Think carefully before adding any bacteria starter or bio starter to your garden pond.

There are products on the market that you need to be aware of. They are known as bacteria starters or bio starters, and they can come in liquid or powder form. These products are supposed to be a mixture of naturally occurring bacteria similar to that used in pond biofilters, but instead are added directly into the water. Unfortunately -- and the companies selling these products won't tell you this -- these power or liquid bio starters are probably worthless when used in your garden pond.

Now this doesn't refer to the bacteria used in biofilters, which are effective in cleaning the water of your pond. These types of bacterial are Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. In simple terms, Nitrosomonas bacteria convert ammonia to nitrates, and Nitrobacter bacteria converts nitrate to nitrate.

Be Wary of Manufacturer's Claims

There are manufacturers out there who will tell you that their bio starter products in fact contain Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. But you need to ask your retailer for some kind of proof of this. In practice, it is extremely difficult to freeze dry and then keep alive these types of sensitive bacteria. What you need to know is if there was a viable population of these bacteria in the mixture when packed, how long will those bacteria still be viable after the bio starter has been in storage in non-controlled conditions?

And, if the mixture doesn't contain Nitrobacter or Nitrosomonas in the first place, how effective will it be in filtering your pond? After all, why waste money on something that will be ineffective at best?

A biofilter is the only real solution

Instead of spending your money on a product that will just be a waste of your time and energy, consider spending a little more on a biofilter system for your garden pond. Without such a filter, your valuable fish will be living in a potentially toxic environment, no matter how much bio starter powder you sprinkle in the water.

Gerry Preston is a well known technical/practical writer on the subject of biofiltration. Gerry lives in the UK and is a regular contributor to Nishikigoi International magazine. Gerry has stated that spitting into the pond has as much value as adding bio staters and probably more. Spit in fact contains living Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter.

When you install a biofilter, it will automatically start itself up once fish have been introduced into the pond. Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas are naturally occurring bacteria, and they will rapidly find their own way into the filter. Then circulating water from the pond will feed them necessary oxygen, along with naturally-occurring ammonia excreted from your fish. It will take some time for the bacteria in the biofilter to reach maturity, so you must be careful to add fish slowly over a period of time.

In summary, always think carefully before you buy and add to your pond any products that call themselves bacteria starters or bio starters. Just as you wouldn't feed something harmful or ineffective to your dog or cat, don't do the same thing to your fish or your garden pond.

It's a sad fact that many commercial pond products are a total waste of time and money. You're much better off investing in a good quality biofilter that will keep your fish and garden pond healthy.

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