Ever wondered if it’s possible to have too much of a good thing? Well in the case of adding a lot of beneficial bacteria to your backyard pond there might be. Beneficial bacteria rids your pond of unwanted organic debris. It eats the organic debris in your pond and divides to continue growing the population until they die. While adding a little too much of these water treatments might not be ideal, you probably aren’t at risk of it being particularly harmful right away either. You are however at risk of potentially spending much more money than you need to be and if left untreated, putting your fish at risk in the long run.
When your pond is hosting too much beneficial bacteria they start to fight and compete for available resources, instead of growing and thriving and reproducing. The weaker bacteria dies because the stronger adversaries are eating all of the debris. This results in the bacteria population dropping and us as pond owners running out to buy more bacteria to replenish it. So rather than overdo it with the beneficial bacteria it is easier to maintain the populations instead.
Typically, having an overabundance of beneficial bacteria in your pond is safe for plants and fish. But if your pond has a ton of organic buildup on top of a lot of beneficial bacteria in addition to insufficient aeration, your fish could be in big trouble. While those bacteria are fighting each other for nourishment they are draining the water of oxygen, thus endangering your fish since they need that oxygen to survive. Installing an aeration system, like Air Max 80, can help aerate even the largest ponds or lakes and bring oxygen back into the water.
For the best results, follow the instructions on your beneficial bacteria to determine how much should be added to your pond. After adding a water treatment or cleaning out your pond, it is probably okay to double up on the dose of bacteria to jump-start the repopulation process, but do not exceed that amount. You don’t want your pond to reach a point where it is overpopulated by bacteria that are fighting one another for food supply and draining your pond of oxygen. If you seem to have trouble with this on a regular basis, consider installing an aeration system to help keep the oxygen levels of your pond steady.