Starter Kit

Daphbio® start-up kit: ensures a swift start-up with no complications 

Daphbio® has been the leader in saltwater and reef aquarium start-up kits for more than 11 years! Thanks to the live bacteria and micro-organisms in the product, your reef, marine or saltwater aquarium start-up will be quick and effective. You will be able to populate your aquarium from the fourth week, while avoiding the usual drawbacks seen in starting aquariums, e.g. growth of macro-algae, filamentous algae and cyanobacteria, which are hard to eliminate once they are in a tank.

The daphbio® start-up kit is a considerable advance in the field of reef and saltwater aquarium keeping. Daphbio® delivers a start-up lasting 4-5 weeks, when your aquarium can then be gradually populated, whereas start-up previously used to take from 6 to 8 months. In addition, the products are effective on dead, live, inert or artificial rocks to completely adapt to your aquarium.

Once the process starts, our freshly-harvested live bacteria will take their due place in your aquarium system (living or dead rocks, sand, settling tank, refugium, algae filter and reactors) and perform their function. The diverse microfauna and phytoplankton will also take their due place in the aquarium. All of our products will therefore contribute to the long-term viability of your piece of reef.

The start-up kit can also be used for aquarium reset and transfer operations.

 Composition of the daphbio® start-up kit

The saltwater aquarium start-up kit comprises 3 bottles holding 250 ml, 500 ml or 1 litre:

• Microfauna and meiofauna eggs (seeded microfauna)
• Microfauna Booster® (phytoplankton, enzymes and bacterioplankton)
• Bactoreef® (live aerobic and anaerobic seawater bacteria)

These products recreate the food chain essential to life in saltwater aquariums. The start-up kit offers a coherent whole, including live bacteria specifically intended for starting aquariums with , diversified benthic microfauna, and phytoplankton with Microfauna Booster®.

Choosing the right size

• For an aquarium of 30 to 100 litres, use the 250-ml size start-up kit.
• For an aquarium of 100 to 500 litres, use the 500-ml size start-up kit.
• An aquarium of 500 to 1,000 litres in size needs two 500-ml start-up kits (the kits come in litre bottles).

Instructions for use and recommendations 

The start-up process instructions are found at the foot of the page. Please read our blog for advice on using the product for aquarium start-up. Shake before use.

 Important: Some synthetic stones contain silicates and heavy metals that can cause problems during the start-up phase. We recommend MarcoRocks stones because they are healthy and certified as harmless.

If you use synthetic stone, keep the aquarium lights off for 3 weeks, and add an extra 30% to the product dosage because they are watertight.

Once the start-up protocol is complete Daphbio strongly recommends 1 litre of Meiofaune Microfauna to stabilise the microfauna in your reef aquarium. 

Storage

Keep products in the refrigerator upon delivery, except for Bactoreef® which is stored at room temperature. Bring the bottle of Microfauna and meiofauna eggs to room temperature before adding it to the aquarium.

The vial of live microfauna should preferably be used immediately upon receipt. If not, the vial should be opened daily (or left open) to reoxygenate it, and stored in the refrigerator.