Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about
Viresco™ Aqua
and Viresco™ Koi
What is the difference between Viresco™ Aqua, Viresco™ Koi and Viresco™ Digester?
Viresco™ Aqua, the original product, is a mix of two
groups of micro-organism based items. One group removes the nutrients
- notably nitrate and phosphate - from pond water and the other
group digests organic waste on the bottoms and sides of ponds. Viresco™ Koi is a microbial product that contains mainly nutrient remover. Viresco™ Digester contains mainly organic waste digester.
Should I use Viresco™ Aqua or Viresco™ Koi to remove blanketweed and algae bloom?
Where ponds have little or no organic waste, then
the waste digester part of Viresco™ Aqua is somewhat superfluous. Our recommendation,
therefore, is to use Viresco™ Koi. For all general garden ponds in which organic
waste arises from fish excrement, from surplus food or from wind
carried leaves and grasses, we recommend Viresco™ Aqua. If in doubt then use Viresco™ Aqua.
How is Viresco™ applied?
Viresco™ is a dry powder. We advise that the appropriate
amount be mixed into half a bucket to a bucketful of water and allowed to stand for a few hours.
The water should be taken from the pond. Ideally it should be mixed
in the morning and applied to the pond in the evening. Also some
air should be introduced into the solution via the use of an air
stone or regular whisking. Never leave the solution for more than
24 hours before applying to the pond.
Should Viresco™ be put into the pond or into the filter?
Most people put the solution of Viresco™ directly
into the pond although some put the concentrated solution directly
into the filter.
How frequently should Viresco™ be used and how long does it last in the pond?
Some of our customers make one application and then
see no more blanketweed for over one full year. Others keep blanketweed
at bay for a few months with one application. However, a minority
of pondkeepers need more than one dose to suppress blanketweed.
Remember, every pond is different.
Should the pondkeeper apply maintenance doses
of Viresco™ ?
It makes sense to consider the application of maintenance
doses. However, unlike recommendations for some other products,
we do not suggest what and when these should be. We advise that
nitrate levels should be regularly checked and the readings used
as a guide as to when more Viresco™ should be added.
What
difference do fish stocking levels and overfeeding make?
Many ponds have filters with capacities that
are far greater than those needed for the ponds' volume. More fish
tend to be introduced knowing that the filters can cope with the
increased amounts of ammonia. Where this is the case, then more Viresco™ than our suggested dose should be used. The amount required is linked
to the increased amounts of ammonia produced rather than just straight
water volume. As a guideline, if there are more than 2.5kg of fish weight per 1000 gallons of water, then more Viresco™ Aqua or Koi should be used.
Similarly, where overfeeding occurs or when very high protein foods are used, more ammonia is produced. More ammonia means more nitrite and more nitrate. More Viresco™ should then be used.
How quickly does Viresco™ work?
Many people see blanketweed dying back within 4 to
5 days. For others it does take longer. For most people it occurs
within about 3-4 weeks. If, after this time, no noticeable change
has taken place, then apply a second dose.
What happens as the Viresco™ starts to work?
The colour of the blanketweed starts to change from
green towards brown. It also becomes brittle and pieces break off.
Some people have reported that pH levels in the pondwater increase
as the blanketweed dies.
Should the blanketweed be removed before applying Viresco™ ?
We would advise that as much of the blanketweed as
possible should be wound out before the Viresco™ is applied. This will reduce the need to clean up
weed debris after it has died. It will also keep better control
over rising pH levels.
Is Viresco™ safe for fish?
Yes, Viresco™ is safe for fish. It was initially formulated for
use in commercial fish farming to improve the growth, health and
disease resistance of the fish. The fact that it suppressed algae
growth by removing the nutrients on which algae feed turned out
to be a bonus.
How does Viresco™ improve the health and disease resistance of the fish?
The reason why a fish succumbs to a bacterial or
fungal disease is the bacteria or fungi that form the disease have
become predominant. If the pond system were kept in better balance
and the disease microbes had greater competition, then they would
not become predominant and form the disease. The micro-organisms
in Viresco™ are present in huge numbers and in a number of different
species. They do not remove the disease forming species but compete
with them for food and space and keep their numbers down so they
do not take over.
What does Viresco™ do to aeromonas?
Aeromonas bacteria, which can cause severe problems
to the health of fish, particularly in koi ponds, is kept at bay
in the same way as other pathogenic microbes by the competitive
action of the micro-organisms in Viresco.
Is Viresco™ safe for other wildlife?
Yes, there is no problem for other wildlife, eg newts
and frogs.
Does Viresco™ harm plants?
No, Viresco™ does no harm to plants. However, because Viresco
reduces nitrate levels in the water, plants may grow less strongly.
For example, leaves of, say, water lilies grow less vigorously but
the bonus is that they should flower better.
Are the Viresco™ products chemicals?
The Viresco™ products are micro-organism based and the method
of operation is biological and not chemical. Viresco™ contains a number of species of micro-organism carried
on bran. In addition there are support nutrients which are included
in the mixes. One critic on a website chat page suggested that,
because Viresco™ worked so well, it could only be a chemical and
not a biological/microbial product! We corrected him!
What about the use of salt in koi ponds?
There is some evidence that using salt can inhibit
the effect of Viresco. We have had reported by one customer that
salt levels of over half an ounce per gallon can affect Viresco™.
We remain unsure about this. as another pondkeeper stated that salt
at this same level did not affect the Viresco™ in her pond.
What about magnets?
Magnetic blanketweed control products do not affect
the microbes in Viresco™.
Can I use Viresco™ with chemicals?
Any fungicidal chemical that knocks back the microbes
in a filter system will also knock back the microbes in our Viresco™ products. Wait until these chemicals have dissipated.
An example of such a chemical is potassium permanganate. However,
other chemicals that are known not to affect microbes can be used
at the same time as Viresco™ Aqua. Many people use branded herbicides to remove
blanketweed and these types of products would not normally lower
the efficacy of Viresco™.
However, it still would be best to leave a gap of a few days between
using any injurious chemical and using Viresco™.
How do water changes affect the efficacy of Viresco™ ?
Obviously as water is removed from a pond, the microbes
in that water will be lost. However, because micro-organisms are
always growing and multiplying as long as there is food and space
available, those that remain in the pond will increase in numbers
until a microbial balance is reached. One customer told us that
he lost approximately 85% of his water shortly after applying Viresco™.
Our product went on to clear his blanketweed.
What does Viresco™ do to the micro-organisms in the filter?
Viresco™ helps to maintain an efficient biological filter
as it contains microbes that are used in the nitrifying process
in the filter.
Is Viresco™ temperature dependent?
Yes, Viresco™ works best in water temperatures above about
10°C (50°F). However, it will work in lower temperatures
but more sluggishly.
What effect does Viresco™ have on nitrate and phosphate?
Viresco™removes the nitrate arising from
the biological filter. Nitrate is formed from the conversion of
nitrite that in turn has been oxidised from ammonia. Nitrate can
be reduced to zero within a few days and kept at zero by the action
of the microbes in Viresco™.
Phosphate is also reduced but usually much more slowly. When the
nitrate level in the pondwater is zero or very, very low there is
no food available for the algae - either blanketweed or algae bloom.
What about trials work using Viresco™?
Over the years a number of trials have been carried out on Viresco™ products. Click here to read about them in detail.
Do pH levels affect Viresco™ ?
We are finding that, in high pH water, Viresco™ seems to take longer to work.
What is the effect of UV light and UV filters
on Viresco™ ?
It is widely accepted that ultra violet light from
the sky does destroy bacteria. In order to protect the bacteria
in Viresco™,
we recommend that the solution of the product be applied to the
pond in the evening, during low daylight levels followed by a period
of darkness. Initially, we also recommended that UV filters be turned
off as the UV light from them could affect the efficacy of the product.
However, we now believe that UV filters can be left on as the intensity
of the emitted light is generally not enough to kill bacteria. A
number of UV "experts" claim this to be the case. In support
of this, David Brown who did the trials work mentioned above, did
not switch off his UV light!
UV lights are primarily used to agglomerate algae bloom, the clumps of which are caught up in the physical filter. Viresco™ removes the nutrients on which both blanketweed and algae bloom live, so there should be no need to use a UV filter once the nitrate levels have been taken to zero. One customer reported to us in July 2001, that he had started to use Viresco™ Aqua more than 3 years previously. He had switched off his UV then and not put it back on again since!
It is still advisable to apply the product to the pond in the evening as the intensity of UV from daylight, even on bright cloudy is considerably greater than the UV from pond filters.
What is the shelf life of Viresco™ ?
The Viresco™ microbial products are purposely put out as soluble
powders. There is a tendency for
the powder to solidify over time. There is no problem with this. The Viresco™ range, unlike microbial products in liquid form,
have unlimited shelf lives if kept dry.
Liquid microbial products deteriorate over time. The end user of
a liquid product is usually uncertain of its shelf life. Also, the
end user might not know how long it has been in the supply chain
since manufacture.
Viresco™ Digester was launched in July 2001. It is used where there is excessive organic waste in ponds but has more specific applications, eg to clean up waste in under-gravel filters and to remove the fat/protein coatings on the sand particles in sand filters.
How much does it cost the pondkeeper to use Viresco™ ?
Using the best situation as an example, ie one application
lasting more than one year, the cost for treating a 1000 gallon
pond would be about 10p per week. This implies the purchase of a
3000 gallon pack for £14.75.
Using an example of a 1000 gallon pond requiring one full application along with maintenance doses of one quarter full rate every four weeks over half a year, the weekly cost is less than 20p. This is based on the purchase of a 6000 gallon pack at £25.75.
Unlike the recommendations for some other products, we do not specifically state that maintenance doses of exact amounts and frequencies should be used. Where products are mainly enzyme based, the enzymes run out and need to be replenished on a regular basis.
