Opinions on Viresco Aquarium

[seangee]

Has anyone used this and what are your results?
It claims to reduce nitrates to 0.

Please note I am not looking to reduce my water changes and do not have an algae problem. I do, however have tap water that contains nitrates at 50ppm. I am currently using a pozzani filter to reduce this for water changes but if this actually does what it says on the tin it may be a viable alternative.
All the reviews say that it works well for algae but I can't find one that mentions testing for nitrate levels

I have used the pond product in the past when I was struggling with blanket weed and it did indeed help in that struggle (but I never tested for nitrates at the time). A far as I can tell from the (limited) info on their website its the same product but in capsule form rather than powder.
http://www.viresco-uk.com/information/aquatic_products.asp#aquarium

I'm happy enough to order a small pack to test, but its much easier if someone has done this (or can confirm that it is in fact snake oil )

Update: Just tested both of my tanks at around 5ppm so would have to test in a bucket

 

[AbbeysDad]

I did a google on "Viresco™ Aquarium reviews" and it doesn't look good.
If there was a chemical (capsule or other) that would eliminate nitrates it would be HUGE in the hobby - but there just isn't.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hmm, having had a look at this on the link you provided and can’t unite put my finger in it but I honestly would not trust it personally.

Have to concur with AbbeysDad that it does not look all that and if this was genuine it would be a HUGE event for fish keepers and would be big news etc and having not heard of Viresco at all, does not mean it’s no good and could actually work to som degree but have reservations.

FYI, I have at the very least 40ppm of nitrate that comes from my taps and never had much issue to be entirely honest, mainly down to having a medium to fairly heavily planted set ups that mans the plants basically consumes most if not all the nitrate and at the end of each week before doing water changes, it’s rare to get even 5ppm nitrate, normally at zero despite adding at least 40ppm nitrate every week during water changes.

So I’d suggest investing money in more plants and ferts rather than this Viresco product to be honest.

As for your issues in having blanketweed or algae, likely there is an imbalance in your water column somewhere, could be one or a combination of too much or too little of nutrients, ferts, lighting, co2 etc etc so if you adjust one thing at a time and watch the plants and algae and see how they grow as well as removing as much algae as is possible will help.

No fast fix am afraid but you’ll get there surely if you are patient and persevere with this.

 

[seangee]

Pretty much my thought processes. I emailed them

I did a google on "Viresco™ Aquarium reviews" and it doesn't look good.
If there was a chemical (capsule or other) that would eliminate nitrates it would be HUGE in the hobby - but there just isn't.

Pretty much my thought processes. I emailed them for more details so will post their response.

I did discover that I have a pack of the powder in a cool dry drawer and they claim an indefinite shelf life. So I am going to give it a go in the pond. Will have to wait a few days as I'm low on the test reagents and wouldn't regard using the strips as conclusive, so have ordered more. For economic reasons I don't filter the pond water (changed 4000 liters today ) and the only assistance I get from photosynthesis is from the half inch covering of algae on the walls. Those ghosts destroy anything I plant or float - and are super messy.

As for your issues in having blanketweed or algae, likely there is an imbalance in your water column somewhere, could be one or a combination of too much or too little of nutrients, ferts, lighting, co2

Don't have any issues. That's the reason I still have so much of the stuff left. Pond occasionaly has blanket weed in summer because I can't control the light. The tanks have low light and I don't use CO2 (one is a blackwater setup for fish that don't appreciate light). The plants are sufficient to reduce the nitrates slightly but no way I can clear 50ppm.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ah, blanketweed in the pond, I assumed you meant in your tanks, my bad.

Yes, very common to get blanketweed in ponds, the scourge of many a pond keeper. I was lucky when I had my pond that I did not get much blanketweed. I threw in lots of elodea and lily plants every summer which did help combat against algae for nutrients in the pond water I reckon.

As for eliminating 50ppm in your tanks with plants, I’d say it’s definitely possible provided there’s enough fast growing plants such as elodea and floating plants such as water lettuce to name a couple of my go to plants that I’ve used in the past to good use in my battle against high nitrates and algae.

Of course what works for one keeper may not work for another so a case of common senses as well as trail and error and processes of elinimation to see what works best for your pond and tank set ups.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ah, blanketweed in the pond, I assumed you meant in your tanks, my bad.

Yes, very common to get blanketweed in ponds, the scourge of many a pond keeper. I was lucky when I had my pond that I did not get much blanketweed. I threw in lots of elodea and lily plants every summer which did help combat against algae for nutrients in the pond water I reckon.

As for eliminating 50ppm in your tanks with plants, I’d say it’s definitely possible provided there’s enough fast growing plants such as elodea and floating plants such as water lettuce to name a couple of my go to plants that I’ve used in the past to good use in my battle against high nitrates and algae.

Of course what works for one keeper may not work for another so a case of common senses as well as trail and error and processes of elinimation to see what works best for your pond and tank set ups.

 

[Colin_T]

Either get a de-nitrating filter, which is an anaerobic filter that breaks nitrates down into nitrogen gas and removes it from the water, or set up a holding pond with a heap of duckweed. The duckweed will strip the nitrates out of the water pretty quickly leaving clean water behind.

 

[NickAu]

Hi

I do, however have tap water that contains nitrates at 50ppm

I just posted a video by Pondguru about filtration, a properly set up canister filter will easily deal with the Nitrates.
Why Your Filter is TOO SMALL and NOT CYCLED

 

[seangee]

I am perfectly comfortable with what I am doing now. When I chose to use the pozzani (resin based DI) I did briefly toy with building a coil filter for anaerobic bacteria but decided the risk was too high for things to go wrong. I like an easy life so daily testing and tweaking simply is not for me.

Original post was really about whether their claims were likely, or even possible. I suspect @AbbeysDad is correct and we would all have heard if there was a magical cure for nitrates. But I do know thare have been trials of aerobic denitrification for water sanitation plants and species of bacteria that will do this have been identified. I think I have also read about micro organisms that directly consume N03 with N2 as a by-product without producing nitrite as an intermediate step (although that may have been a sales brochure ). My suspicion (and I really am just guessing) is that in either case the organisms have a fairly short lifecycle and do not reproduce effectively outside a lab environment so each injection would effectively be a "one-off" treatment, which would not be economically viable.

The only tests I have seen related to fishkeeping were for a different product by a commercial Koi breeder. Those guys produce massive amounts of nitrates. His conclusion was that the product he tried was effective at controlling nitrates (the levels went up much slower than without treatment) but was uneconomical for practical use in his application.

 

[Colin_T]

Back in the late 80s/ early 90s I had one of the Sera Titan Bio Denitrator (see following link)
http://www.hoork.com/neu-original-sera-titan-bio-denitrator-fur-sus-seewasser/

I had it being drip fed from a small powerhead I was using on a wave maker. It took a few months before it started working but once established I had 0 nitrates for over a year and I fed the tank a lot of food. The tank was 4ft long x 14inches wide x 18 inches high and had a heap of marine fish and a sea anemone in it. It got a 50% water change about once a month.

I never had an issue with it upsetting the tank and it simply dripped one drop of water into the tank every few seconds. It worked really well.

According to the instructions I was meant to feed it a carbon tablet each day and I did for about 3 months. Then I reduced it to half a tablet each day and after a month I stopped adding anything. It continued to work perfectly even tho I wasn't adding carbon.

They weren't big sellers and the carbon tablets cost a bit so they never took off. But they did work

 

[seangee]

Well I did get a "next working day" response. Here it is...

Thanks for your email.

There is no definitive answer to your question re how long Viresco Aquarium lasts for - it depends on your tank. The microorganisms will multiply and multiply as soon as they are put into the water.They set themselves up on biofilms in the tank (on the glass, stones, plants etc) and survive by taking in nitrate from the water which they convert to gas which is expelled from the water. If there is no nitrate, they die. The microbes can last a long time if the environment is right. Waste produced by fish provides nitrate. Topping up adds nitrate. Water changes can "dilute " the microbes, even though many will remain within the biofilms, so we always advise that additional doses are added after each water change.

I would expect nitrate to be significantly reduced within a week but would then recommend maintenance doses after each weekly water change.

Our customers usually work out a regime through experimentation. Some also prefer to use Viresco Aqua directly, rather than the capsules. The capsules are measured into doses, but often, the more product is used, the faster it works and the longer it lasts.

I am sorry if this is not very helpful - please don't hesitate to contact me again if you want to order or ask anything further.

Kind Regards

 

[seangee]

I sent a follow up mail with additional questions and was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from one of the owners. She acknowleged that she was not a scientist but that her late father was an agricultural scientist and had originally developed the product for soil denitrification.

She did answer my questions sensibly and is sending me samples to test along with lab test reports and some old product reviews (iirc by PFK). She did mention that in the past Fluval sold their product in the form of nitro-gone tablets. According to her Fluval switched to an asian supplier that claimed to do the same thing for cheaper and subsequently discontinued the product as it (the asian alternative) did not work.

She actually caught me mid water change so at this moment my tank has almost zero nitrates. I am currently filling my containers with tap water (unfiltered) for next week's change and will start daily nitrate testing once that goes in. I'm not a scientist either but I will take daily readings for a week to assess how my setup deals with nitrates without intervention and then continue to test daily using the recommended dose for treating the whole tank (week 1), with subsequent doses of 50% with my 50% water changes.

I will keep posting to this thread in case anyone is intested in the results

 

[seangee]

Test kit arrived today so I'll get started.
A few notes:

• Dates in European format
• New API test kit, will use same for all readings
• Previously stated reading of 50ppm was a different test. Reading is actually between 40 and 80 but 40 is closest. Water supplier website confirms 50.
• Will start recording tank after next w/c as it currently has no nitrates
• Closest graduations to current are 20 & 80. No point in testing daily or at same time of day, will ensure I always test before feeding
• Will feed as normal and stick to usual maintenance schedule.
• Will turn pond UV off for first 48 hours.

Date Pond Aquarium Notes
05/06/18 40ppm N/A Tap water tested at 40ppm. 50% W/C on 01/06. Assume algae in pond is sufficient to keep nitrates constant. Consistent with prev tests. Will add first treatment to pond tonight.

Oh and in case you are wondering I don't do 50% weekly water changes on the pond. I clean the filters monthly and volume of (monthly) water change is based on what I find in them .

I'll be back with an update in about a week.

 

[seangee]

First results in the pond are in. I did a top up on Thursday (evaporation) and cleared some sludge and brushed the walls on Friday (routine maintenance). Turned the UV back on on Friday, although the water remains chrystal clear.

This mornings nitrate reading was 20ppm. Yes I did test twice! There is also noticeably less algae on the walls, including some bare patches.

Should have tested the other parms before I started to get a baseline but I didn't . Here are todays readings (using tetra strips). Numbers in brackets are what's in my taps and indoor aquaria. Of course the pond does get rained in so I'm not reading anything into the numbers. The strips also confirmed my nitrate readings.

pH: 7.2 (7.6)
dGH: 16 (16)
dKH: 15 (20)

Will baseline the tank after today's w/c and report daily readings next weekend. I won't be adding anything to the tank this week as I want to see how the plants deal with the nitrates unaided. I have a lot more plants now than when I started with the pozzani filter.

 

[seangee]

Closing this out in case anyone is interested.
Testing did have some challenges because of the heat wave in the UK which required some emergency changes indoors and abnormally high evaporation indoors and out but here is the synopsis.

The nitrate concentration in my tap water is 50ppm. To reduce nitrates from 50ppm to 25ppm in a week requires approximately 4 times the recommended dosage. In the aquarium where I change 50% per week one week is not enough for the bacteria to multiply so you have to top it up. This means using twice the recommended dosage for the entire tank every week after the initial dosage. The health of my plants did suffer a bit despite the fact that they had higher levels of nitrates (prior to testing I was filtering nitrates out usin an anionic resin). I did not test for pottasium but assume that this is because the product also reduces pottasium. Algae increased. This was only slightly and easily managed by reducing the photo period, I assume this is because of higher nitrate levels.

In the pond the picture was different because I did no water changes. I did top up for evaporation regularly and the pond is well stocked - so I would expect nitrate levels to go up. The only significant plants in the pond are the algae on the walls. At 4 times the recommended dosage the pond nitrate level did drop from 50ppm to around 25ppm in a week and continued to gradually drop for over a month without any additional dosing. I do not filter the pond water for nitrates as this would not be economically viable given the volume.

I have now returned to using filtered water in the aquarium as it is more effective and more economical. I will continue using Viresco in the pond and top up the dosage if / when the nitrate levels start rising again.

Fish tank is 180 litres, heavily stocked and moderately planted.
Pond is 7000 litres, heavily stocked and not planted (other than algae on the walls).