Beneficial bacteria powder

[joesandy1822]

At the moment, that is an extremely light fish load, but, once they grow up to around 12" long, if they are fed more often, then your present fish load will grow to be a good average fish load, that is assuming there will be controls for when the fish reproduce causing their population to explode (if that is allowed to happened by the fish or other critters in the pond).

Yep, my pond is not even 3 months old and already I have baby fish. I know a lot of you will probably roll your eyes at this because you've had to figure out how to get rid of yours, but when it happens for the first time, it is pretty exciting! I was told that the fish would probably not spawn until next Spring, so this came as a surprise. One of the babies I saw tonight was at least an inch long already. How that could happen so soon, I don't know.

 

[joesandy1822]

Wow that looks really great thanks for sharing. What these folks are saying is true, the biofilter does not consume nitrate. Nitrate is the final product of the pond or tank water "cycle". You have a fish, which creates ammonia by breathing and pooping ect. Biobugs turn the ammonia into nitrite, and another type of biobug turns the nitrite into nitrate. Plants eat nitrate. Nitrate is harmless to fish until it builds up to a larger level, and that is when a water change is required. The point of a biofilter is to provide a hospitable environment for the bacteria that eat ammonia and nitrite to grow and thrive. If you want to remove the nitrate that the fish feed on, get more plants or do water changes. About a week ago all of my algea magically vanised overnight. No idea how it happened but maybe the plants outcompeted the algae?

Thank you for the compliment! And did you mean algae rather than fish? Just trying to make sure I am not misunderstanding because I didn't know fish eat nitrate.

I am hoping, like your pond, that mine will clear up magically. That did happen about a month ago. Foolishly, I thought that was the end of it. It lasted for a whole week or two before the pea soup came back with a vengeance. I hope yours remains clear.

 

[dieselplower]

Thank you for the compliment! And did you mean algae rather than fish? Just trying to make sure I am not misunderstanding because I didn't know fish eat nitrate.

I am hoping, like your pond, that mine will clear up magically. That did happen about a month ago. Foolishly, I thought that was the end of it. It lasted for a whole week or two before the pea soup came back with a vengeance. I hope yours remains clear.

Yes I sure did make a mistake there! Yes I meant algae. Thanks for clarifying. I don't remember if you posted your thoughts on a UV sterilizer but I think one would clean up the pea soup water.

 

[gardengimp]

Sandy, your pond is looking beautiful.

 

[crsublette]

I have seen posts, many of them, that would lead a person to believe that the biofilter will indeed cure the "pea soup" by starving the algae somehow.

Yep, that is the problem when only trying to learn from internet forums. Much of the learning about certain things also must come from just being patient and observing events in the pond as well. Also, you must keep in mind as well that all biofilter systems, including mechanized and plants, are not created equal.

 

[joesandy1822]

Sandy, your pond is looking beautiful.

Thank you!

 

[joesandy1822]

Yep, that is the problem when only trying to learn from internet forums. Much of the learning about certain things also must come from just being patient and observing events in the pond as well. Also, you must keep in mind as well that all biofilter systems, including mechanized and plants, are not created equal.

Agreed!

 

[joesandy1822]

Yes I sure did make a mistake there! Yes I meant algae. Thanks for clarifying. I don't remember if you posted your thoughts on a UV sterilizer but I think one would clean up the pea soup water.

Yep, I'm sure a UV would clear it right up. But we decided to forgo that and try to do it more naturally. Don't really want to do any more plumbing or have the extra ongoing expense associated with it. Plus I just don't like the idea that it kills everything, including the good stuff.

 

[koiguy1969]

U.Vs have minimal effect on what you call "the good stuff".. good bacteria colonizes surfaces, U.Vs kill free floating "bad stuff". things like anaerobic bacteria, parasites, protozoans, virus',fungal spores etc.. these are good things to kill off.

 

[joesandy1822]

U.Vs have minimal effect on what you call "the good stuff".. good bacteria colonizes surfaces, U.Vs kill free floating "bad stuff". things like anaerobic bacteria, parasites, protozoans, virus',fungal spores etc.. these are good things to kill off.

For a 3,000 gallon pond, what would you estimate the cost for one of these? What is the ongoing cost associated (increase in electricity bill, replacement bulbs, etc.)? How hard are they to plumb into an already existing system? My pipe is buried, I only have 1 pump, 1 skimmer, and 1 filterfalls, and we do not intend to add any additional.

The pond is starting to look like it might clear up in the next few days (maybe), so I will do some reading, but hopefully my patience is going to pay off. I'd really rather not complicate this thing with more equipment to have to maintain and worry about.

Thanks!

 

[crsublette]

Well, since UVs are indiscriminate killers of anything that floats by the UV light, there is good stuff it kills as well, but I would much rather use a UV to kill all the bad stuff for my peace of mind.


As explained in, what size uv?, these units are sized according to your flow rate rather than pond volume. Also, this "uv size" thread will help ya in how to choose one.

Of course, there is added expense to them, but I can tell ya it has been insignificant to me, which probably does not mean much since everyone's situation is different.


In regards to the plumbing work involved, I have no idea since every pond is different. If you want a very easy route, then get a 3,000 gph pump, connect a UV that uses this pump's water, and then have it release out of a fountain or something.


Just sharing this to try to provide some clarification. :claphands:

 

[joesandy1822]

I posted this link in another one of my threads, but thought it would be useful here too. The article was extremely helpful to me because it listed many other reasons for the dreaded "pea soup" besides the common ones I've read a hundred times. Things that I'd never thought of really, and although some of those things can be minor in and of themselves, if you add up several together, it could be problematic in certain ponds.

http://www.pondtrademag.com/articles/ar-333/

 

[Mmathis]

Good article -- thanks for sharing!

 

[crsublette]

Although the article did not reveal anything new to me, I am suprised the author could only think of 30 causes. Indicating the many causes, which is not all of them, truely points out why it is so tough to naturally control the stuff. Yeah, Pond Trade magazine provides some interesting articles and products even though I do not always completely agree with them.

Pea Green algae is really not that bad of an algae to have in the pond as long as your alkalinity and water circulation is good. It is mostly just a problem for folk for aesthetic reasons. I know aquaculture farms literally fertilize their ponds so to grow this pea green algae and other organisms so to act as a bio-filter.

The problem comes with the more invasive algaes. The more invasive algaes are "self fertilizing" plants, that act more like a parasite such as fungi or the parasitic vines that grow on trees. So, no matter how well you control the organics in the water, these particular algaes will always thrive since all they need is the smallest amount of micro-nutrients. Most algaes require macro-nutrients. All it takes is a matter of time for the proper species to be introduced by spores, through birds or plants or whatever, for it to get started. These more invasive algaes are the algaes that can lead to complete aquatic kills. These algaes are why chemicals are to be properly implemented. If not wanting to use chemicals, then there is a very increased reliance on plants and other bio-filtration to try to significantly reduce those micro-nutrients and to encourage other algaes to grow that emit their own chemicals to compete with the more invasive alges.

Controlling algae is like controlling dandelions or wild grasses in a pristine bluegrass lawn. I have not yet seen a single organic approach that is the easy, quick "fix all" to the problem without using chemicals.

Also, which seems to occur more often with these articles and forums, there are too many "big fish" stories by folk that say they have found the easy, quick "fix all". Algae seems to be like the running joke and contest between folk that can tell the most unbelievable stories as to why and how their ponds "never" have algae problems. When their solution does not work for someone else, then they use the easily accessible back door of, "everyone's pond is different", so to revoke them self of responsibility for giving advice that failed, that is to put it quite blunt. I like the organic approach and, as a farmer, agree to the theories, but it all depends on what you have to work with.