The Importance of Beneficial Bacteria

dragonfly — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:17:28 +0000

Adding beneficial bacteria is essential for the water garden and seeding of pond filters. Once established the bacteria lives by eating fish waste and other organic matter in the pond. Bacteria converts ammonia into nitrites which are then converted into nitrates. This process known as the Nitrogen Cycle is an important part of water maintenance. It is essential to the health of your pond inhabitants.

When cleaning your filter pads, lava rock or bio blox, care should be taken as to not kill the beneficial bacteria living there. Never use chlorinated water to clean filter pads, or if it is necessary to do so, try to stagger cleaning different pads at different intervals. Rinsing the filter media in a bucket of pond water will allow some of the bacteria to remain alive. We recommend adding beneficial bacteria after cleaning, and monthly to keep a thriving colony of bacteria in your filtration media. Bacteria is available in either liquid or dry.

Microbe-Lift makes a bacteria for each season. Each is formulated to work in the water temperatures of spring, summer and fall/winter. Microbe-Lift Spring/Summer Cleaner is a seasonal approach to the proper organic balance in your pond. It contains cool weather bacteria that will help to jump start your pond to a healthier environmentin the spring. Once the water temperatures have reached above 55 degrees, Microbe-Lift P/L (liquid bacteria cultures) or Microbe-Lift Tac (dry bacteria cultures) can be added. Both are specially formulated for water gardens to promote clean, clear pond water. Adding bacteria to your pond this season will significantly improve water quality and appearance.

Spring is Right Around the Corner!

dragonfly — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:36:23 +0000

With March arriving, Old Man Winter should be packing his bags and moving on out! Those of us in the northeast, midwest and northwest can only hope that we have seen the worst of the 2009-2010 winter season. Those of you that live in the southern states are already able to get out and work on your ponds. Time to add Microbe-Lift Spring Summer cleaner if you have debris left from last fall and replace or clean your filter pads. Adding Microbe-Lift P/L when the water temperatures reach 50-55 degrees will also help seed your filter pads and improve water clarity. Meanwhile, those of us up north look out at our still snow covered ponds and hope things continue to melt, and Mother Nature is kind to us in the coming weeks.

You’ll find MicrobeLift Products here.

Dragonfly Aquatics Blog » pond filter pads

The Importance of Beneficial Bacteria

Spring is Right Around the Corner!