Beneficial Bacteria (Granular)

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

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!!

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!

Love this product. It keeps my koi pond clear. The only complaint i have is that the bucket it comes in is extremely difficult to open. I usually have to cut it off. i get other things including their food in a large bucket that i have no problems opening. the bucket needs a pull tab or some other design. ****update*** 3/26/26 i just got my lastest bucket. it appears that the company uses a new company for their buckets. the bucket is still difficult to open but somewhat easier than the last ones. this is the first time i didn't have to cut the top of the lid off. the thing is that because you have to pry it open, it doesn't shut very tightly. so still four stars from me.

I'll just say this if your pond is green like mine was use this product. This summer our pond went soupy green I called in a professional who wanted $1,500 to fix it. I know pools systems well and ponds are not too far off yes living environment but this price was ridiculous so this summer we removed the fish drained and cleaned the pond top to bottom added them back in. They were happy. 2 weeks later soupy green was back as shown in my photo. I tried algaecide for me they were ineffective little change, all of these products are fish safe but what they fail to tell you is that they kill the algae of which drops your oxygen levels and this will kill your fish. I used it as directed luckily able to save my fish that were struggling to breath, never again will I use it. I bought this product Beneficial Bacteria and used it as directed after a few day I could see fish, after a week the bottom of the pond the rocks it was crystal clear. This bacteria was exactly what we needed fingers crossed it stays this way as the seasons change. I highly recommend it. 100% Beneficial. My photos are the before and after use of this product. My pond has a filtration system water fall and 2 aeration stones.

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

Works well in my little 300 gallon Comet Goldfish pond. The fish started eating the 1st time I put it in, and they didn't die so I'd agree on it being safe for the fish. I put it into the waterfall feature to help mix it on future applications.

Aquascape’s concentrated beneficial bacteria powder is a good product in the worst packaging ever. I bought it for the first time last year, and once I figured out how much to use for my size pond and how to adjust for hotter weather and after heavy rain, it worked great. I prefer it to liquid bacteria. But the packaging sucks. The opening directions are embossed on the lid so they are white on white and virtually invisible. Last year I didn’t even see them until I had totally mangles the lid and gasket trying to get it open. This year, I highlighted it with a Sharpie marker so I could see how to open it correctly. The diagram made no sense. The directions didn’t help. No one in my family could figure it out. I called the customer service number and the very pleasant fellow who answered the phone seemed as puzzled as we were. Finally, I decided that, “Break at openings,” must mean “Poke holes in the lid with a screwdriver where the plastic looks thin and then break the lid in multiple places before prying the lid off.” Which seemed like a bad idea if I want to be able to use the lid to keep the product dry and airtight all season. But I did that and with MUCH effort and struggle was finally able to pry the lid off. Now, apparently, I will have to struggle with it every time I need to add the product to my pond— so every 3 days. Packaging that makes me sweat, and struggle, and curse the company that made it every 3 days seems like poor design engineering to me. It needs a screw on/off top. But I love the product inside.

Good for big fish tank/pond

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

Anyone who has had a duck pond knows the dilemma... poop, poop, and more poop... Full on green algae water in just a few days, with little you can do without full water changes and scrubing the liner ever few days... We were no different. We have a 1300Gal man-made duck pond in their enclosure with a 4000gal/h pump and 250gal bio filter (fliterate stone & fabrics, barley straw, lava stones, floating duck weed etc. - the best Quackoponics filter tank we could make) that helped, but we would have to change out the water and scrub the liner at least once a week to even attempt to keep up with the algea growth and keep the water safe for our pet ducks.... Exhausting! I was seaching for other options we could try to incorporate into our biofilter to extend the life of the water (1500gal a week is a lot of water to get out of our well in one sitting) and saw a lot of info on adding extra natural beneficial bacterias to help break down the constant addiction of poop. Thought 'What the heck, lets give it a boost and see'. This product was one of the highest rated, so I purchased it. Keeping in mind it does state it can take a few weeks to really see a difference, and for the bacteria to form a good sized colonie. BUT it is also safe for plants, fish, and animals which some others were not or some other products were full of chemicals that we were desperately trying to aviod. I did a full change out and scrub of our pond before I added the product. Now, because of the constant pooping of ducks, I did use twice the amount the directions said to use for each dose. I also changed out half the pond water once after the first dose. I know this sounds counter-intuitive to 'just let the bacteria do it's job', but I needed to make sure the water was still safe enough for the ducks to use in the interim. Then one day, about 2 weeks after the first dose... DAM!!!!!! The algae was disappearing, the water was clearing, and holy smokes our Duck Weed exploded with growth (a great treat for our Pekins!). Our water is still a bit 'tea colored' because of all the tannins in thete now, so I will be adding activated charcoal to finish clearing it up. It has been three weeks since the first dose and I am honestly in shock this product worked sooooo well to fight the duck poop & algae problem!!! I had been told be several people that we would never escape the algea cleaning nightmare. Their water is safe for them to swim in and drink and I haven't had to change it in weeks! I still have a tone left in the first jar I ordered, but when I do run out I will most definitely be ordering more 🙃 In addition to our duckpond, there is also a natural, unfiltered, pond on the property that we havn't been able to tackle since we bought our house just recently. It is unfortunately overrun with years of organic debris after being neglected for 4+ years by previous owners... I am excited to see if this product can help clean that buildup too and will be using it once we start tackling this project.