I have bought for a few popular companies. I honestly don’t know if it does anything.
Sorry to hear that you didn’t get results. Some are harder to measure like fish and coral color as the changes are gradual. Some are more measurable, but are the fact or anecdotal? Now I sell phytoplankton and pods, so you can take this with a grain of salt, but here is what I saw in my tanks. 13 1/2 weeks ago I had major shoulder surgery. I did water changes the week before in my 6 systems. I have always fought nutrients to the point that I started dosing lanthanum and homemade NOPOX.
During this 13 1/2 weeks there was almost zero maintenance to these tanks. I maybe switched out a roller Matt in two of them, but in the others I never even switched out the socks.
In my logs the last tests all in Hanna checkers I recorded were on 8/22. 110 reef N 26 P .1 with dosing 12/7 N 8.3 P .61, 210 reef 8/22 N 14.3 P .3 12/7 N 5.1 P .21 160 Predator aorta FOWLR (have GSP) 8/22 N 36.3 P .19, 12/7 N 5.6 P .9 maxed the tester.
Now although my P is high, I have not cleaned the skimmer cup, pulled anything from the fuge, replenished my “chemicals” so fairly happy with those numbers. And my fam fed a good portion of this time and I know they fed extra. I haven’t tested the other three, one is fallow for the entire time, and just have t made the time. Did water changes in the 110 and 210 reef and in the 210 fallow angel tank. Have water mixed for the 160, but think I got Paly Yoxin yesterday and just got back from Dr and don’t feel up to it.
Now because I culture my own, I dose more than I could afford to buy, but it makes a difference. I dose 2 ml for every actual gallon water volume, and will probably go to three now that I’m mostly up and running.
Another point to consider is, was your phyto live. Only live phytoplankton will consume nutrients, dead/non viable will raise nutrients if more is added than is consumed.
