I am using Aquascape brand beneficial bacteria. My pump and filtration system is all Aquascape.As long as your system is fully cycled, it shouldn't need more beneficial bacteria. The system produces it's own and that would have started on day one.
The types of bacteria that are necessary would be dead and useless if they were powdered. They wouldn't survive that process of being dried.
What beneficial bacteria are you using?
Can you please suggest what I should use instead of the powdered bacteria? I just assume it was an inert bacteria, like yeast, that activates with water.Personally, I wouldn't use that, especially if there is no reason to do so. Just a waste of money to me.
The bacteria for your filtration is a different type. It won't survive long without water or food (ammonia), so it can't be dried or kept bottled on a shelf.
Oh, I can understand your pov; no problem. I was told, in my pond-birth, that using bales of barley straw would keep algae at bay. In my case, I didn't see a difference, but in your case, you do. I guess if you look at it from my pov, that I don't add anything and my water is clear ( the UW cam can see the other side, 18' away), there's little evidence that adding bacteria would make that better. It can't get any better. So for me, when I read/learn that the bacteria lags behind nutrient increase, putting in such should help get a pond past that and yet, I've never had a problem that way and most will say I'm overstocked, which should make me a prime audience for buying bacteria each spring. Then again, I don't feed early, letting the fish graze on algae, hornwort, bits of perrenials hanging over the edge and have little decaying bioload on the pond bottom.I realize that most members on this forum are in the 'anti-adding-beneficial-bacteria' camp, but... I will say that I do use both liquid & powdered bacterial additives, especially early in the ponding season & also to give a boost late in the fall & have absolutely seen a difference in my water quality & clarity when doing so.
"Wasting" my money? Maybe. But I feel they make a difference. I believe it was LisaK that once that likened it to people taking probiotics (which I also do! lol) Yes, your intestines *should* make their own natural flora of bacteria, so adding extras in would be a 'waste of money', but.... I'll put this squarely in the 'might help, can't hurt' category. If I notice a favorable improvement, who am I to argue that what I've added is a 'waste'?
I was taught to 'pond' by the top builders at Aquascape, years ago. Are they in it to make money? Yeah, but... Why do those same builders use these bacterial additives if they do no good & are a total waste?
OK, I'm rambling now, but... yeah. I've made my point. I will now go crawl back under my rock of beneficial bacteria & never speak of adding them again.
I use liquid Microbe-Lift professional blend. (and yes, it stinks to high heaven!) Supposedly it's composed of 80% 'regular' microbe-lift beneficial bacteria and 10% each of something specifically for fish & plants. I also use dry Muck Buster, alternating between the two different formulas when I add them (usually weekly at the start of the season, only randomly or not at all during summer as long as water clarity stays good) ending with the Muck Buster in fall to help break down any leaves, etc... that I don't manage to get out before winter (although I'm pretty obsessive about putting the pond to bed for the season in a very clean state, wind & leaves do happen here in the woods!)@BKHpondcritters , what brand of bacterial additive do you use that's made a difference in your water quality and clarity ? When our pond was first built the man who built it added, I think it was called MicroLift? It was a smelly product and I couldn't see that it hurt anything, but was never sure it helped either. I'm interested in what you're using.
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