Biology
Snails, Mussels, Clams, Shells Black Layer, Sulfur, Sulfate, Iron, Manganese Bacteria & Polysaccharides
“And you thought bio was not playing a role? Here is what was listed after applying Curative and BC. It is a collection area that went bad biologically. Like on a golf course, those slosh areas. This is a physical view of Polysaccharide – biofilms. Polysaccharides are like a sheet of plastic and they are resistant to acids. But not resistant WaterSOLV™ BC and even less resistant to BC with WaterSOLV™ Curative. “
Snails, Mussels, Clams, Shells
It’s not the organism that causes the problem, the organism can be organic matter that in the nature of a slime that can easily move through systems and has a difficult time attaching where there is flow. The shells are the issue. The organism builds the shells extracting minerals mainly from the water, along with exuding polysaccharides, a biofilm, as the binder – like cement, sand and water. In every case, the shells are easily dissolved at 3 ppm Curative, plus added Curative for the water hardness demands which usually range from ½ to an addition 1-2 ppm. 1 ppm is 1 gallon per million gallons of water.
What is a shell? It’s mainly calcium carbonate, which when reacted with the Curative and dissolved is a rich grade of calcium acetate/glycolate and amino acids, extremely beneficial for vegetation of all sorts, turf, shrubs and trees. Any excess WaterSOLV™ Curative will work on the calcareous mineral complexes (including nutrients) in the soil to create the same reactions/conversions, as well as chloride salts mitigation.
Biocide, algaecide, fungicide, potassium permanganate, why worry about the organism. Let’s just take our minerals back making the water a better solvent and they’ll have nowhere to reside. Likewise in their reproduction, by modifying the minerals, the organisms are not able to construct the shells.
Facts:
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An adult mussel purifies 1 liter of water a day. So it’s maybe good to have them in your pond, but NOT them building shells in your irrigation lines.
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Their ability to attach and stay attached is very poor so they are typically found in low flow areas.
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Usually after being under treatment, depressurization of the system will release dead shells contained in eddy’s into the system.
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HCT converted shells become high grade nutrition for vegetation. HCT chemically converted minerals and metals are not suitable for shells to be re-developed (likewise, extremely beneficial for snail intrusions)
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One of their main building blocks for the shells is minerals, and food sources of sulfur and sulfate. Don’t feed them, keep sulfur and sulfate products out of the ponds. They’re not so good for your soils either if you have much bacteria in your water. Black Layer is technically “Sulfate Reducing Bacteria”. Sufficient bacteria, with sufficient sulfur and sulfate along with adequate hydration and deficient oxygen propagates black layer.
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Physical filtration; Asian 400 micron – Quagga 250 to 300 microns – Aquatic Snails – even smaller micron. What gets by filtration will sustain a position and develop.
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HCT has successfully treated each form.
Protozoa
Sulfate Reducing Bacteria / black layer
Iron Bacteria
Polysaccharides
While the reproduction rate of organisms is elevated by warmer temperatures, to their destruction by excessive heat and steam, organisms reproduce exponentially and temperature dependent it can be as quick as over 10 to 15 minutes. That being the case, a single organism can be 144 organisms in 1 day.
Where water has organisms at 10 to the 3rd, 10,000, in a single day they can equate to 2,985,984 colony forming units. 10 to the 7th calculates to 1,440,000,000. Several things impact this including food source (sulfur, sulfate, iron, manganese), temperature, oxygen content, CEC, SAR, hydration, infiltration. But, if we deal with the bacteria up front, we need not worry about the development of colonies. Sulfate reducing bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S, rotten egg odor), which is toxic to vegetation, as well as lethal to humans at odor detectable levels.
Chart - Total Bacteria
This is just the surface of the problem. The real problem is polysaccharides, an excretion by bacteria, a slime, that is impervious to just about everything including acids, nutrients, fungicides, algaecides and even various liquid and powder chlorines, but not to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). And yet H2O2 will damage vegetation, as will many oxidants.
This is why we developed WaterSOLV™ BC, a peroxide that will not damage vegetation, that will penetrate and mitigate polysaccharide, while degrading to pure water and much desired dissolved oxygen, while also adding the amino acids, acetates, glycolates and mitigate chloride salts, similar traits to its predecessor WaterSOLV™ Concentrate and WaterSOLV™ Curative.
Organic Matter - How do we differentiate between organic matter and biomatter? Certainly not by ash content. Stay tuned as we work this out.
Fairy Ring - Not a single case of Fairy Ring at turf facilities using HCT’s WaterSOLV™ Program.