Dense sinking solid
Sedivore Spike
The volume product, and the denser of the two solids. Engineered to fall through the water column and release at or within the benthic sludge interface, rather than dissolving near the surface where the material it is meant to act on is not.
01Why this format
Accumulated organic bottom sludge
Only solids reach the benthic layer in any reliable way. A product dosed at the surface has to survive the trip down before it can do anything at all, and for an established blanket under several feet of water that trip is the whole problem. Mass and shape are what solve it: the spike is the format that carries furthest down and puts the organisms where the material is, which is why it leads on deeper cells.
It works at the sludge interface, and it suits an established blanket under depth.
02Specifications
What is published, and what is not.
Each figure below is taken from a product document. Where the documents publish no value, the row says so rather than carrying an estimate: a number that later moves is worse than a stated blank, because an operator may have sized an order around it.
- Pack size
- 30 lb pail; each sinking solid is approximately 6 oz
- Pack price
- $732Indicative. Freight, tax and the final price are settled in the reviewed quote.
- Dose rate
- Sized to your lagoon from the manufacturer's dosing method (rev. 2026-07-16): an initial knockdown dosed once on the standing water volume, scaled to influent strength. The dosing planner returns the quantity and an indicative cost for your system.Concentration-based and system-specific rather than a fixed per-pail rate; sized to whole pails by the planner and confirmed in the reviewed quote.
- Storage
- Store dry and cool, away from direct sunlight; keep the container tightly closed.A temperature-controlled storage range of 50–90°F is specified on the product documentation.
03When not to buy this
When this product is the wrong answer.
- The accumulation is largely grit, sand, silt or mineral precipitate, in which case no dose of anything biological will move the number.
- The lagoon is poorly mixed and has not had its aeration assessed. Mixing is complementary to biological treatment, not a substitute for it, and treating around a mixing problem wastes the order.
- Full capacity is needed on a fixed date. Biological treatment is seasonal and gradual; a deadline that cannot move is a dredging problem.
The dosing planner screens for all three and will say so rather than routing you to a quotation.
04Microbiology
What the organisms actually do to the material.
The mechanism is enzymatic hydrolysis. Bacillus species secrete enzymes into their surroundings that break large organic molecules into fragments small enough to be taken up and metabolised. The organisms are not consuming sludge directly; they are releasing the tools that take it apart.
| Enzyme | Acts on | What that is, in a lagoon |
|---|---|---|
| Protease | Proteins and peptides | The protein fraction of settled influent solids and of dead biomass. |
| Lipase | Fats, oils and greases | FOG, which floats and consolidates rather than settling out on its own. |
| Amylase | Starches and complex carbohydrates | Carbohydrate load, typically heaviest on food-processing influent. |
| Cellulase | Cellulose | Plant fibre and paper, which is a large share of a municipal blanket. |
Why Bacillus, and why a dry format costs nothing
Bacillus is the single most important bacterial source of exactly these enzymes, proteases in particular. It also forms endospores — a dormant state that survives drying, heat and time essentially intact, then germinates on contact with water and food. For this job the organisms that do the work are precisely the ones that dry best, which is why the two lead formats are dry and why that costs nothing biologically. Nitrifying organisms are the opposite case: they do not survive drying at all, which is why no dry product can address an ammonia permit.
What the published work supports
Mixtures of protease, cellulase and lipase reduce total suspended solids by 30 to 50 per cent and improve settling, with protease and cellulase together outperforming either alone. One controlled study reported 33 per cent volatile suspended solids reduction.
These figures are the mechanism, not a claim about this product: the peer-reviewed enzyme and hydrolysis work they rest on is collected in the scientific literature.
05Microbiological specification
The figures, and what each one is measured against.
Figures published in the product documents are shown here. Where the documents publish no numerical value, the row says so rather than carrying an estimate.
- Viable count at manufacture
- Not publishedThe current sinking-solid product sheet identifies Bacillus bacteria but gives no viable-count figure.
- Guaranteed count at end of shelf life
- Not publishedNo guaranteed viable count at the end of the stated shelf life is published for this product.
- Strains in the blend
- Not publishedThe current sinking-solid product sheet identifies Bacillus bacteria but gives no strain count.
- Operating temperature range
- Not publishedThe product sheet says the format is effective across a broad temperature range but publishes no numerical operating limits.
- Operating pH range
- Not publishedThe product sheet says the format is effective across a broad pH range but publishes no numerical limits.
- Biosafety level
- Not publishedNo Biosafety Level designation is published for this product.
- Shelf life
- 24 months