Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - How to Grow your own Beneficial Bacteria?

I have about a 1/4 acre pond and have spent about $300 on the Beneficial Bacteria packets the past several years. And it seems just crazy that bacteria packed in barley bags costs so much...

So, I was wondering if anyone has tried to grow their own bacteria???

I have two packets left from last year. And I was thinking that I could take them and use them to grow more bacteria on petrie dishes! I asked this question on a Biology forum and only got 2 replies, but one said to just use a bucket with warm water and sugar. I was going to try both ways and see how it works.

It seems like someone must have tried to grow their own bacteria before. Do any of you have any opinions or ideas about this? Am I a bit crazy??

The good news is that your not crazy .... but you don't need to grow or even purchase bacteria to have it in your pond.

You're pond is already home to bacteria including any you may have added that were not established already (you may not have expanded the list). As long as there is enough oxygen near the bottom where they are needed to decompose organics ... they will thrive and do their job.