How To Make Beneficial Bacteria For Aquarium At Home (DIY)
Beneficial bacteria is something that all fish keepers want to keep on hand, especially if you want to breed with shrimp or just to keep your fish happy and healthy overall. The beneficial bacteria Lactobacillus naturally act as a probiotic for your livestock, which protects your fish and invertebrates from disease.
Making your own beneficial bacteria at home is quick and simple and only takes a few days before you have your bacteria ready for use.
How Do I Make Beneficial Bacteria At Home
Below I will list the ingredients and utensils needed to make your own beneficial bacteria at home for your aquarium. This recipe makes 1 liter, but you can amend the recipe to make more if you need more.
- 1 Cup Brown Rice
- 50 ml Brown Sugar
- Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water
- 25 ml Salt (Aquarium Salt / Iodine Free Salt)
- 1 Liter Flexible Plastic Bottle And Lid
- Measuring Spoons/ Cups
- Funnel
- Optional: 5 ml Bacterial Starter (API Quick Start/Oceansix Bio Max)
- Optional: Brewing Airlock
Place funnel in plastic bottle and add rice, sugar, salt and the water to about an 80% full level in the bottle. You can now add your bacterial starter if you want to; the starter isn’t required but does help speed up the process.
Now you can seal the bottle with the lid and shake gently to make sure the sugar and salt dissolves in the water. If you have brewing airlock you can use it after you have done the shaking and dissolving step.
The culture should be kept in a warm dark place and you need to check on it daily. As the bacteria starts developing it will release gas that will cause the bottle to explode if you don’t open the lid daily to make sure the gas is released and then sealed again.
If you have a a brewing airlock it will help you to avoid having an explosion if you do forget to check on the bottle. The process takes roughly 4 to 5 days, but when the bottle starts bubbling you know your beneficial bacteria is ready to be used.
How Do I Use Beneficial Bacteria?
If you have to set up a new tank or hospital tank and need to speed up the process of adding fish sooner you can dose your water with homemade beneficial bacteria as a cheaper and more convenient alternative to store bought bacteria.
If you do add too much beneficial bacteria you will end up starting to produce green water which is a great food for daphnia and daphnia is an excellent food for fish fry.
If you have a shrimp tank or want to breed with shrimp or have a shrimp tank, beneficial bacteria is an excellent supplement for your shrimp. The bacteria acts as a natural probiotic, helping the shrimp with overall health as well as increasing their longevity and numbers.
Can Molasses Be Used As An Alternative For Brown Sugar?
Yes, you can as molasses are a natural ingredient and not a processed product. You can use the same measurement of molasses in the recipe.
What Is The Dosage Of Beneficial Bacteria For Your Fish Tank?
4 – 5 ml per 15 gallons (60 liters) of water, if you do overdose your tank you might experience the water becoming a little green. You can combat this by adding more plants to your tank or just by doing 20% water changes for the next 4 – 5 days.
How Long Can I Use A Batch Of Beneficial Bacteria?
The bacteria lives off the sugar and salt mix, once they have consumed all there is to consume in your batch, the bacteria will start to die off and no longer produce the gas.
Once the batch is no longer producing gas, which can happen within a week or two, you should no longer be using this batch and start preparing to make your next batch.
How Do I Store Beneficial Bacteria?
You can store your beneficial bacteria batch where you placed it after making it. A dark, warm place is the best to keep your beneficial bacteria happy and gassy for up to two weeks.
How Do I Know My Beneficial Bacteria Is Ready To Use?
Once your homemade beneficial bacteria batch starts to bubble and produce gas, it is ready to be used. This can take a few days, depending on if you started your batch by adding a bacteria starter or not. The process usually takes about 4 -5 days, but best to check daily.
