Pond Care

Fortunately, your pond and water feature requires very little maintenance. Nothing as beautiful as a water garden is completely maintenance free. Just like any other outdoor landscaping, a pond takes a little maintenance here and there, but it's much more enjoyable than mowing the lawn.

Tips for General Maintenance of your pond

This section outlines seven easy steps of the general maintenance your pond requires. By keeping up on these tasks, you should have a healthy pond all season long.

1. Approximately once a week you should check and clean your pump and any filtration system that you may have added. How often this is required depends on the amount of debris and leaves that find their way into your pond. This typically only takes a few minutes of your time, and will help keep your water clean, clear and healthy. Be sure to rinse filter sponges & other media with de-chlorinated water, as this will preserve the established beneficial biological bacteria.

2. When the aquatic plants in your pond are actively growing, you'll also need to keep an eye out for and remove any yellowing leaves and spent flowers and excess growth, especially on water lilies. This will help to get rid of nutrients in the pond, reducing the possibility of algae blooms.

3. Regular, weekly 10% water changes are the best way to ensure that toxins are not building up in your pond. Be sure to add a water conditioner to the fresh water before adding it to the pond.

4. Regularly adding beneficial bacteria to your pond will help reduce the growth of algae. Beneficial bacteria are microorganisms that occur naturally in your water garden. The beneficial pond bacteria are responsible for maintaining crystal clear healthy water; breaking down organic waste - in the form of sludge, and breaking down ammonia from fish waste. There are several brands of beneficial pond bacteria available on the market.

5. Be sure to keep your pond "topped up", making sure the water level stays where it should be. This will ensure that the pump and/or filtration system are able to operate properly and also provides plenty of oxygenated water for your fish.

6. Regular water testing to check for PH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates is a good general routine. Poor water quality is often the cause of pond problems and sick fish. Correcting problems before they become critical is the easiest way to maintain good fish and plant health.

7. Fertilize your plants to encourage more prolific blooming during the summer months. Follow package instructions for information on when and how to apply fertilizer.

Spring Maintenance

Spring algae blooms occur because of excess nutrients and deficient amounts of beneficial bacteria. In a clean-out, the stale pond water is replaced with fresh, clean water that is ready for bacterial colonization. Spring clean-outs replenish the water in a pond and allow it to begin a fresh, new season. Since a balanced ecosystem keeps the pond healthy the rest of the year, an annual clean-out gets it off to the right start.

Ideally, you would start your spring clean-out early, before the water temperature creeps up above 55°F. At this temperature, your pond hasn't begun its annual balance, and the fish are not active so the clean-out won't be quite as stressful to them.

How To Perform a Clean-Out

1. Start draining the pond. You can use a siphon hose, inexpensive pump or a sump pump. Be sure you use some of the pond water to fill a container for the fish.
2. Disconnect your pump & filtration system. Clean them thoroughly.
3. Remove the fish and plants. It may be helpful to drain most of the water from the pond in order to catch fish easily and safely.
4. Remove the large debris like leaves and twigs.
5. Rinse the pond using a hose. You can remove the liner to make cleaning easier. You may need to wipe the liner with a cloth to remove any stubborn dirt. NEVER use any household cleaning products on your pond. Even the slightest residue left by soaps and/or bleaches may be harmful to your plants and fish.
6. Refill the Pond.
7. Be sure to de-chlorinate the water. Most city water contains chlorine and chloramines and should be treated with a water conditioner before fish are re-introduced.

A spring clean-out can be stressful to fish. It is imperative to properly acclimate your fish before putting them back into the pond to decrease stress and avoid future health problems. Please read how to introduce fish to your pond for further information.

Fall Maintenance

Removing leaves and any other debris with a net will make for an easier spring clean-out next year. Debris left to rot in the pond will eventually decompose, producing gases that may be harmful to your fish. Regardless of whether you have a lot of trees or a minimal amount of falling leaves, it is still important to clean out debris more often than usual. It's also a great time to tend to your plants. You definitely don't want their dead leaves falling to the bottom of the pond.

Hardy bog and marginal plants should have all the dead leaves and foliage trimmed down to 2" above the water level, and hardy lily leaves and stems should be cut back, leaving approximately 2 to 3" at the base of the plant. This is also the time when tropical plants can be brought inside for winter, or simply treated as annuals and replaced each season.

Winter Maintenance

There are several options for over-wintering your pond. In moderate climates, you can continue to operate your pond pump/fountain and filtration. The water movement will ensure that your pond does not freeze over completely and your fish will be fine at the bottom.

If you wish to continue to operate your pond pump and fountain in extreme climates, a small heater may be required to prevent your pond from freezing.

Another option in extreme climates, is to use a pond de-icer to maintain a hole in the ice, in combination with your pump running beneath the water surface to provide oxygen for your fish. Using this method is only advisable if your pond does not freeze too deep.

Freezing temperatures will in no way harm your liner. However, if you do decide to let your pond freeze over, in addition to removing your fish, you will need to remove your pump and filtration system, as these items may be damaged if left to freeze in the pond.

PLANT CARE

Aquatic plants give your pond a natural look, and also help filter the water and produce oxygen. They play an essential role in maintaining balanced and stable water conditions.

Benefits of aquatic plants:

• Plants absorb ammonium, nitrates, phosphates and some metals, helping to improve water quality.
• Plants supply shelter and food for your fish.
• Aquatic plants help reduce algae by competing with the intake of essential nutrients and shading the pond.
• They help keep a biological balance.
• By shading the water, plants help prevent the water from overheating.

To have a successful pond a whole range of complementary plants, including floating, marginal and deep water varieties are recommended to achieve a natural balance.

Purchase plants from a reputable garden center with knowledgeable staff. Choose healthy plants without damages such as holes in leaves, broken stems or yellow/brown leaves. Select plants that are suitable to your climate.

Most aquatic plants are quite hardy. Their care involves a regular maintenance schedule to ensure their growth is kept in check. All that is normally required is some light pruning and the application of fertilizer at regular intervals.

FISH CARE

Introducing Fish to Your Pond

When choosing fish, please keep in mind that our three smallest ponds are not really suitable for koi. Keeping the pond maintained and in balance with these large fish is a trial. With this in mind, you can still have extraordinarily beautiful shubunkins, comets or other pond fish varieties.

Follow these instructions for best results when introducing fish to your pond:

• Before adding any fish, be sure to use a water treatment product to remove chlorine, chloramines and other toxins that can harm your fish.

• Float the sealed bag containing your fish for 20 minutes in the pond to adjust the temperature to that of the pond. Open the bag and pour in a small amount of pond water (approx. 1/2 cup). Wait a few minutes and repeat several times. This helps the fish become used to your pond water. It is best to do this while the pond is shaded, as the sun can quickly raise the temperature in the bag.

• If possible, use a net to very carefully scoop the fish out of the bag and put them into the pond. Discard the water in the bag; do not pour it into your pond.

• Treat your pond fish with great care, handling them as little as possible. Transporting, handling and even just introducing them to your pond will cause stress.

• It is a good idea to test the water before purchasing fish. Remember that established fish in the pond can become acclimatized to a gradual decrease in water quality over time, but poor water quality could be fatal to new arrivals. Most places that sell fish will test your water for you, if you do not already have a test kit.

• If possible, before adding new fish to an established population, they should be quarantined for at least 14 days. If the new fish have parasites or diseases, they can be diagnosed and treated, preventing the introduction of harmful organisms into the pond, jeopardizing the rest of your fish. Use a child's inflatable pool with a small circulating pump, for an inexpensive quarantine pond.

General Fish Care

The size of your pond determines the number and type of fish you should have. An overstocked pond will be difficult to maintain and there is a high risk of fish disease. Fish produce large amounts of waste which is potentially toxic to them. It is better to have too few fish rather than too many.

Fish may reproduce and grow quickly in your pond environment. A good rule of thumb is to have no more than 1 inch (2 cm) of fish for every 13 gallons (50 liters) of water. When planning your stock, keep in mind how big the fish you choose will grow.

Our three smaller ponds are not suitable for Koi. Goldfish are available in many beautiful varieties and are a much better alternative.

Choosing healthy fish will help avoid problems.

Tips for selecting healthy fish:

• Purchase your fish from a reputable dealer.
• Choose active lively fish.
• Eyes should be clear not cloudy.
• Scales should not be sticking out, no red blotches.
• Gills should not be distended or puffy, they should be red inside.

Depending on the water temperature, fish have different nutritional needs and feeding habits. At water temperatures above 50° F (10° C) fish can be fed up to four times per day. Only feed as much as they can eat in two to five minutes. Feeding in small portions that are all consumed results in less waste. Never overfeed your fish, as the excess waste will pollute your pond water.

Fish have trouble digesting food at water temperatures less than 47° F (8° C). Once the temperature drops below this level, you need to stop feeding your fish. You resume feeding in the spring when the temperature is consistently above 47° F (8° C). Be sure to keep a good thermometer so you can track the pond temperature.

Fish can suffer from illness from time to time. Prevention is the most effective way to keep your fish healthy. The consequences of having to treat your pond with medication can be stressful and damaging in itself to your plants and fish. Maintaining clear, clean healthy water is one of the best methods of prevention.

Provide your fish with high quality food. This ensures that they get a proper balanced diet and helps maintain good health.

Daily observation of your fish is a good preventative practice. Identifying problems before they become critical will help ensure fish recovery should there be any injuries or illness.

Unless you are in a very moderate climate, you will probably have to take measures to ensure that your pond does not freeze solid in winter. There are several options available taking into consideration your winter conditions. In some cases, you may choose to over-winter your fish indoors. The beauty of our ponds, is that you can easily move the whole pond into a garage or other protected environment.

If you bring your pond indoors to a heated environment, you will need to continue regular maintenance routines and continue to feed your fish.