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to gain a better understanding of beneficial bacteria and it's role in cycling, filtration and aquariums,i decided to look for myself. from basic research i have found that beneficial bacteria are the un-seen friends in a cycled tank that keep our fish friends healthy and happy. so far, i have studied two basic forms of these bacteria, nitrosomonas and nitrobacter.
nitrosomonas(nitrosomonas europaea) is a nitrifying bacteria that works by burning ammonia and oxygen as it's energy source, or food source. these are what convert ammonia into nitrites by oxydation. nitrites are basicaly, nitrosomanas waste byproducts. some species move and others dont, but they do not like light and will clump together to protect themselves from it. they also provide nitrogen for plants. nitrosomanas needs ammonia to survive and can take significant time to reproduce by cell division.
nitrobacter is the second important part of the nitrogen cycle as it relates to this study. nitrobacter consumes the waste byproduct 'nitrites' created by nitrosomanas and converts this into nitrates. these bacteria use phosphates as well, and ph does play a role for both nitrosomanas and nitrobacter. nitrobacter also takes significant time to reproduce and
populate a tank. the byproduct of nitrobacter is nitrates. nitrates are harmful to fish in higher levels and like ammonia and nitrites, these levels can be kept to a minimum by regular water changes.
i am still trying to identify other microbes i found in some filter media(see pics) and will post more info as i find it and add pics of things too fast to photograph at this time. i hope this sheds more light on what is in a filter and why cycling a tank is so important. as for myself, i know a lot more than i did before i started this study, so i will share it with others who may not know.
sources:
http://genome.jgi-psf.org/finished_microbes/niteu/niteu.home.html
http://web.umr.edu/~microbio/BIO221_1999/N_europaea.html
http://genome.jgi-psf.org/finished_microbes/nitwi/nitwi.home.html
http://puffernet.tripod.com/nitrogencycle.html
http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html
http://www.allpets.co.za/fish/Starting.htm
other threads
nitrosomonas(nitrosomonas europaea) is a nitrifying bacteria that works by burning ammonia and oxygen as it's energy source, or food source. these are what convert ammonia into nitrites by oxydation. nitrites are basicaly, nitrosomanas waste byproducts. some species move and others dont, but they do not like light and will clump together to protect themselves from it. they also provide nitrogen for plants. nitrosomanas needs ammonia to survive and can take significant time to reproduce by cell division.
nitrobacter is the second important part of the nitrogen cycle as it relates to this study. nitrobacter consumes the waste byproduct 'nitrites' created by nitrosomanas and converts this into nitrates. these bacteria use phosphates as well, and ph does play a role for both nitrosomanas and nitrobacter. nitrobacter also takes significant time to reproduce and
populate a tank. the byproduct of nitrobacter is nitrates. nitrates are harmful to fish in higher levels and like ammonia and nitrites, these levels can be kept to a minimum by regular water changes.
i am still trying to identify other microbes i found in some filter media(see pics) and will post more info as i find it and add pics of things too fast to photograph at this time. i hope this sheds more light on what is in a filter and why cycling a tank is so important. as for myself, i know a lot more than i did before i started this study, so i will share it with others who may not know.
sources:
http://genome.jgi-psf.org/finished_microbes/niteu/niteu.home.html
http://web.umr.edu/~microbio/BIO221_1999/N_europaea.html
http://genome.jgi-psf.org/finished_microbes/nitwi/nitwi.home.html
http://puffernet.tripod.com/nitrogencycle.html
http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html
http://www.allpets.co.za/fish/Starting.htm
other threads
