JBL FilterStart Pond starter bacteria for pond filters
Regular price
14,90 €
Regular price
Sale price
14,90 €
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per
4,96 € × 3 with no fees
Klarna.
JBL's FilterStart Pond seeds the pond filter with live bacteria attached to granules. They break down ammonia and nitrites from the first few days, instead of the weeks a filter needs to get going on its own.
250 g box, for 10,000 litres.
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The summary
- Its action: ammonium, ammonia and nitrites broken down, nitrates reduced.
- The dosage: 250 g per 10,000 litres.
- The application: onto the filter media, 2 hours with the filter switched off.
- With a UV-C: it can stay switched on.
A working filter in a few days, not a few weeks
A pond filter does more than catch dirt: its biological section houses bacteria that convert the ammonium and ammonia released by the fish into nitrites, then into far less toxic nitrates. These bacteria need time to establish. In a new filter, in spring after a winter spent running slowly, or after an overly vigorous clean, they are lacking, and ammonia builds up in your pond. JBL's FilterStart Pond supplies the filter with live bacteria, fixed on granules, so that it is operational within a few days.
🦠 Bacteria fixed on granules
The granules carry two groups of bacteria. The nitrifying bacteria break down ammonium, ammonia and nitrite, and they multiply all the better when they find these in the water. The denitrifying bacteria, for their part, reduce the nitrate level. Placed directly on the filter media, they colonise the filter within a few days, and a well-seeded filter keeps its efficiency for longer. Overdosing is not possible: even in larger quantities, these bacteria do not harm the fish.
🔧 Seeding the filter
One 250 g box treats up to 10,000 litres. Switch off the pump, moisten the filter media, then sprinkle the entire contents of the box directly over them, even for a smaller pond, as overdosing is not possible. Leave to work for 2 hours with the filter off so that the bacteria can attach, then switch the pump back on. The UV-C steriliser can stay on, because the bacteria work in the filter and not suspended in the water. Slight cloudiness of the water after application is harmless. In a swimming pond, wait 24 hours before swimming.
Rinse the sponges in pond water
The chlorine in tap water kills the bacteria you have just introduced. Always clean the filter media in a bucket of pond water, and never all on the same day: the ones you leave untouched reseed the others.
Take a 6,000-litre pond whose filter you are restarting in April. The whole box is spread over the sponges and biological media. For the following 2 weeks, feed the fish sparingly, one small ration a day, and do not add any new fish. Once nitrites stay close to zero, the filter has taken over and feeding can return to normal.
A nitrite test to monitor the cycling
Nitrite is the most toxic stage of the nitrogen cycle, and it is also the one that builds up when bacteria are lacking. The NO2 nitrite drop test, carried out every 2 or 3 days after seeding, shows you when its level falls back close to zero. You then know that you can return to a normal ration and introduce new fish.
Bacteria settle poorly in cold water: in spring, wait until the water rises above about ten degrees before seeding the filter. They also need oxygen, so a filter should not be left switched off for long during the season. After a course of medication, which destroys part of the filter's bacterial flora, wait until the treatment has finished before adding FilterStart Pond, then seed again.
🌱 In aquaponics
In aquaponics, nitrifying bacteria form the link between the fish and the plants: they convert waste into nitrates that the vegetables absorb. Seeding at system start-up, or after an incident that has deprived the filter of its bacterial flora, shortens the period during which ammonia and nitrites threaten the first fish. The article on the nitrogen cycle in aquaponics explains these stages, and the guide to starting an aquaponic system properly shows how to monitor them day to day.
Technical specifications
The product
- Contents
- Bacteria-carrying granules
- Action
- Ammonium, ammonia and nitrite broken down, nitrate reduced
- Dosage
- 250 g for 10,000 L
- Overdosing
- Impossible
Use
- Where
- Directly onto the filter media
- Contact time
- 2 h, filter switched off
- UV-C steriliser
- Can be left on
- Swimming pond
- No swimming for 24 h
In the box
- 1 250 g box of JBL FilterStart Pond
Dosage, directions for use and precautions from the JBL instructions, recorded on 13/10/2026.
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