays a great part in ascertaining the amount of debris, etc. needed to seed
a tank - a 210 gallon tank needs two to three one-gallon scoops of coral (gravel) from an
operating tank in order to properly inoculate it. Spread coral (gravel) evenly over tank
bottom.
As the bacteria for a biological filter need food (= waste products) in order to
survive and grow do not inoculate a tank and wait one or more days prior to adding
organisms.
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