On adding ammonia & beneficial bacteria to a new pond

[MitchM]

I know of one retailer in California that boasts he can get a pond up and running in a few days with fish, but he's using salt to deal with the nitrite and really pushing the boundaries too far in my opinion.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Studies have shown that adding viable nitrifying bacteria will speed up completion of the nitrification cycle.
As hobbyists, I don't see the need, but as a curiosity there's nothing wrong with giving it a try. I would probably try some out just for the education aspect.
I can see where a business could find it beneficial to inoculate with viable bacteria. The quicker you get a pond up and running the sooner the job is completed.
At night, algae will consume oxygen.
I agree with ensuring as much oxygenation as possible is a good thing.

As I think Waterbug already mentioned, adding the stuff likely won't hurt anything, but as far as education and experimentation I think aquariums are best suited for that sort of experimentation. Using two equal sized, side by side aquariums with all things being the exactly the same, only one you add some bottled bacteria product and some ammonia and one you just add the ammonia, then you'd need to diligently measure ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels for about a month or two to really see what's going on.
The problem with someone like MoonShadow setting up his one pond for the first time and adding some bottled gobblygook to it and low and behold after a few weeks the nitrifying bacteria colony starts to build and are doing their job would tell him nothing. He could imagine it was the gobblygook that got the bacteria colony established, but we all know it was gona get established anyway. There are just too many variables involved and no way for him to compare what would have happened if he didn't add any. One variable that has more to do with speeding up bacteria colonization than just about anything else is water temperature. Add as many bottles of expensive viable bacteria as you like, if the water is too cold they aren't gona do anything. If you really are in some sort of hurry getting a bacteria colony established and your water is less than say 50-60 F (10-15 C) you'd probably find the money is better spent on some sort of device for warming your water.

 

[MitchM]

I used to write off all bottled bacteria as a waste of money based on what I've seen available up here only. After having read a number of studies on the subject, I learned a lot along the way.
We have no need for speeding up the cycle, but I'll always encourage someone to learn more.
For me anyways, if I have a bottle of something in my hand, I'm more inclined to read up on it.
Don't get me started on warming up pond water. Lol

.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

This may help to clear up (or further confuse) this topic.
https://books.google.com/books?id=Ojv0BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237&lpg=PA237&dq=aquaculture,+bacterial+inoculants,+nitrification&source=bl&ots=M-wrZtW-sP&sig=FhmOigJmmSupStjbmiWiFJMoDNo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiO1detwoPSAhWFQCYKHWMYAowQ6AEIVzAJ#v=onepage&q=aquaculture, bacterial inoculants, nitrification&f=false

Read the entire section on Biofilter Start-up.

 

[MoonShadows]

Thanks for that reference, Meyer.

 

[carolinaguy]

I researched the beneficial bacteria business years ago and found that there is only one that works. Can't remember the name. The company was out of San Antonio. The other stuff doesn't work because you can't ship live bacteria in a bottle, especially after it sits on a shelf for six months air tight. Biologically impossible. The Texas company ships their stuff overnight in a refrigerated container and costs about $35 a quart. They provide starter bacteria to the major aquariums, sea world, and zoos in 55 gallon drums. The best way to add starter bacteria is to go to a friend with a mature pond and extract some filter slime to put in your pond. The rest s hoodoo.

 

[carolinaguy]

As for adding ammonia, that is a classic method of starting a pond. Been used for years. You are basically adding food that your bacterial colony eats. Nitrosomas eat ammonia. Nitrobacter eats nitrite. Plants eat nitrates. Simple. Just monitor your ammonia level and keep it below 1.0. Don't let it stay at 1.0 for a long time because ammonia is an irritant to gill membranes and causes the fish to produce slime to protect the membrane. The gill membrane is actually two membranes side by side, and the slime will make them stick together and inhibit gas exchange by reducing the effective surface area. That's a stressor for fish. Long term ammonia erodes the gill arch creating permanent damage and scar tissue in the gill membrane. Fish become permanently damaged, like COPD in people, and in the first drop in oxygen saturation they die first. But short term you are just feeding the good bacteria and are making them proliferate. Just like buying a round of beers for the bar. Oohah!

 

[Magzire]

I found something interesting. I rebuild my filter with all new media. So basically starting fresh. Even with small meals each day the ammonia is reading near zero. I'm guessing the small layer of gravel on the bottom along with a airstone is acting like a good ground for beneficial bacteria.