MICROBE-LIFT -- DOES IT REALLY WORK?

[Mmathis]

I've read where several of you use this, so just wondering. And what about the "seasonal" formulas such as the FALL/WINTER PREP.

 

[Tula]

I use it and have for the last 6 years. Our fish hatchery recommended it, as well as the guy who built our pond. I believe it helps break down organic matter. I've used the fall / winter prep, but also just bought the lg. bottle of the regular stuff and use it monthly year round.

When I had the gravel removed from my pond this past fall and the pond cleaned, the pond guy told me I was going to have a huge PH crash and I would "lose" the pond to green water for awhile….said it was inevitable. I used the Microbelift and had no problems…….just my experience . Kim

 

[mrsclem]

I have used it in the past and still use the fall and winter prep. The price has got me looking for other products. Use the granular Pondzyme monthly during summer. Never saw a big effect from the Microblift.

 

[Sunshine]

I use to use it when I first started ponding. But, haven't used it in years. My son actually used it in his aquarium cause he had cloudy water, it cleared it up fast.

 

[crsublette]

Yep, used it and their entire line of products as well for a while along with their products for aquatic plants. The local store near me only had their PL product, which is their basic "all purpose" bacteria product, so I purchased much of their product line from MicrobeLift USA.

I dosed according to the recommended schedule and only paired the products that they recommended to pair with each other. This constant dosage recommendation for some of their products is what can cause using their product to become quite expensive. I did this for an entire season and did not get the impression the Microbelift made a noticeable difference. Also, take note that some of their products are not recommended to be used at the same time.

I never could properly judge their Sludge Away and SA-Booster product, but these type of products that break down complex organics, such as dead leaves or other decaying organics, are known to actually work since the usage of these type of products are used so often to treat outhouses, lakes with an accumulation of organic waste, and other septic systems. However, proper pond husbandry suggests to not allow organics to build up , but, if it is unavoidable due to the shear volume of plants in the pond or due to the pond's construction, then this might be a worthwhile product to try out.

The only product I would recommend is their Calcium Montmorillonite Clay. Ultimate Koi Clay (in the same hyperlink) is good as well along with Thrive Koi Clay. These clay products is an excellent additive all around, adds micro-nutrients to improve the microorganisms in the water and filter, add nutrients to help the fish's color, and acts as a natural polymer to help increase the water's clarity. Mixing these clay products into fish food is quite common as well in homemade fish food recipes.

If you really want to try an enzyme or preventative care product, then look into KoiZyme. It is just about the only preventative care, all natural, product that I constantly read high recommendations for its use coming from hobbiests that are quite serious about their fish. I don't know if it truly works, nor know anything about its efficacy, but, according to hobbyiests that I respect and trust, it is held in high regard. Be careful with anything that involves "preventative care" since some products out there will, that is over a period of time of usage, actually boost the resistances of the organisms that they are trying to prevent from hurting the fish.


Watchout. You might spend more money than you realize when experimenting with these products.

Now, I just use the koi clay, and, on occasion, would use the KoiZyme.

 

[Mmathis]

Thanks all! Instead of using something on a permanent basis, was looking at using something right now, and just over the next couple of months. Just to give the breakdown process a little BOOST.

Though I probably made a bad choice of timing, am doing some pond re-habbing during the off-season. This is involving occasionally stirring up the silt & crud, and has also led to the total removal of a huge portion of PVC pipe that was supporting my "turtle bogs." They say you lose your beneficial bacteria anyway when the water temps drop, so wasn't too worried about this all this right now. I wasn't able to get netting up, so there are a good number of leaves on the bottom (slowly getting these up).

Whenever I do a major silt stir-up, I've been following that up by letting the water rest as well as increasing filtration (and going through a LOT of quilt batting to catch the silt!). Guess I really need to check my water parameters to see what's really going on.....

 

[mrsclem]

Never checked water parameters in the winter. Do you test the water cold or bring it in or does it make a difference?

 

[Dave 54]

I use the microbe lift PL Filterpad innoculant gel with good results when cleaning our system through I found the same problem as Charles with the Sludge away and SA Booster but otherwise cannot fault them .
I recomend it to anyone wishing to try it however it stinks to high heaven your filters have to be left in the open air for an hour then soaked without a flow through for another, we do this one filter at a time over a three week period .
We give the filters three major cleans a year late spring, mid summer and the end of Autumn and have no trouble with the water perameters throughout the year .
I use it in conjunction with zeolite rocks and Lythaqua or Chrushed Oyster shell depndant on what we can buy at that time the zeolite is changed mid spring and mid autumn .

Dave

 

[koiguy1969]

on the PL Gel Filter Inocculant, i coat the media, let sit 2 hours, load filter, and fill with pond water for another 2 hours, turn on pump. it smells of hydrogen sulfide, (rotten eggs) real strong. so applying it to the media is an outdoor job. aside of dechlorinator, the only other bottled pond product i use is.Koi VItal by Tetrapond....
heres a link: http://www.amazon.com/TetraPond-KoiVital-Treatment-Ounces-Gallons/dp/B00025K0YO

 

[sissy]

I have used it for 11 years now .It smells like rotten eggs but I think it really helps my pond ,I use it every fall and spring .When the temps jump up and down here so often it really helps keep algae away

 

[crsublette]

Never checked water parameters in the winter. Do you test the water cold or bring it in or does it make a difference?

If the instructions contains the phrase, "at room temperature", then this indicates that water temperature impacts the chemical reaction time for the test kit to give the most accurate reading.

The period of "wait time", so to get the most accurate reading, before matching the test vial against the color chart is determined by the water temperature.

Ammonia test kit's accuracy is the one test that is most notably impacted by water temperature. Due to how the inorganic chemical (ammonia) changes with temperature, this impacts the chemicals reaction with the test kit solution. In warm water (above 78*F), it should only take around 2~5 minutes "wait time" to get an accurate reading. In colder water, it would be best to wait around 15 minutes to get an accurate reading.

Ultimately, it depends on the manufacturer of the test kits and the solutions they use to conduct the tests.

There are tests that the water temperature does not impact the "wait time" for an accurate reading such as KH and GH and even phosphate (depending on who makes it) is almost an instant reaction.

So, read the instructions on the test kit. The appropriate "wait time" and impact of water temperature should tell you in the instructions.

 

[Mmathis]

If the instructions contains the phrase, "at room temperature", then this indicates that water temperature impacts the chemical reaction time for the test kit to give the most accurate reading.

So, read the instructions on the test kit. The appropriate "wait time" and impact of water temperature should tell you in the instructions.

Duh, I never thought of that! Guess I "assumed" that the results were more accurate the more quickly they were read.

 

[crsublette]

Thanks all! Instead of using something on a permanent basis, was looking at using something right now, and just over the next couple of months. Just to give the breakdown process a little BOOST.

Though I probably made a bad choice of timing, am doing some pond re-habbing during the off-season. This is involving occasionally stirring up the silt & crud, and has also led to the total removal of a huge portion of PVC pipe that was supporting my "turtle bogs." 1) They say you lose your beneficial bacteria anyway when the water temps drop, so wasn't too worried about this all this right now. I wasn't able to get netting up, so there are a good number of leaves on the bottom (slowly getting these up).

Whenever I do a major silt stir-up, I've been following that up by letting the water rest as well as increasing filtration (and going through a LOT of quilt batting to catch the silt!). Guess I really need to check my water parameters to see what's really going on.....

After a big remodeling effort like you are describing, I would do a very slow major water change, that is remove old water first then slowly added new water over a period of a day, and then add the appropriate compounds to help boost the microorganism's growth. However, you will not see much improvement in the microorganism's growth until the water warms up.

If you need that "feel good" state of mind from "doing something" that "seems right", then you can dose the cold water with a bacteria product.


1) They say you lose your beneficial bacteria anyway when the water temps drop

Makes me cringe a bit. I suppose in a way you do "lose" them in one sense of the term since the bacteria, or microorganisms, morph into something else.

Actually, the speciation of microorganism's concentration simply just changes from one type of microorganism to another microorganism. Once the water warms up and the environment becomes stables, then this change goes into the other direction so to better match the water's environment and concentration of inorganic chemicals (that is ammonia, nitrite, etc).

When water temps drop, In particular, the conversion rates is what changes. Since, in lower water temperatures there is less inorganic chemicls products, then a lower conversion rate is all that is needed to convert the compounds.

So, you do not really "lose" your "beneficial bacteria". If anything that impacts this, then it is the construction and type of biological filtration used and other environmental variables are what impacts the "beneficial bacteria" moreso than any other variable.


You are more likely and truely losing "beneficial bacteria" moreso when outright remove the PVC. Since, from the previous season, this would give ample time for the microorganisms to colonize inside the PVC pipe. Although, this type of loss is true when anything is removed from the pond. I do not think loss would be significant, but this is just me thinking out loud.

 

[crsublette]

on the PL Gel Filter Inocculant, i coat the media, let sit 2 hours, load filter, and fill with pond water for another 2 hours, turn on pump. it smells of hydrogen sulfide, (rotten eggs) real strong. so applying it to the media is an outdoor job. aside of dechlorinator, the only other bottled pond product i use is.Koi VItal by Tetrapond....
heres a link: http://www.amazon.com/TetraPond-KoiVital-Treatment-Ounces-Gallons/dp/B00025K0YO

I have used it for 11 years now .It smells like rotten eggs but I think it really helps my pond ,I use it every fall and spring .When the temps jump up and down here so often it really helps keep algae away

Yeah, back when I had an e-mail conversation with Microbe-Lift, they told me the company injects their liquid products with the hydrogen sulfide ion to act as a preservative and they only use a low concentration of it. This is why Microbe-Lift says on their website, "you know a bottle is ' fresh ' if it still has a strong ' rotten egg smell ' ".


"smells like rotten eggs" is never a good thing and my thoughts as to why (post#19), but the chemical causing this smell dissipates out of the water quite fast.

I don't know... I think Microbe-Life might be right that they do not use enough of the compound to cause harm to anything, but this never did rub me right.