Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Adding Bacteria

I use bacteria and for a while I used it before I had an aerator. Without an aerator it was easy to see adding bacteria did reduce muck at the shoreline but several feet deeper it did not. The shoreline muck was reducing because natural wave action was naturally aerating the shoreline allowing the aerobic bacteria to thrive. When I added a mechanical aerator I noticed an increase in muck reduction because the aerobic bacteria were able to survive at greater depths due to better oxygenation. Aerobic bacteria are much more efficient at decomposing than anaerobic bacteria but they need oxygenated conditions.

As Bill mentioned, septic tanks have primarily anaerobic bacteria, they are not so dependent on oxygen. If you aerate your septic tank (yes it's done and even code in some areas)you will have a much more efficient system, less or no sludge build-up in your tank, lines and field and it will eliminates any odors. Water treatment plants use extensive aeration as part of the process of cleaning water. If you added aerobic bacteria to a septic system without aeration they would soon die without oxygenation so your only choice is anaerobic bacteria which is sold for that purpose. Anaerobic bacteria is cheaper and less efficient at decomposing.

There are different blends of bacteria you can purchase for your pond as Bill has said and they don't tell you what species your buying (proprietary information). When buying bacteria you also don't know how many organism (so many millions or billions) are in each unit dose so you can't compare products. A cheaper product might have fewer live organisms per unit dose. Some probiotics, a human bacterial supplement, will tell you how many live organisms/dose at time of manufacture as they can die if they aren't handled or stored properly. Like most things you usually get what you pay for, usually. Disclosure in this industry definitely leaves much to be desired.

Trial and error will tell you which product is the best for your conditions. If you add bacteria it's usually at a regular interval and for an extended period of time. If your like me and like the results you will want bacteria to always be a part of your ecosystem so you have plenty of time to experiment . Some bacteria might digest leaves better while others might digest fats found in fish food better. Septic tank bacteria can be somewhat specific too, some are more effective on grease or paper or soap etc. I'm sure you've seen the claims on different products if you have a septic tank. I can't really tell the difference when using different products as I don't take measurements, I think they all work better than not using anything at all and they work much better with aeration. Follow the manufacturers directions for application rates, adding more than the recommended amount isn't necessarily better. I also wouldn't buy more than you need for one season as they can die. I would like to try the bacteria that can survive at lower temperatures (for fall and early spring) to extend my bacteria season. I think these cold weather species cost more too.