Beneficial Bacteria

Beneficial Bacteria are essential helpers in the garden pond and for pond filters. They munch on pond fish waste and other organic matter and convert deadly ammonia, first into nitrites, and then into nitrates, thus fulfilling an integral part of pond filtration. Nitrates are taken up by the pond plants. This cycle makes the Beneficial Bacteria essential to the health and well being of the water and the creatures of the pond including Koi and all other pond fish, and it also helps reduce problem nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

It can take up to six or seven weeks for a Beneficial Bacteria colony to grow large enough to handle all the waste created by the pond fish and dead plant matter in a garden pond. It is best to help this process along by maintaining a pH level as close to neutral as possible and adding Beneficial Bacteria, available in liquid, granular or dry form, to avoid stressing, injuring or even killing the pond fish.

The rate at which water flows through the biological chamber of the pond filter plays a major role in the effectiveness of the Beneficial Bacteria colony. If the water flows too fast the Beneficial Bacteria becomes ineffective, if it flows too slow it may not circulate enough of the pond water through the bacteria colony in the pond filter.

The biological chamber of the pond filter should only be cleaned when absolutely necessary and care must be taken not to eliminate the entire Beneficial Bacteria colony. Chlorinated water should NEVER be used to clean the biological part of the pond filter. If it does become necessary to clean the biological chamber of the pond filter, Beneficial Bacteria should be added immediately to replace the bacteria lost during the process.