- Professional strength live tank starter nitrifying bioculture for rapidly cycling new marine and fish and reef aquaria and brackish aquariums in 5-7 days.
- Does not require refrigeration unlike any other live tank starter.
- Prevents “New Tank Syndrome”.
- Provides recovery from overcrowding or disasters from bacteria bed damage or when adding new fish.
Product Description
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Microbacter-startxlm 15x creates a nitrifying biological filter
in marine & brackish aquaria of all types and is particularly
useful for new startups, resulting in cycling in about 5 to 7
days in most cases. It quickly removes toxic ammonia and nitrite
naturally through non pathogenic nitrifying bacterial action.
Even though this product is extremely potent, it may be overdosed
at up to 5 times the rated dosage during aquarium upsets. It
should be your first choice to remove ammonia during emergencies
where the filter has been inadvertently killed or under
overcrowding. Microbacter-startxlm 15x is a highly concentrated,
selective complex of live, extremely effective microbes and
enzymes that rapidly reduces the concentrations of
nitrogen - I. E. Ammonia, and nitrite in marine and brackish
ecosystems, leading to greatly improved water quality and much
faster cycling. Use of microbacter-startxlm does not alleviate
the requirement for regular partial water changes to help
maintain proper concentrations of elements that are vital to
long-term and survival of aquarium inhabitants. Notes - it
is normal that clumps may form in the product, and the product
and the aquarium may have an “earthy” smell or smell “off” and
the aquarium water could become cloudy and the smell and
cloudiness could remain for many hours after using. This is due
to the bacteria themselves and is an indication of quality and is
the reason it is necessary to shake product Well immediately
before using. Bright well recommends that you not use any other
type of bacteria product until your cycle with this product is
complete. Do not use Live sand and particularly do not use dry
seeded artificial live rock. There are no dry bacteria species
that will be compatible with this nitrifying bacteria product or
that are useful to cycle an aquarium! To use a dry bacteria will
only lengthen the time it takes to cycle by many weeks and
increase your work by 6 to 8 times! Wet cycled live rock or even
previously cycled wet Man made rock will work fine. Dry sand is
fine to use, but not bagged, so called "live sand. " storage:
although product can withstand elevated temperatures for short
periods of time (A few days), for best longevity and highest
potency, keep below 80°f and if possible, it will be best kept
refrigerated at 50°F. Do not freeze! Freezing can kill the
bacteria. (This product will usually withstand a freeze or two in
transit In the winter, but do not freeze, thaw, freeze thaw. ) If
the product arrives frozen, then thaw at room temperature, never
microwave! A word about substrates: most aquarium bacteria and
certainly those in microbacter-startxlm live on substrates, that
is, they attach themselves to surfaces of rocks, piping and any
other surfaces that are available. Most modern aquariums do not
have enough surface area. The advent of artificial "live rock"
Has made available products made from concrete or plastic that
look like live rock, but do not have the porosity, so their
surface area is too small to support the number of bacteria
needed to properly filter the aquarium. Bright well recommends
that you provide plenty of bacterial surface area, either through
plenty of porous natural aragonite live rock, or by providing
additional filtration media, such as our Xport media which Has
the highest surface area per unit volume of any medium in the
world, or our less expensive microbacter lattice. Before you get
started, you will need: an appropriately sized bottle of
microbacter-startxlm. At a minimum, you will need 1. 2 ml of
product for every gallon of aquarium capacity. For example, if
you have a 100 gallon tank, you will need a minimum of 120 ml of
microbacter-startxlm. A good grade of the following test kits:
ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH. A bottle of bright well erase-cl
to remove all chlorine or chloramines (if you skip this, you can
kill the bacteria in microbacter-startxlm. ) of course, you will
need an excellent aquarium salt mix, such as bright well
NeoMarine and purified tap water. Bright well recommends the tap
water be filtered by reverse osmosis with post deionization and
that you change your carbon filter regularly.
Directions
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Important: First, use Brightwell Erase-Cl to completely remove
chloramines and chlorine from tap water. Chloramine and chlorine
are lethal to the bacteria in this product and if not removed,
will cause it to fail! Shake product vigorously immediately
before using. Add the appropriate volume of MicroBacter-StartXLM
(see below) to the aquarium in an area of high flow to promote
dispersion. Do not use “live sand” or “dry seeded artificial live
rock” until cycling with this product is complete for several
weeks! (In fact, Brightwell recommends that you do not use dry
seeded artificial "live rock" ever. The best choices are
aquacultured live rock, rock from the ocean, naturally cycled
artificial rock sold wet, unseeded dry artificial rock, dry
florida aragonite, other natural aragonite, marco rock and the
like. Any rock that already contains a bacteria and is dry, will
damage the cycling and in our experience takes too long to cycle
and cycles the wrong ents - it will not properly cycle
ammonia because it is the wrong species of bacteria). To seed
Biological Filtration in new aquaria: Add 30 ml (6 capfuls) of
MicroBacter-StartXLM per 25 US-gallons (95 L) of aquarium water.
Add one or more hardy fish. Remove filter socks, turn
UV-sterilization and/or ozonation and/or protein skimmer off for
the complete period of cycling until you are finished dosing this
product. Test ammonia and nitrite levels daily or as needed, if
either are above .2 ppm, then you can dose MicroBacter-StartXLM
again at a lower dose of 10 ml per 25 US-gallons, if desired. At
7 days or longer, Tank is cycled if, and only if, both ammonia
and nitrite levels are zero and nitrate is well above zero. If
either ammonia or nitrite levels are above zero, then the tank is
not yet fully cycled and you should not add fish. If the nitrate
is not above zero (at least .25 ppm), then tank is not yet fully
cycled and you should not add fish. To replace bacteria killed by
extensive cleaning of substrates and surfaces: Add 10 to 30 ml
per 25 US-gallons (95 L) depending on perceived damage to filter
bed, and ammonia level. To replace bacteria killed by
medications, overcrowding or emergencies: Add 30 ml per 25
US-gallons (95 L) depending on perceived damage to filter bed.
Then add 5 ml per half hour until ammonia levels come down. To
perform a Fishless Cycle: Purchase a bottle of Brightwell
Aquarium Reagents MicroBacter QuikCycl to use simultaneously with
this product, MicroBacter-StartXLM according to the QuikCycl
label. Fishless cycling requires both products to be used
together. This product will provide the bacteria and the QuikCycl
will provide the ents. Ongoing care after the aquarium is
cycled: To provide ongoing biological stability to a cycled
aquarium: Switch to MicroBacter Clean after tank is fully cycled
and one week has elapsed. This will greatly reduce problems
during the "ugly stage." At that point, you can add Reef BioFuel
to provide a carbon source for the MicroBacter Clean, if desired.