Nitrification and Probiotics — They Are Not Medicine

Ammonia went up, you added a probiotic, and the next day it reads the same. The product is not bad — the timing is wrong. A probiotic is not medicine that lowers today's number. It is preparation that stops the number from rising. ■ Nitrification runs in two steps Shrimp excrete and feed is left behind, and ammonia forms. Nitrification is the path by which that ammonia disappears. Ammonia becomes nitrite first, then nitrite becomes nitrate. That last stage is far less toxic than the two before it. So on a pond where nitrification turns well, nitrogen keeps arriving without accumulating in a dangerous form. ■ Each step has different bacteria This is the core of it. The bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrite and the ones that turn nitrite into nitrate are different organisms. And the second group settles in later. So early in a cycle ammonia starts being processed while nitrite has nowhere to go and piles up for a while. That is exactly why nitrite climbs a few days after ammonia falls. Know that window and you do not panic. Miss it and you stop measuring because ammonia looked solved — and the second accident happens in that gap. ■ 2 to 4 weeks to establish The bacteria that run nitrification grow slowly. In a newly started pond they usually take 2 to 4 weeks to establish. So adding a probiotic today and lowering today's reading does not happen. If the number is already up and the shrimp are at risk, you need something other than a probiotic. Cut feed, raise oxygen, consider a water change — those come first. ■ The time to add is routinely There are three moments when a probiotic actually earns its cost. At start-up, when the water holds nothing yet and needs to be established. Right after disinfection, when you killed the useful bacteria along with the pathogens. That is when it is emptiest. And routinely. Feed and waste raise the nitrogen load as the cycle proceeds. Building processing capacity before the load arrives is the right order. Adding after the accident is late. You add so the accident does not happen. ■ Without alkalinity, nitrification stops too This is the most commonly missed part. Nitrification consumes alkalinity. Taking 1 g of ammonia through to nitrate uses roughly 7.14 g of alkalinity. So the heavier the nitrogen load, the faster alkalinity falls. Run alkalinity to the floor and nitrification itself slows or stops. In that state no amount of probiotic helps. Manage alkalinity around 100 to 150 mg/L. If you use a probiotic, you have to measure alkalinity alongside it. They are one package. ■ Oxygen is required too The bacteria running nitrification use oxygen. Where oxygen does not reach the bottom, nitrification does not proceed. The 5 mg/L you hold for the shrimp is also what these bacteria need. Running the aerators is oxygen supply and nitrogen processing at the same time. Where organic matter lies thick on the bottom, oxygen does not reach inside it and something else happens there instead of nitrification. ■ To put it simply A probiotic is closer to equipment than to emergency medicine. Lay it down in advance and meet its conditions and it works; without those conditions it does nothing however much you add. Alkalinity and oxygen are those conditions. ■ Records matter more than thresholds Write down when you added, and what ammonia, nitrite and alkalinity read at the time. After a few cycles you will see how many days nitrification takes to establish on your pond, and how fast alkalinity falls. Knowing those numbers comes before choosing which product to use. Shrimp365 logs ammonia, nitrite and alkalinity together per tank and alerts you the moment a value leaves its range. Free to use.