Hi Jan

>What exactly are the shortcomings you see with f/2 growing medium?

f/2 media contains only 7 trace elements,
it has to be made by each user from the raw materials,
the shelf life is limited,
it is not effective in large waterbodies.

>As you said, it is used to grow marine diatoms and is made from artificial seawater.
Would this be applicable for the diatoms you are targeting to grow in lakes/streams/sewage?

Shrimp are grown in seawater, so f/2 media is made with artificial seawater.
If you wish to use f/2 media to grow diatoms in fresh water, you can use fresh water to make it.
So f/2 media made with fresh water can be used in lakes/streams/sewage, but it will not spread out into the large volume of water, so would not be very effective.

for e.g., Iron requirement is about 1 gram per 1 million liters of water.
The technology challenge is how to disperse 1 gram in 1 million liters of water, this is the challenge that our product Nualgi answers. The dispersion is achieved by using Nano Silica, this disperses naturally in water, so Iron and other micro-nutrients / trace minerals disperse very easily without any mechanical mixing.

f/2 works in small volumes of water, since you can manually mix the water.

>What diatom species are you targeting at with Nualgi?

Most people misunderstand this issue.
Would you ask a Urea manufacturer which species of crop you are targeting ?
Urea can be used to grow all crops from weeds, grass to rice, wheat, apples, etc. and when Urea is used in water the phytoplankton, weeds and grasses in the water too grow.

Similarly Nualgi enables growth of all species of Diatoms.
We do not target any particular species.
Some diatoms require more micro-nutrients than others, so these grow better when Nualgi is used.

Lakes have 10 to 100 species of Diatoms.
Most of the species grow when Nualgi is used.
Better diatoms require more micro-nutrients, so they grow more and
inferior diatoms that require less micro-nutrients grow less.

Bhaskar wrote: Diatoms are grown in small volume of water in shrimp hatchery using silica and f/2 media containing 7 micro-nutrients. This media has many shortcomings.

What exactly are the shortcomings you see with f/2 growing medium? As you said, it is used to grow marine diatoms and is made from artificial seawater. Would this be applicable for the diatoms you are targeting to grow in lakes/streams/sewage? What diatom species are you targeting at with Nualgi?

Hi Elizabeth and Scott

Nualgi is in regular commercial use since 2005 in all types of tanks, ponds, lakes, etc.
So there are no fundamental issues about performance, the actual performance does vary from location to location, until we understand how to get the best results in each pond or lake.

Arno's comments are purely theoretical, he has not used Nualgi.
I specifically asked him to try it out, but he did not reply.

The fact that micro-algae can be used to treat sewage is well know,
some people put it the other way that sewage can be used to grow micro-algae.

The fact that Diatoms are the largest group of micro-algae is well documented.
The fact that Diatoms are the best feed for fish and shrimp is also well documented.
1000s of shrimp hatcheries grow Diatoms to feed the larval shrimp and Artemia that is fed to the Post Larval Shrimp.

Diatoms are grown in small volume of water in shrimp hatchery using silica and f/2 media containing 7 micro-nutrients. This media has many shortcomings.

Nualgi is an revolutionary improvement of this process, it uses Nano Silica and 10 micro-nutrients adsorbed onto the Nano Silica. This causes a paradigm shift in the performance.

Other media can be used in small quantity of water that can be stirred, Nualgi can be used in large volumes - lakes of many acres / hectares, without having to mix or stir in any manner.

Hi, Elisabeth:
Thank you very much for the information.
I have read the conversation beween the two gentlemen. It is quite interesting.
best regards
Scott

Dear Bhaskar,

Good luck with your project in this Climate CoLab Contest.

Hi Scott:
I wanted to point out that this Nualgi procress with diatom algae has been discussed on the forum in several places already, see here (I think Arno was quite critical of it here):
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/175-fo...ion-from-india#13263

and here:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/147-pr...ource-for-fish#11098

and here:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/35-bio...it=12&start=12#11023

(if interested, you can also use the search function at the top right, or look for other posts by Bhaskar by clicking on his profile)

Regards,
Elisabeth

Dear Scott

Yes. This solution can be used anywhere in the world.

Diatoms are the largest group of algae in the world, they account for about 50% of all photosynthesis in water - lakes and oceans. They are the best natural food for fish, shrimp, oysters, etc.

Diatoms are the safest algae to grow and extremely beneficial to the environment.
We are promoting them to keep large lakes like Lake Taihu clean and free from algal blooms.

I will email details.

Dear Bhaskar:
I wonder if we could apply your technology in China for the subject.Is it harmful for the local eco-system?
best wishes
Scott

We are pleased to announce that a proposal submitted by us to contests organised by the Climate CoLab of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA have been selected for the Finals.

Nualgi - Diatom Algae for Sewage Treatment
Proposal for Waste Management by Nualgi-Diatom Algae
climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans...01420/planId/1320133

Details about the Climate CoLab project are on their website -
climatecolab.org/web/guest/about

Diatom Algae are the most prolific micro-algae / phytoplankton in water, both fresh water and oceans.

Nualgi is a product invented by Mr T Sampath Kumar of Bangalore in 2005 and it is used to grow Diatom Algae in all types and volumes of water, from Aquariums to Oceans.

Nualgi contains 10 micro-nutrients / trace elements – Iron, Zinc, Manganese, Magnesium, Boron, Calcium, Molybdenum, Sulfur, Copper, and Cobalt. These are adsorbed onto Nano Silica.

Diatoms have a silica shell and hence require silica, so they consume Nualgi and other algae and aquatic plants and weeds do not consume it. Thus Diatoms use the micro-nutrients and grow rapidly.

Diatoms consume CO2 and N P K and produce Oxygen during photosynthesis and they are the natural feed for fish in lakes, rivers, oceans, etc., hence growing them is the best solution to consume CO2, N and P and produce oxygen and grow more fish.

Thus Nualgi can be used to grow diatom algae to treat sewage and enable recycling of water at a lower cost compared to conventional technologies. So we have submitted our proposal to Climate CoLab of MIT and have been selected for the Finals.