Cali Kid Corals

DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome

Qwiv

Qwiv

Supporting Member
BARcard
Really interesting talk by Eli Meyer who runs AquaBiomics. Been looking into this a lot since restarting the tank as LR has become so scarce (not cycled rock). This will be my first tank started with Dry Rock. Very long video and not for everyone but interesting none the less. My cliff notes are below


Few Highlights I thought were interesting:
  1. The diversity of bacteria is all present in the water column, just varying concentrations from solid surfaces, so adding used water to a new tank will inoculate a new tank if you don't want to move rock/sand.
  2. UV eradicates one entire family of bacteria from the tank completely which happens to be the most prevalent family in NSW. No conclusion on bad/good. Just a distinct effect.
  3. Most Bacteria in a Bottle don't show up on AquaBionics tests. [Likely because most of these are fresh water species developed for water treatment that can't reproduce. Note - I am trying out PNS bacteria that are cultured in salt water which is not a "Bacteria in a Bottle" per this statement. No data on it actually being useful though but does show up on these tests so it falls out of this blanket statement]
  4. The Bacteria responsible for converting Ammonia to Nitrite is not a bacteria at all - so the "Bacteria Cycle" term is technically incorrect.
  5. Diversity on a dry rock tank is significantly lower than a LR tank, at least initially.
  6. Strong correlation between diverse population and successful reef tanks, but nothing on a tailored recipe for the diversity.
  7. Tank diversity lower than NSW and tends to fall over time. [Since our small tanks lack the diversity of pretty much everything on a reef, this would be expected and some bacteria might not have a role to play in ones tank]
  8. Carbon Dosing decreases the amount of Nitrifying Bacteria in your tank. Dosing instead fuels the growth of bacteria from different families all together (3 specifically) What carbon effects what family and more details on effect are not know currently.
  9. Effect of skimmer on biodiversity unknown currently.
  10. Results of Cipro test on Biodiversity and medication dosage for the dreaded brown slime. Result = Minimal effect with a low dosage.

Watch the video if you would like more then the cliff notes here.
 
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Thanks for posting! I am so glad someone is looking into this! I was planning on doing a little sequencing of my tank once it is set up. I used to work in microbial ecology.
 
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TwoShedsMurphy said:
I am so glad someone is looking into this! I was planning on doing a little sequencing of my tank once it is set up. I am a microbial ecologist, trained in soil but it is all the same basic concepts!
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Qwiv said:
Really interesting talk by Eli Meyer who runs AquaBiomics. Been looking into this a lot since restarting the tank as LR has become so scarce (not cycled rock). This will be my first tank started with Dry Rock. Very long video and not for everyone but interesting none the less. My cliff notes are below


Few Highlights I thought were interesting:
  1. The diversity of bacteria is all present in the water column, just varying concentrations from solid surfaces, so adding used water to a new tank will inoculate a new tank if you don't want to move rock/sand.
  2. UV eradicates one entire family of bacteria from the tank completely which happens to be the most prevalent family in NSW. No conclusion on bad/good. Just a distinct effect.
  3. Most Bacteria in a Bottle don't show up on AquaBionics tests. [Likely because most of these are fresh water species developed for water treatment that can't reproduce. Note - I am trying out PNS bacteria that are cultured in salt water which is not a "Bacteria in a Bottle" per this statement. No data on it actually being useful though but does show up on these tests so it falls out of this blanket statement]
  4. The Bacteria responsible for converting Ammonia to Nitrite is not a bacteria at all - so the "Bacteria Cycle" term is technically incorrect.
  5. Diversity on a dry rock tank is significantly lower than a LR tank, at least initially.
  6. Strong correlation between diverse population and successful reef tanks, but nothing on a tailored recipe for the diversity.
  7. Tank diversity lower than NSW and tends to fall over time. [Since our small tanks lack the diversity of pretty much everything on a reef, this would be expected and some bacteria might not have a role to play in ones tank]
  8. Carbon Dosing decreases the amount of Nitrifying Bacteria in your tank. Dosing instead fuels the growth of bacteria from different families all together (3 specifically) What carbon effects what family and more details on effect are not know currently.
  9. Effect of skimmer on biodiversity unknown currently.
  10. Results of Cipro test on Biodiversity and medication dosage for the dreaded brown slime.

Watch the video if you would like more then the cliff notes here.
Click to expand...
I’ve been waiting until Eli agrees to give a talk to our club to share results I got using a fluidized bed sand filter to transfer bacteria to my frag tank. The idea was the fluidized bed would negate many critters like vermatids taking hold of the sand and then just put that clean sand with nothing on it except bacteria in my tank.
 
Chromis said:
I’ve been waiting until Eli agrees to give a talk to our club to share results I got using a fluidized bed sand filter to transfer bacteria to my frag tank. The idea was the fluidized bed would negate many critters like vermatids taking hold of the sand and then just put that clean sand with nothing on it except bacteria in my tank.
Click to expand...
That is pretty interesting. Did you just put some sand in say a reactor and tumble it?
 
Not a bad idea and fairly easy to impliment if you have a pest problem you needed to knock down. Assuming you got your results back and they came back positive (well, technically negative)?
If so, that would be a good method to rapidly start up more systems using your existing culture of biome while culling pests. Did you use the DNA sequencing they offer vs the Biome? What pests were you able to test for and what species were impacted?
 
I did look at the Aquabiomic DNA sequence of the donor and target tank. But like I said I am saving my results discussion for when Eli agrees to a BAR speaker talk :)
 
Chromis said:
I did look at the Aquabiomic DNA sequence of the donor and target tank. But like I said I am saving my results discussion for when Eli agrees to a BAR speaker talk :)
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Why wait? There certainly won’t be time to discuss it in detail during his talk, and discussing it now on the forum will likely increase people‘s interest in the topic. Maybe even get others to do their own analysis and therefore be more engaged in the topic.
 
I hear you, but I’d have to go back to my notes, and Aquabiomics results, and do a whole write-up… I was hoping to use this as a draw to the event. I’ve done other experiments with imported FL live rock and mud as well.
 
@Chromis
aquabiomics.com

Why is the Live Reef Rubble out of stock?

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"Apr 21, 2022: This month one batch of rubble tested positive for Aiptasia , and one batch of sand tested positive for Uronema. Obviously we can’t sell those!"

Made me think of that report you are working so diligently on :)
 
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