Limitations:
What if you don't have an "already cycled" donor system to get primordial stew from?
A: You can buy the "bacteria" from different companies and take your chances. Fritz Industries (Turbostart) has the only bacteria I've ever tested which routinely works. Their TurboStart product could be applied to "new" systems and eliminate the break in process. No other product I have tested could do this. Please see koiresources.com for more details. We also had good luck with Enviroreps products. Please see Koiresources.com for more details on this product.
OR: You could ask your local pet shop or garden center to wring out some of their filtration media to provide you with a bucket of dark green or brown primordial stew.
RISK! RISK! RISK! This action could result in your purchasing a disease! How do you know that the primordial stew you're buying doesn't contain some sort of pathogen for your fish?
Still, there are those "in the know" who might maintain the following two points: If the fish in the donor system look good, chances are the bacteria from their filter are going to be "pretty safe" and I won't disagree as long as you use words like "Look good" and "Pretty safe" instead of "Completely safe" because it's not.
Secondly, it could be argued that a prolonged "break in" period, complete with raging ammonias and nitrites, could be far worse than a little case of Ich which you can just salt away.
It's known that these two bacteria aren't the ONLY two bacteria which can do this in nature, but for the sake of discussion, that's all for now.
This work was all done with Undergravel filters. Do other filters work too?
A: Yes. In my first testing on this technique, the work was done using regular sponge filters and the primordial stew came from some Japanese matting at the pet shop.
Are there any other pitfalls?
A: Yes, there are. In this scenario you're putting an IMMEDIATE biological load on the system. This creates and immediate tax on the carbonates which uphold the pH. If you do NOT supplement the carbonates in some way, a drop in the pH could occur as these bacteria try to "set up shop". There are numerous ways to hold up the carbonates, including Baking Soda, pH regulators, BuffItUp, more.
SHORT AND SWEET: When you initially set up a new fish pond, there will be Ammonia and Nitrite accumulations which will threaten your fish unless you're prepared or take evasive measures.
|
HELP! Sick Fish!
Twenty Steps to fish health. You LITERALLY can solve almost any Koi or Pond health outbreak with these twenty diagnostic steps and nothing's hard. But it's not "here's your pill" either. Downloads are available.
|
DrJohnson.net
More than koi health, this site spans all things animal, by a real veterinarian who shoots you straight.
|
Fishdoc.co.uk
By Frank Prince-Iles. A UK authority who put this site together some time ago and which is still relied upon as a major source of good Koi and pond fish information
|
|