Viresco Products ... Nitrate Removers for Ponds and Aquariums

Read what John Mclauchlen has to say about his world class blanketweed and algae destroyer ... Viresco for fish ponds and aquariums.

We sell a number of microbial-based products that are used in ponds and aquariums to suppress blanketweed and other algae. Viresco Aqua was the first product to be introduced in autumn 1997. It contains a mixture of two groups of micro-organisms One part contains microbes that remove nitrate and reduce phosphate and the other part is a microbial organic waste digester. Because most koi keepers lend to keep their ponds clear of organic waste, they do not need the waste digester We therefore brought out Viresco Koi, which has a larger proportion of the nutrient remover microbial mix.

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Viresco will take the nitrate content in the water down to zero and, as a consequence, blanketweed and algae bloom die of starvation. Viresco will then keep the nitrate level at zero for a period of time, usually from a few weeks to a few months. and during that time, algae remain absent. Viresco will also reduce phosphate levels but we have no evidence that it will take phosphate down to zero

Many people cannot accept that nitrate can be completely removed in pond and aquarium water through microbial action However, our products will do just that They complete the last step of the nitrogen cycle by converting nitrate to nitrogen under anaerobic conditions

The products are all non-chemical and are mixtures of microbes and support nutrients They are harmless to plants, pets, insects, amphibians etc. We even have Viresco being used in a swimming pool instead of chlorine. We also have it in use in a swimming pond in France. The owner tried it last year for the first time and about a month ago, he ordered another batch of product for his pond!

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The retail pack sizes we sell for both Viresco Aqua and VirescoKoi are the same, ie 5gm IOgm and 25gm. These pond products are used very sparingly For example, 10g will treat 6000 gallons or 27 cubic metres of pond water

Viresco Aqua was initially formulated to improve the health, growth and disease resistance of fish. The nutrient removing capability came about as a secondary benefit! Whilst we are pushing the products primarily as a blanketweed and algae bloom suppressant, many customers tell us that their fish are "more lively", are "different creatures", are no longer lethargic, are eating voraciously, have quickly recovered from lesions etc

We stated selling the Viresco aquatic products in flat packs via mail order in 1997. We have continued to do this but in 2001 we introduced a range of packs for sale through aquatic retailers The product is inside a plastic grip-seal pack in a small tub.

Up to the end of April 2005, we had sold just over 45,000 pads of the products, which are enough to treat about 185,000,000 gallons of water!,

The Viresco" products give very good repeat business Towards the end of May 2004, we did a check on 362 consecutive mail orders going back in time Of these orders, 229 (63%) were from previous customers and 66 (18%) were from recommendations

The revenue from sales of VirescoAqua and Viresco Koi from January 1' 2005 to 30" April 2005 is up by 51% compared with the same period of 2004. We believe this large increase after almost 8 years of sales shows what an exceptional product Viresco is! This increase in sales is very much to do with repeat orders and recommendations.

In 2000, David Brown, who used to write and carry out trials for "Koi Ponds & Gardens" used Viresco Koi in his 4000 gallon pond where the nitrate level was 80 ppm and blanketweed was growing at 2 feet per day. Nine days after applying our Viresco, nitrate was zero and blanketweed was gone Nitrate remained at zero and blanketweed remained away for a further 3 months when the pond was emptied and rebuilt

Then in 2001, Brooksby College carried out a trial on 6 different so-called blanketweed control products Two were gadgets, two were pseudo-chemicals and two were microbial. Viresco Koi was one of the microbial products Our product was declared "The Winner". An article on this trial was published in August 2001 "Koi Ponds & Gardens"

In last year's summer issue of "Koi Ponds and Gardens", there was another feature on blanketweed control in ponds. Out of 13 products featured, Viresco Koi came out equal top with two other products with 8 points. One of these other products was given the accolade of being best overall, but 1 take exception to this as the full cost implications of using that product was not taken into account! I am also upset that they mention in the article that the whole pack of Viresco (10g) should he used all at once! This is not so!

The 10g pack of Viresco Aqua or Viresco Koi is normally sufficient to treat a 6000-gallon pond. However, we do advise customers there is a need to consider fish stocking levels when Viresco is used. Strictly speaking, the product does not relate to pond volumes but to the amount of ammoniacal excrement the fish produce. Where ponds are over-filtered and, as a consequence, over-stocked with fish, we recommend that more Viresco should be put into the water. We use a rough yardstick of 60 inches of fish per 1000 gallons. Where this is exceeded, then proportionately more Viresco should be applied

We also sell a Viresco product for use in freshwater aquariums. It was launched in early 2003. VirescoTM Aquarium is used in coldwater and tropical tanks to take out nitrate and remove algae. It will also digest organic waste. This product was initially packed in small capsules of 0.21 ml volume. We now put it into capsules of 0.30ml volume. Each capsule will treat 10 to 15 gallons of aquarium water. We supply the products in packs of 10, 25 and 50 capsules for sale to our mail order customers and to retail outlets.

Viresco Aquarium was the subject of a trial report in the February 2003 issue of "Tropical Fish". Simon Wolstencroft, who was then the editor of the magazine, carried out the trial. His initial nitrate reading was 25mg/I (ppm). Within 10 days of adding Viresco Aquarium, this level was halved and after one month it was so low as to be unmeasurable. Towards the end of the article, he states "... in almost three months of continuous use, the front glass of the aquarium has not needed to be cleaned of algae, and there has been a considerable reduction of sludge. Our Verdict: We can't quite figure out how this product works but work it does. An absolute essential for freshwater fishkeepers."

Almost 5 years ago at the Essex BKKS Show, we sold a pack of Viresco to a pondkeeper. Five days later, he rang me to say that he had observed something strange after applying our product. He stated that he has a glass viewing plate, 7ft 6in x 4ft 2in, on his pond. Normally, he has had to wipe down algae from this viewing plate every day. Since he put our Viresco into his pond, he had no need to wipe down the glass. However, there is no way, in my view, that the nitrate level in his pond could have been removed in 12 hours to cause the algae to disappear through starvation. Something else must have happened. I believe that the microbes in our product had preferentially taken up residence on the surface of the glass thus preventing the algae bloom from adhering to the glass. This effect is supported by the experience of Simon Wolstencroft when he states that in the three months of the trial, his aquarium glass had not been cleaned of algae. It took him one month to reduce the nitrate to zero but prior to its removal, no cleaning was required.

Read a lot more about Viresco and blanketweed