Aquascape Dry Beneficial Bacteria for Pond and Water Features, 8.8 Ounce (Pack of 1), 98948 , white

This stuff is amazing!! Cleared up a terrible algae bloom in my pond in no time. Not only did the algae disappear but the water is pristine crystal clear now. I love it

Seems to have really improved the clarity of the water. It's so clear with regular use (every 3-4 days in my spring fed pond) that when the sun hits just right it's hard to even tell where the water line is at. It's been an easy product to use and have come to appreciate the water cleanliness. I couldn't seem to get that clarity to that extra 10 percent I was looking for with about 3 other products I've tried. It's worked for my pond. Can't speak to everyone's needs and their unique pond setup, but it's been my favorite so far

One day in early 2008 we got out a couple shovels thinking we’d dig a small pond for our backyard … .over the years we’ve learned a lot about what to do and not to do. For the last 5 or so years we’ve figured out how to do it right. A book called Pond Builder’s Bible set me on the right course to explain the safer, healthier, less expensive way to maintain a pond. This Beneficial Bacteria is the ONLY medium that goes in our pond, besides food for the fish. Well, and homemade frog islands, but I don’t think those count. Instead of UV lights, algae killers and other dangerous means, now we use a skimmer, which is just a plastic, 2-compartment bucket with a door than opens and shuts from the movement of the pond water with an approx $150 pump (both located under brown rectangle across from the waterfall in the photos). POND’S SETUP - The pump sucks water from the pond into the skimmer > through a net / thick plastic-y filter > through the pump > then out of the skimmer through a tube in the ground that goes around the side of the pond and under the side of the waterfall wall > and up into the waterfall. The waterfall (base of each level AND a ways up the sides) and the entire pond are lined with a thick pond liner, then rocks were added on top. MAINTENANCE - Debris is removed and hosed from the skimmer net / filter as needed on average 1-2x a week (which takes seconds to do). A few times a year the pump is hosed to keep it clear of debris. Pump has been replaced once in many years; filter / net have never been replaced. - The top of the waterfall has a waterfall bucket, which the underground tube empties into. I have those little black plastic media in a mesh bag in the bottom of the waterfall bucket, which I’ve left in there undisturbed since first adding the waterfall years ago. - The ONLY thing we use is this Beneficial Bacteria. We estimate the pond holds about 1300 gallons. I put one scoop of beneficial bacteria (it’s a very small scoop) into the pond every couple weeks or so. When I’ve forgotten to add a scoop, depending on the time of year the water can fairly quickly get murky and algae can get out of control. If it happens, you have to be patient and give the product time to do its magic. It is not an immediate fix but it does work. The best advice is to remember to use it. - Through the seasons the pond goes through changes; sometimes there may be a short bloom of too much algae - for us especially in the spring - but the bacteria keeps it in check. Occasionally I’ll remove a handful or two of algae if it starts to grow too quickly. The homemade frog islands I made this year have helped keep some of the surface shaded from the sun, which have made occasional algae blooms even less of an issue. The fish, which began as about 9-10 baby goldfish feeder types, are thriving ridiculously well. They overwinter right in place thanks to an aerator I made using a cheap air pump, tube, Mountain Dew bottle filled with white filter media stones. The bottle’s cap has tiny holes drilled in it for aeration plus a bigger one for the air tube. Usually I’ll keep the waterfall going until around December, and turn it back on late winter/early Spring. When it’s off, the pump comes out and we use our air compressor to blow water out of the underground water tube. We realized sometimes the pond water level would drop quickly due to occasional high winds basically blowing minuscule bits of water out of the waterfall. If you’re into Smart home stuff, you’ll like this: we set up the free app IFTTT to turn off the waterfall (plugged into a smart plug) if the wind reaches 15+ mph. We have a separate command that checks if the waterfall is off every 3 hours, and if it is, to turn it back on. Water loss problem solved. Now the goldfish number around 40. Frogs and toads come to visit, sometimes up to 10 at a time. We’ve adopted 3 sunfish that keep making eggs; no babies so far. The pond is healthy, clear and almost maintenance free, largely in thanks to this product. I’m on my 2nd container of it, and that was only because the 1st one was accidentally knocked over by one of our dogs earlier this year. Has my review been helpful to you? If so, would you consider hitting the "helpful" button below? I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

I decided to try this for my 6 by 5 by 2 waterfall pond as a natural way to clean as opposed to the chemical algaecide and water clarifier that I have been periodically using to see if this does a better job at keeping the water clear and clean without causing more harm than good. I have a number of water plants in the pond (i.e. water lilies, water lettuce and lily pads). I don’t have fish in the pond but I do get frogs that have decided that this is their personal party place which results in a number of tadpoles throughout the year. I don’t mind the frogs and tadpoles and I don’t want to hurt them or my plants with chemicals and so I have tried a variety of products for the water. Some that I have tried in past years unfortunately killed the tadpoles and or harmed my water plants and some have worked better than others. My biggest issues in my pond is algae growth and the water getting cloudy and a bit smelly from debris, such as leaves, falling into the pond and starting to decay, along with the frog’s contribution as well. This includes in the container a small plastic spoon that you use to measure the amount that you need based on the calculation of gallons my pond has. I use roughly one scoop for my pond and unlike chemical treatments I don’t have to worry about putting a bit too much. The one downside to this bacteria treatment is that this should be used once a week throughout the season as opposed to a chemical treatment that isn’t used as often. Initially on the first week’s treatment, I didn’t notice much of a difference but after treating on a second and third week, I noticed that the water was becoming clearer and definitely less smelly. The tadpoles are swimming around happily, doing things tadpoles do and my water plants are healthy with no ill effects. I have also notice no new algae growth either. So this is a type of product that needs some time to work unlike the more instant results of a chemical product, so patience is the key with this product. Although this does take a couple weeks to really make a difference and needs to be used weekly, so far I am happy with the results and I much prefer a natural solution over a chemical one for both the water, the wildlife and my water plants. I will update my results after a full summers worth of use. 4 stars

This stuff is amazing because it actually works! I've fought green water in my 50 gallon pond every single summer for years and no product I bought to clear up the water ever worked. A friend told me about this beneficial bacteria so I decided to give it a try because this year I have fish in my pond. I followed the directions but saw little results. Went online to the company's website and learned I could really double up on the dosage without harming my plants or fish. Foe the past week, I've been adding a full scoop (instead of a few grains) of the BB to my pond and the water has cleared up 95%!! I will soon be dropping back to one scoop a week to maintain the clarity. If you want a product that does what it promises, this is the water clarifier you want to buy!!

Good for big fish tank/pond

I always like to have beneficial bacteria boosters on hand for my tropical freshwater aquariums, either to maintain the beneficial bacteria colonies or for new tank startup (or to help re-establish a crashed nitrogen cycle in a tank, in the rare case that happens). I’ve been using Seachem Stability and Python Multipurpose Bio-Support liquid beneficial bacteria but those are really getting more and more expensive these days and the price is unsustainable for me. I was looking for a more affordable option (more bang for my buck) and then came across this powdered dry beneficial bacteria for ponds. I was a bit skeptical at first but it’s a game changer, it’s super frugal when used for home aquariums! I don’t know why I didn’t consider it sooner. The only thing I recommend is if you’re using this for home aquariums instead of ponds, get a micro-dosing scoop instead of using the one included in the jar so you’re not dumping in too much beneficial bacteria. Note that a slight “overdose” of beneficial bacteria isn’t the end of the (aquarium) world, but you def still don’t want to overdo it too much. It can deplete water oxygen levels and get super cloudy if you do. I used a few micro-scoops of this powdered beneficial bacteria during a fish-in-cycle of my 22g long dream tank I was in the process of setting up. I had an air stone running and lots of live plants. No fish lives lost so far. Tank cycled significantly faster than usual too and waste/organic debris seems to break down pretty quickly as well, keeping everything looking a lot cleaner for longer. I’m impressed.

I bought this with nualgi after 20 years of struggling with algae in a well-planted biologically-filtered pond in the subtropics. Algae has been a constant problem despite plants, waterfalls and algae-eating fish -probably due to the warm water. Plus various fish-friendly algicides, none of which ever seemed very effective. Don't know which of the 2 products it is - but used together I have been extremely pleased with my minimal algae. I used nualgi first which was pretty good, but when I added this it was so much better. Haven't tried this product on its own - and really I don't care if the algae volume is so reduced. Actually have to feed the fish! There's a little bit of algae left but in a nature pond there will always be some - which is ok. but it is now easily manageable.

Bottle seal was open and was spilled in the box

brillant really does the job