The 100% satifaction comes from the fact that since we stated using it we have had no water quality issues after cleaning our filters and from the readings we get on a weekly basis that we cannot fault in any way Mucky so in our view it isnt as you call it snake oil .
All companies diversify and for Microbe_lift it was a natural progession from human waste to fish .
So I turn this around and ask you why you think this is nothing but expensive snake oil not only in filter bacteria but in all the other products Microbe_lift have to do with things such as sludge removal water quality etc
Dave
Thanks for the reply Dave. I'm glad you are currently having no weekly water quality issues, but it begs the question, what sort of water quality issues were you having before that you feel was solved by the use of this Microbe_lift product?
To answer your question as to "why you think this is nothing but expensive snake oil". . I'll say that it is only the bacteria contents of these products that I outright reject. Many of these products contain flocculating agents as well as certain enzymes and nutrients which are beneficial for a healthy bacteria colony, so I logically can't argue that these additives are "useless", but I could argue that it would make more sense, both effectively and cost wise, for most people to purchase those things separately. Take the flocculating agents, in many cases this is simple benonite clay (Koi Clay) and there are a number reasons adding clay can be beneficial to some pond not only in clarifying the water, but in adding nutrients for the fish and bacteria. I suppose if the amount of clay in in one of these product was high enough, and the dosage large enough, you might reap some of the benefits of adding clay to your pond, like from the water clarifying (flocculating) effects of the clay. There are also certain nutrients in benonite clay that nitrifying bacteria need to convert the nitrogen as well.
(read here) However I'm sure it would be much cheaper to just use a product like Koi Clay, or better yet, just buy some bulk benonite clay for this purpose.
The "bacteria" ingredients on the other hand, just don't add up. The only effective way you could transport a significantly viable nitriying bacteria colony would be to transport some sort of media with an established bacteria colony on it, and transport it in such a way that the bacteria colony would remain actively alive which would mean keeping the media moist and well oxygenated. That would preclude transporting them in an airtight bottle.
I have mentioned this before, if take some of your established bio-media out of your pond and seal it in a plastic bag for a couple days and then open it and smell it, it will have a rotten egg smell of hydrogen sulphide (H2S). This is because all the aerobic (oxygen loving) beneficial bacteria growing on the media will die (or go dormant) in the oxygen starved environment, and the anaerobic (oxygen hating) bacteria will begin to grow, and one of their main byproduct is H2S, which is why you'll smell that rotten eggs smell.
The main thing to remember here is that both types of bacteria will always be present in both conditions. In order for the anaerobic bacteria to start growing in the sealed plastic bag you don't have to seed it with any special bottle of "bacteria", you just have to seal the bag and create an oxygen less environment.
Going back to what you touched on regarding the treatment of human waste. I took a couple courses on waste water treatment and worked pretty closely with some people in the field in work camp type conditions where the utilize portable waste water treatment plants ranging in size from 20 person treatment units to larger 600 person treatment plants. If ever there was a situation where getting your biological activity up and running quickly these portable waste water treatment plant would be it. In no cases did they ever add any kind of bottled or packaged bacteria products to their system. In all cases they either relied on the bacteria that was present in the waste water itself, or they transferred active bio-media, and or
activated sludge along with the treatment plant, or from one existing treatment plant to another. When I asked the professionals in the field who ran these treatment plants if they ever added any sort of pre-packaged bacteria products, like those found in stores, they would laugh and say those things are not necessary, and even gave reasons similar to what I've been repeating, why they wouldn't really work anyway. What they said dovetailed perfectly with what I learned in my waste water course regarding the addition of bacteria.
The simple fact is, all the bacteria you need for a bio-filter in a pond, or a waste water treatment plant will always be present in the water itself, and the waste products you are trying to treat. If you want to get a higher concentration of the bacteria up and running faster, you must either transfer it via activated bio-media, or activated sludge. You can't put it in a sealed box or bottle, store it on a shelf and expect to be able to use it in any practical way later, because the waste water or the fish poop you are trying to treat will likely contain more of the
activated bacteria you are trying to treat then the bottle of snake oil you are dumping into your pond.
Peeing in your pond would probably do as much, or more, good then adding a bottle of Microbe-Lift as far as the bacteria are concerned.
