How Is Aqua-Vive Produced?
Aqua-Vive is 100% natural. The active ingredients in Aqua-Vive are beneficial strains of pond bacteria. Each of our 7 strains are naturally occurring bacteria, isolated from natural soils or surface waters throughout the globe.
Pure strains are kept in a sterile lyophilized culture bank, to protect them from contamination. Each bacterial strain in Aqua-Vive is individually grown in shake flasks, to increase yield and cell count. Each strain is then introduced independently into a pre-sterilized fermentation tank and grown in their respective growth mediums until their population growth curve plateaus. The strains are then harvested via a continuous flow stack plate centrifuge. Each culture is then spray-dried independently to preserve genetic integrity and to prohibit cross contamination. Each raw material that is used in our production/fermentation process is brought in independently packaged. and at a minimum meets ISO standards imposed by the raw material manufacturer. All bacterial strains are grown in some variation of a minimal glucose media with specific salts to induce sporulation. All fermentation media is Food Grade and considered to be of excellent purity and concentration. All 7 bacterial strains are of the genus Bacillus. The isolates obtained are “seed cultures” for each successive fermentation batch.
Primary fermentation is started using our seed cultures, which are taken from the shake flask fermentation discussed above, for each independent culture. Each flask is Autoclaved complete with nutrient broth to ensure sterility. Autoclave is at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes (15 psi). The flasks are then seeded under laminar flow hood, using sterile burner techniques to eliminate cross contamination. Flasks are agitated for 24-48 hours to establish a good population base. The cultures are then independently added to the main fermentation tank, which has been pre-sterilized using steam at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. The tank contains sterile growth media specific to each bacterial strain. Fermentation begins with agitation and a sterile air sparge. Air is sterile due to double filtration with carbon filters and sterile paper cartridges that filter down to below 1 micron particle size. It may be necessary to add purified oxygen at this stage, depending upon the dissolved oxygen levels present within the tank. Fermentation ends when the population growth curve intersects with maximum sporulation. Sporulation is achieved using various techniques.
After fermentation, the bacterial strains are harvested, utilizing a centrifuge that has been pre-sterilized via steam. Each strain is then collected and spray dried. Once each culture is dry, it is stored in our cold room in sterilized airtight containers until final blending. The strains are removed from their individual containers and placed into a stainless-steel mixing vessel. The mixing vessel is cleaned after each batch with a 4000 ppm bleach solution, to avoid cross contamination of spores. The resulting product is inspected by quality control and packaged.
Final blending of our Aqua-Vive formulation is achieved by combining each of the 7 pond bacterial strains in equal ratios. The overall goal of blending 7 strains is to make sure all the required tasks are performed comprehensively in ponds (eliminate murky water caused by organic wastes, reduce bottom-sludge (muck), and control odors. In addition, we want to guarantee all of these tasks are performed, regardless of the varying environmental conditions that occur from pond to pond (varying water temperatures, varying pH ranges, varying dissolved oxygen levels, varying organic substrates).
Aqua-Vive’s beneficial pond bacteria strains meet all U.S. pharmacopeia requirements. Final purity is checked using QC standards for bacterial counts, spore content, and verification of no cross contamination. We achieve this through Mackonkey plate streaks, gram stains, spore stains, and final plate counts using AOAC Methodology. Therefore, each final batch of Aqua-Vive is certified to be Samonella-Free, Shigella-Free and E. Coli-Free. In addition, each batch is certified to be free from any gram-negative contaminants.
