Filter bugs

[aldonna]

Hi Troops!
What do you all think about the "additives" you can add to your filter/pond to "increase effectiveness"? It seems we're getting inundated with "Microbl-magic" to "Special BTwhatever" to increase our pond's filter and our pond's "ultimate health" ("even during your Winter months"). Do I need to gag myself with a spoon or is there something to this that we can tap into to REALLY help our pond guys?? Dang!
freezin'6"with12"morecominin) Al 8) :smt010 :smt010

[Mike Mazur]

I am with Aldonna... what is the "optimum" bio additive ? innitial suggestion and a maintenance suggestion? I have seen products claiming to be the best and Bio spira is one I am interested in hearing more about... nitro spira not nitrobacter

[dick benbow]

hi mike!
you and your quotes! i like w.c. fields myself, for example..." I love little children...mostly fried".

when it comes to bugs, i've bought my share over the years. when adding to a new pond it usually takes 6 weeks to establish.( gee that's funny....that's how long it takes to allow it to start up itself! )I like the idea of stealing a piece of filter from an establsihed colony from another of your ponds. Did you know that the pond itself has filter bacteria all through-out.

I think filter colonies build and establish colonies according to conditions and other factors in your pond. you can introduce species but that doesn't mean they will win the war on becoming the dominant species or even survive. a filter is not a stable situation but rather it's viable and changes to meet conditions. another valid point to consider is different conditions,
media and exposure to light help to encourage certain kinds of helpful bacteria. you might want to consider exposing some filters to light while others are kept dark. one thing they all share in common is that it helps to have lots of air to encourage more of the right strains.

for new pond keepers, pls develop the mentality that your filter is the heart of your operation. the last thing you want to do is kill it with meds so that it has to start over. treat your sick koi outside of thier home environment. design your ponds so that a filter can be by passed. money is not wasted to over build your filtration over what you think you might need. better to error on the more than you need side. do you know where
to put your UV light? are you certain you need one? barrel filters are still very popular. cheap to build, serviceable. down flow filters tend to colonise
on the top and up flow design on the bottom. that's cause the biggest amount of food and air is introduced there. always re-introduce air if you have two filters in series or the second one will be devoid of the life you want to nuture. trickle filters work great because of the thorough mixing of food and air. I could ramble on for pages, bottom line is learn all you can about filters and how to keep them healthy, so that once you have them uop and running you can keep them that way!

[Jeff R.]

The only additives that I feel comfortable adding to my pond are Koi-Zyme and Montmorillonite clay (several brands available). If the idea is to get your pond to achieve equilibrium, then it seems to me that introducing foreign bugs will simply delay that process. Perhaps akin to medicating yourself, in that you can mask symptoms but the root problem remains. If you have a problem with algae and put something in to remove it, you still have the problem i.e.- nutrient rich water, poor water quality, etc.. The better approach might be to increase filtration, oxygenation and etc.. I would include profilactic treatments with pp in this arena as well. I used to be a mechanic and we called all the additives for your gas/oil "mouse milk". In my mind there are plenty of people willing to separate you from your cash for a magic bullet. The question is, "What are the other effects (unintended) of this product?". Just a few thoughts. Good luck.
Jeff R.

[Mike Mazur]

Thank you for the comments I did try the lymnozyme routine this past season. Did it help? who knows... only major problem last season had wings! I gues I am looking also for any links to good info on the nitro spira bacteria in some of the new products... I agree starting with a bit of media from your own established system but what if you do have to maek sure all the nasties are out of the entire system? So far I only have one pond and If there is a problem fish there it is off to q tank and the filter there will possibly become contaminated as well. If you were to list 3 that aren't mouse milk what would they be?

[Jeff R.]

Hi Mike:
The only other "mouse milk" that I have experience with is a product called Fritz-Zyme Turbo Start. I ran into an emergency just as you describe and it cycled the filter in about four days, instead of six weeks. Downside is that it has to be refrigerated and is expensive. I suspect that the purists would tell you not to use even this, though I found it to be immensely beneficial in a pinch.
There is a link http://www.marineland.com/science/bi...itrobacter.asp that leads to Bio-Spoira research. I know nothing of this. Let us know if you try it and find it of any value.
Regards,
Jeff R.

[Mike Mazur]

Yes I am familiar with the link was trying to see if that was a suggested item or not... kinda like not telling the salesman what you are looking for in advance! That is another refridgerated product as is lymnozyme. As these are natural products the goal to cycle faster and present the organism to its feeding ground seems the way to go especially after an emregency KmNO4 usage. I need to use the restart method each spring to get things going again after the pond lies chilled through the winter.

[aldonna]

Hey guys! Thanks for your responses! If nothing else we certainly see that it's not a cut and dried issue.

Mike and Jeff: Around here Microblift and ABA along with Lymno seem to be the rage. No definitive results but "You just GOT to try.....!" Wonder if it has to do with the fact a couple of dealers around here have a bunch of the stuff!?? :roll: :roll:
I can attest to the fact that if it doesn't work for the fish/ponds it can make your next door neighbor's (the one you've been feuding with) family barbecue quite unpleasant! :twisted: :twisted:
OR...Cocker Spaniels love it! (Momma wouldn't let 'em in the house for days! :smt036 :smt036 :smt036)

Dick: Your point about the 6 week start up time for "bottled bugs" vs. natural process is a great one! Like you it seems, I've always divied up full functioning media to start/restart any of my outside ponds that have new filters or just need a "kick start".
Didn't Roark and a couple of the boys do some tests on a few of the "best of's" a while back and found them to be a great way to watch your good money go down a bad drain!?

I'm still curious tho. If I can find the magic "potion" I've got a lot of led around her that would be nice to have turn into gold. hmmm :roll: :roll: