Problem Pond? Boost Your Beneficial Bacteria
More bacteria = fewer nutrients to feed algae = clearer water
Beneficial bacteria plays an essential role in maintaining pond water that looks clean and healthy. You can support these microbes by including aeration, inoculation and bacterial nesting sites in your pond treatments.
It’s Not the Algae, It’s the Nutrients
When your water develops problems like algae, weed overgrowth, foul odor, fish kills and murkiness, these aren’t the real problems – they’re the symptoms. The true problem is often an overabundance of nutrients.
Nutrients are released in the water system from the breakdown of organic matter such as aquatic vegetation, grass clippings, fish waste and fertilizer runoff. And these nutrients are the primary food source for algae and weeds. A high nutrient load left unchecked can trigger nasty algae blooms and weed overgrowth, resulting in sluggish, smelly, unattractive water and dying fish.
When you think you have pond problems, think excessive nutrients.
The Big Deal about Bacteria
These nutrients are also the food source for beneficial bacteria, which consumes and converts them into harmless trace gases and minerals. But water runs into trouble when the nutrient load is too heavy for the existing bacteria to manage.
While some beneficial bacteria may occur naturally in water bodies, it’s not always present in sufficient quantity, vigor, or variety to tackle your pond’s nutrient load and existing symptoms. You can ensure your pond has a sufficient multi-strain population of vigorous microbes by providing three supports: aeration, inoculation and bacterial nesting sites.
Boosting Your Beneficial Bacteria
Aeration: Since much of the beneficial bacteria that rapidly consumes nutrients is aerobic – meaning it uses oxygen in the process – it works best with the aid of plentiful dissolved oxygen in the water. You can increase oxygen through aeration by diffusers or fountains, supporting the aerobic bacteria along with providing other benefits for overall water health and aesthetics.
Inoculation: Bacteria and algae are in a battle for nutrients. Help defeat algae by bulking up your bacterial population through inoculation (also called bio-augmentation). Varied strains of beneficial bacteria cultures are added to the water body, often in a large initial dose with ongoing top-up inoculations.
Subsurface nesting sites: Bacteria needs fine nooks and crannies and a protected environment for it to develop into a well-established, self-sustaining colony known as biofilm. If you’ve ever seen the “goop” in an immersed BioBoost Nest, this is biofilm, and it’s loaded with bacteria. Nests provide the ideal home for a robust microbial population that will outcompete algae for nutrients.
A Sustainable Solution
If you have water troubles, consider your underlying nutrient load. Quick-fix chemical approaches can make the matter worse in the long term, not better. The three-pronged combination treatment of aeration, inoculation and nesting sites is a proven, sustainable solution to tackle your problem at the source.
