After hearing Steve Whitesides presentation at one of the ITFS meetings and seeing the tanks he was running at the show, I decided it was time to try this stuff.

There was a lot of discussion on this forum and other forums about what it is and how it works, but no one seems to have the answer to the "how it works" bit, at least not the full technical details. I am fascinated to know how this product works and anything that reduces the volume of waterchanges required on nearly 30 tanks if worth investigating.

For the trial I am going to run four tanks on Organic Aqua (OA) for a few months and see what the results are. Initially I have converted two tanks, one of 75l and one 125l. Both hold a mixture of various corys and plecs, the latter is also home to a pair of Betta simplex. The third tank will be a 60l breeding tank for a group of Corydoras aeneus that breed like clockwork, I want to see will the OA have any impact on their breeding activity. The fourth tank will be a heavily stocked holding tank.

To convert an existing tank is straightforward, if a little alien to a traditional fishkeeper. Do a 75% water change, no dechlorinator needed, with water of the correct temp and pH. Wash out your filters in tap water to kill the bacteria, replace biological media with mechanical media and add extra aeration. Add the three components of Organic Aqua. (1) “B-bac” looks like chopped tobacco or dried tea leaves, this medium is the home to the bacteria to be released in the tank. (2) “General Treatment” clear liquid, a mixture of plant extracts and water soluble oils. (3) “Health Treatment”, a sugar like white powder that instantly dissolves in water, contains essential minerals and plant material.

Results to-date:
5 days after converting two tanks, there are no problems, the fish look happy and healthy and are feeding well the water is clear and the pH has not changed.

I will update this thread as the trial goes on and report any news, good or bad.


(If you are going to try OA yourself, please read the instructions carefully first)<br><br>Post edited by: Daragh, at: 2007/08/06 15:38

I am really curious to see how you get on. will keep an eye on this thread to follow your progress. Hope it goes well for you

Nessa

i am trying organic on a few tanks and will also post my findings on this thread.

Although some people complain about this sort of product. I feel that it's very useful for people to be reviewing these things. After all, one man's something is another man's something &amp; all that (bad memory there )

I think it might be a good idea to review products &amp; perhaps have a section in the articles for it. That way some people needn't go waisting their money on rubbish.

I'm also interested to hear about Tetra's new product for maturation (isn't it called Safe Start?) So if anyone has cycled a tank this way (preferably as it says on the bottle) then it'd be great to hear about it.

Regards

Richard

Never used Safe start but TetraAqua Bactozym works a treat.

Organic Aqua Trial - Update

Tanks 1 and 2 are still doing fine, I have to remind myself NOT to do a water change as I work my way around the room. It seems so strange not to need a water change. The fish are perky and eating well. One small niggle is that I think the water looks ever so slightly cloudy, it will be interesting to see if this clears or gets worse.

The 4th tank I mentioned I was going to try was a stock tank, I went one futher and do not convert a new tank, instead I set up a new tank with tap water only, no dechlorinator. I got the temp up to 75f, pH was 7.0 anyway so in went the OA closely followed by 50 1&quot; corys!!! Yes I know it sounds a but crazy but 24 hours later the fish are all fine and looking for food.

I will update if there are any developments.

Sounds a bit crazy? Understatement of the year. Risking 50 corys sounds not only a bit crazy. If you have too many of them, I'll take them off your hands

Ignore Holger as I think he's a fetish for cory's at the moment.

Can someone please clarify how exactly this product works, I've tried to find information with little luck. Personaly, As a fishkeeper myself, I would not use a product unless I knew exactly what it was doing? I've used safestart and understand the basic principal behind it however I've found nothing on this product.

Personnaly, Safestart Works a treat, Tried, Tested, Proven.

I wish you luck with your experiment and hope all goes well.

Dave.

I agree that the technical details are a bit sketchy, but I am still willing to try it. As I said in another thread, no one knows exactly how barley straw works to clear a pond, but it is used all over the world and has been for 800 years. It is essentially the same with Organic Aqua, perhaps the creator(s) know what is going on but want to protect there product, who knows. It has been in use since 1976, so there must be something to it, hence the trial. I am sure you have read the posts above, but I don't know any ohter product you could add to tap water and dump in 50 corys and have them swimming around happily eating and still looking great after 24 hours. Naturally I will monitor how they are getting on and act if they are stressed or in any difficlutly, but I don't expect anything like that. When I have completed my trial I may be no wiser as to how exactly it works, but I will know whether or not it works for me and if it does I would have no problems continuing to use it, if it is of benefit to me. I don't know how most perscription drugs work either, that does not mean I won't take what the doc has ordered