A natural way to treat sludge and poor water quality
Biostim Pellets are ideal for treating dams, ponds and lagoons with high amounts of sludge, and water moving through them, e.g. irrigation dams.
How does Biostim improve water quality?
Application and Dosage
Note: the following dose rates are guidelines that may need to be increased or decreased according to your individual conditions. Results will depend on factors such as sludge composition, water temperature, and water movement (circulated, aerated water provides best results). It’s recommended you treat your water, monitor the results, and adjust your dose rate based on these results.
Biostim Pellets are safe for use in waterbodies used by people, animals and plants. Even overdosing your water will not impact the environment. That said, if overdosing in fish ponds, care should be taken to ensure there is adequate aeration.
Instructions
Biostim Pellets are formulated to be tossed into your dam water. Scatter them across the surface like feeding chooks pellet food. The pellets slowly break down over time. Benefits are usually seen after just a couple of weeks with sludge/organic matter being the most significantly reduced over the course of summer when bacteria are most active. Problem areas can be treated heavily without having to treat the entire water body.
Initial Dosage
12kg per surface acre / per month. This dose rate should be maintained monthly until conditions noticeably improve, then the maintenance dose can be followed.
Maintenance Dosage
6kg per surface acre / per month. This can be adjusted based on individual results.
Algae Reduced by 98% in 11 Weeks Using Biostim
Which Biostim is right for me?
Biostim Pellets
Biostim Tablets
Biostim Powder
Biostim Liquid
Biostim Accelerator
Biostim Booster Block
Biostim Pellets Explained: How They Improve Water Quality
When it comes to treating your dam, we’re always going to advocate for natural solutions, and one of our favourite natural solutions is Biostim Pellets. Biostim Pellets are pellets of probiotics that help to reintroduce and accumulate levels of beneficial bacteria in your dam. Biostim is one of our favourite products as it helps to treat the problem, not just the symptoms.
What Are Biostim Pellets?
Biostim Pellets are probiotics that feed the beneficial bacteria in your water body. In a similar way to when you’re told to eat Greek yoghurt for the beneficial bacteria, these bacteria actively produce enzymes in your waterbody to help with the breakdown of organic waste in your entire water body.
Often, people turn to us when they notice symptoms, like weed, algae, and pests in their dam. Unfortunately, many chemical solutions only treat these symptoms rather than their root cause. Biostim Pellets treat the cause by starving algae and weeds, reducing sludge, and cleaning up the organic waste in your dam.
Biostim is a natural solution. Unlike chemical solutions which will kill off the weeds but leave you with even more organic material at the bottom of your dam, Biostim Pellets slowly break down the sludge and introduce bacteria that actively produce enzymes, speeding up the breakdown of sludge, organic matter, and aquatic weeds.
As the natural solution, Biostim is more likely to show consistent results. In fact, in a test we found that in 11 weeks of Biostim treatment, 98% of algae and 99% of blue-green algae were eradicated.
Unlike other solutions, using Biostim Pellets means using less and less of the product over time. While your dam may need to be treated heavily in the beginning, once the levels of aerobic bacteria increase and bacterial cultures are levelled off, you will likely only need a maintenance dose every now and again.
How Do Biostim Pellets Improve Water Quality?
So, how do Biostim Pellets actually work? When you have a layer of sludge (organic matter) in your dam, you’ll find that you have a problem with algae and weeds. This is because the organic material in your dam is producing too many nutrients, leading to the overgrowth of algae and weeds.
By stimulating naturally occurring bacteria with Biostim Pellets, you will starve the organic material, degrading sludge, and other waste of its food source because the bacterial cultures will outcompete it. With a reduction in decaying organic material, your weed and algae problem will become obsolete over time.
Essentially, with Biostim, you’re adding sludge-eating microbes to your dam and ensuring that the bacteria eventually starve the organic sludge, leading to a better-balanced aquatic system in just a couple of weeks.
When Should I Use Biostim Pellets?
There are many different types of treatment products that you can use, but if you’ve been struggling for weeks with sludge, organic waste, and weeds, then Biostim products might be the best choice for you. Which type should you choose, though? There are options for liquid, powder, tablets, and pellets in our range, so which style is most suited to your problem?
You should use Biostim Pellets if:
- You have a large body of water but are only looking to treat localised areas. For example, around a jetty, where you’re having trouble with weeds and algae.
- You’re using your dam for irrigation and want to reduce the amount of sludge being pulled up through the irrigation suction pipes.
- Your dam has a high flow through where water doesn’t remain in the body very long and so liquid may be sucked out quickly, whereas pellets can be dropped in regularly. They sink straight to the bottom and begin working on the sludge immediately, making them less likely to be pulled out of the dam.
For your initial dose, it is recommended that you use about 12kg of pellets per surface acre per month. For a maintenance dose, 6kg per surface acre per month is perfect. You should stick with the initial dose rate until you can see a noticeable difference, then reduce it to the maintenance dose.
Be aware that the water quality, sludge composition, water temperature, and water movement in your dam will impact the treatment and how quickly the Biostim works.
Benefits of Biostim Pellets
- Targets specific areas: Unlike liquid and powder products, we recommend Biostim Pellet products for targeting specific areas. You may have noticed a buildup around your irrigation pipes, your jetty, or other areas in your dam. Biostim Pellets can be used in this specific area to deal with the problem.
- Targets the problem, not the symptoms: Our Biostim products are specifically designed to starve the nutrient source of the weeds and algae that are causing your problems. Unlike alternative treatments, this is a long-term solution meant to last.
- Reduces weeds, algae, and odours: Weeds, algae, and odours aren’t particularly inviting in your dam, and our Biostim Pellets help treat them.
- Non-toxic and chemical-free: Biostim is a natural solution to your problem. As a chemical-free, non-toxic solution, you can still use the dam for irrigation, feeding, and leisure, even when using the pellets.
Tips for Using Biostim Pellets
- Remember that your unique dam may need a unique dosage for Biostim Pellets. Our dosage guidelines are a recommendation, but feel free to increase or decrease them to find the perfect fit for you.
- Our Biostim products work particularly well when coupled with aeration. This is because aeration introduces that all-important oxygen into your dam, which the good bacteria love. So, if you can aerate your dam while treating it, then do so.
Frequently Asked Questions
Biostim Pellets are ideal for small to medium sized water bodies with moderate amounts of sludge. Biostim Pellets are a little different to Biostim Tablets in that they target the water column and bottom sludge, because they dissolve while sinking. Whereas Biostim Tablets target more intense sludge. If your water body is large (e.g. over ½ an acre) or sludge isn’t a big issue for you, Biostim Powder or Biostim Liquid might be more appropriate.
Toss the pellets evenly over the surface of your water. If you have areas with high amounts of sludge or organic buildup, you can add more pellets to these locations.
Yes, Biostim Pellets are safe, non-toxic and chemical-free. They won’t harm aquatic life, livestock, plants, pets, or humans. However, if you have fish, we recommend you use tablets, liquid or powder, so the fish don’t mistake the pellets for food. While fish eating the pellets won’t harm them, it’s a waste of product.
You may notice improvements in water clarity and odour within 2 to 4 weeks. More dramatic changes in sludge reduction and nutrient suppression typically take 2 to 3 months, depending on temperature, circulation, and initial conditions.
Yes, you can overdose Biostim Pellets safely if you want to speed up results. Although in heavily stocked fishponds, excessive dosing may temporarily reduce oxygen levels, so make sure you have good aeration if you choose to overdose. That said, we don’t recommend using Biostim Pellets if you have fish. Instead, use tablets, liquid or powder, so the fish don’t mistake the pellets for food. While fish eating the pellets won’t harm them, it’s a waste of product.
There are many factors that affect the performance of Biostim Pellets, including water temperature, oxygen/aeration, sludge thickness, level of nutrient in the water, etc.
Yes, Biostim Pellets can eradicate odours by ramping up populations of “good” aerobic bacteria which outcompete “bad” anaerobic bacteria that create these foul-smelling gases. Aeration will also help by creating aerobic conditions that are not conducive to anaerobic bacteria.
We recommend applying Biostim monthly. Start with the initial dose shown on the label and when you start seeing considerable results (typically 3-months), you can shift to a maintenance dose.
Store Biostim Pellets in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight. When stored correctly, Biostim remains usable for up to 2 years after opening, although it won’t be as effective as fresher product.
Yes, Biostim Pellets are 100% biodegradable, chemical-free and environmentally safe. They support a balanced, self-sustaining aquatic ecosystem without introducing synthetic compounds or residues.
Avoid using chemicals, e.g. herbicides and algaecides, at the same time you use Biostim Pellets as these can harm the “good” bacteria. If you need to use chemical treatments, we recommend you use Biostim Accelerator, a biocatalyst, at the same time to reduce how much chemical you need to use, and you wait several days before applying Biostim Pellets.
