At Healthy Ponds, we are committed to helping our clients find solutions to common water quality issues, and one of the easiest ways to prevent pond problems is to use AquaSpherePRO®, our safe, effective and easy-to-use pond bacteria treatment. Here’s a quick look at how AquaSpherePRO® works and how it can help you maintain a healthy, beautiful pond.
Pond Bacteria Treatments & How They Work
While certain types of pond bacteria can be harmful to your water, there are beneficial bacteria that can reduce many common problems such as sludge buildup and the accumulation of floating green organic matter.
AquaSpherePRO® is a biodegradable sphere that is filled with beneficial bacteria. Once you toss a sphere into your pond, it sinks to the bottom and begins releasing bacteria. The bacteria consume excess nutrients in your pond.
The pond bacteria in each AquaSpherePRO® is all-natural, veterinarian-approved and safe for fish, wildlife, livestock, pets and people. It’s easy to use and no mixing is required. You simply toss in the correct number of spheres and the bacteria will be released and begin consuming excess nutrients. Each sphere contains enough beneficial bacteria for 30 days of treatment. Once 30 days have passed, you simply add new spheres into your pond to continue maintenance.
The sphere itself is made from corn-base resin and is marine biodegradable, but the spheres may degrade more quickly in some ponds than in others. The rate of degradation depends on several factors such as the makeup of microorganisms in your sludge layer and the chemistry of your water.
Additionally, if the bottom of your pond is hard, sandy or rocky, the sphere will release the pond bacteria, but will not degrade. If this is the case, you can just use a pond skimmer to remove the sphere and dispose of it.
When Should You Use Beneficial Bacteria?
We recommend using AquaSpherePRO® whenever your water temperature reaches 45 degrees or higher. In many areas of the country, it’s best to treat your water with beneficial pond bacteria every month while other areas with cold winters might only need six or eight months of treatment.
In general, we recommend using AquaSpherePRO® with any pond that has a history of dead organic matter. But it’s also ideal when your pond has a buildup of sludge, is emitting an odor and has low water clarity. The AquaSpherePRO® also is an ideal treatment for irrigation ponds.
How Much AquaSpherePRO® Do You Need?
Your first step will be to calculate the volume of water in your pond. To do this, you simply multiply the length, width and depth of the pond by 7.5. Once you calculate the approximate number of gallons, you can select the size of AquaSpherePRO® you will need.
AquaSpherePRO® is available in eight sizes:
- 1,000 gallons
- 12,500 gallons
- 50,000 gallons
- 250,000 gallons
- 500,000 gallons
- 1,000,000 gallons
- 1,500,000 gallons
- 2,000,000 gallons
When selecting a size, you should always round up the number of gallons in your pond. For instance, if you have a 220,000-gallon pond, this requires using our 250,000-gallon AquaSpherePRO®. You cannot overtreat the pond water, but you can undertreat, which is why it is always best to have a bit more AquaSpherePRO® than you might need.
Overtreatment is safe, and at times, highly recommended. We also recommend that you evenly distribute the spheres and vary your sphere placement each month as this will ensure that the beneficial pond bacteria are reaching every part of your pond.
Additional Steps To Take
The AquaSpherePRO® dispensers are ideal for monthly pond water maintenance, but we also have several products that further increase the beneficial bacteria count in the pond, combating excess nutrients and improving water quality. For instance, if your pond is already stagnant, covered with floating green organic matter or substantial rainfall in your area has caused a large amount of runoff to enter your pond, the AquaSpherePRO® will need some extra help. These products include the following:
Natural BLAST® advances the decomposition of floating organic material and sludge and treats the entire water column. Natural BLAST® should be used in conjunction with AquaSpherePRO® and it’s an ideal supplement to add to your pond at the beginning of your warm season, after a heavy rainfall or when temperatures suddenly spike.
RUSH® is ideal to use in a stagnant pond. This pond treatment is designed to rapidly accelerate the decomposition of floating organic matter and is ideal for ponds with heavy matting and green slime on rocks.
After your pond begins to show signs of improvement, we recommend adding pond dye to your water. Pond dye improves the aesthetic of your pond while keeping the water temperature cooler. Our easy-to-apply pond dye is safe for fish, pets and people and we have two color options – black or blue.
Again, you should wait to use pond dye until your water has shown improvement from the use of AquaSpherePRO® and our other pond products. Of course, you will want to keep treating your water every month with AquaSpherePRO® to keep the water as healthy and balanced as possible.
In addition to treatment every 30 days with AquaSpherePRO®, we recommend keeping a supply of Natural BLAST® on hand at all times in case of a large rainfall or when a temperature spike has been forecasted.
To learn more about which pond maintenance products might be the best fit for your situation, we offer free personalized treatment plans for any size water feature at https://healthyponds.com/free-pond-plan/. If you have any questions about our pond bacteria products, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
