Will air pump help with BacterAE?

[fishietank]

I know people say that you can seem to overdose on Bacter AE because the bacteria is aerobic and it possibly might starve the shrimp of oxygen if you use too much. I have an air pump making bubbles in my shrimp tank so wouldn’t that help at least a little bit to protect against low oxygen levels in the water?

I have a 5g tank of shrimp, how much would you guys put in at a time and how often of Bacter AE?

 

[SparkyJones]

yes and no. depends on how much surface agitation the air pump is actually doing it create gas exchange. surface tension will hold in O2 and CO2, agitation will allow of CO2 and O2 to escape the water and rebalance the saturation in the water.

The bubbles themselves do not add O2 to the water. The problem with "low oxygen" in the water is the bacteria is consuming the oxygen, and nitrates are rising along with it, this isn't a gas exchange situation, it's a consumption situation, more O2 is just more for the overdose to consume.

I don't keep shrimp, I found it to be "not my thing", however I'd say because it's a nutrient thing, and a bacteria grower, err on the side of caution and use it sparingly as a supplement to your feedings for the things they might be missing, once the bacteria gets going unless the shrimp eat it all, the colony should replenish itself just fine without dosing it much at all unless you have a large colony. like a half a recommended dosage on the package to a quarter, and only like once a week, the idea being that it's a supplemental food source, not your main food source, but that should keep you out of the overdose category.

I mean 40mg per liter as recommended on the package for your size tank, every day,,,, that seems like a lot. most folks I know that keep shrimps use it lightly, i mean like a a damp and shaken off toothpick or bamboo skewer tip or chopstick tip, dip it in the powder and whatever sticks is the dose, then swirl it into the tank like once a week and increase frequency as the population of shrimps grows but just the little bit at a time, over time the colony and biofilm gets established without ODing the tank. better yet, use the little spoon, take out a scoop for the next couple weeks to a small close-able container and do the toothpick thing, just a tiny bit at a time, that way you don' t contaminate your powder with moisture and turn it into a brick before it's finished.

your tank will produce the bacteria and biofilm anyways, this is supplemental to "boost the growth", it can be used extremely lightly as a supplement and then feed other things just so there's something there for the shrimpletts and adults are eating other things.

 

[fishietank]

yes and no. depends on how much surface agitation the air pump is actually doing it create gas exchange. surface tension will hold in O2 and CO2, agitation will allow of CO2 and O2 to escape the water and rebalance the saturation in the water.

The bubbles themselves do not add O2 to the water. The problem with "low oxygen" in the water is the bacteria is consuming the oxygen, and nitrates are rising along with it, this isn't a gas exchange situation, it's a consumption situation, more O2 is just more for the overdose to consume.

I don't keep shrimp, I found it to be "not my thing", however I'd say because it's a nutrient thing, and a bacteria grower, err on the side of caution and use it sparingly as a supplement to your feedings for the things they might be missing, once the bacteria gets going unless the shrimp eat it all, the colony should replenish itself just fine without dosing it much at all unless you have a large colony. like a half a recommended dosage on the package to a quarter, and only like once a week, the idea being that it's a supplemental food source, not your main food source, but that should keep you out of the overdose category.

I mean 40mg per liter as recommended on the package for your size tank, every day,,,, that seems like a lot. most folks I know that keep shrimps use it lightly, i mean like a a damp and shaken off toothpick or bamboo skewer tip or chopstick tip, dip it in the powder and whatever sticks is the dose, then swirl it into the tank like once a week and increase frequency as the population of shrimps grows but just the little bit at a time, over time the colony and biofilm gets established without ODing the tank. better yet, use the little spoon, take out a scoop for the next couple weeks to a small close-able container and do the toothpick thing, just a tiny bit at a time, that way you don' t contaminate your powder with moisture and turn it into a brick before it's finished.

your tank will produce the bacteria and biofilm anyways, this is supplemental to "boost the growth", it can be used extremely lightly as a supplement and then feed other things just so there's something there for the shrimpletts and adults are eating other things.

Thank you for all that.

I am not using the spoon that came with it. I’m using a tiny spoon that is 5 mm x 6 mm and I used a rounded dose of that. I think that spoon is tiny enough for a 5 g