Spring Pond Care
When Spring is approaching, we offer the following list of pond care suggestions to help
get your pond off to a healthy start:
1. Take a look at any of your pumps and filters and buy new
filter pads, barley straw, etc. to get things in order for the next few weeks.
2. Start increasing your water circulation and begin
feeding your fish Spring and Autumn Fish Food (low protein diet) when the water
temperature reaches a constant 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. It is a good idea to clean your pond once a year either
in late Spring or early Fall. Remove all fish from your pond and place in a large
tub of your original pond water (large Rubbermaid containers work great and are quite
inexpensive). Make sure you cover the tub with netting so the fish don't jump out,
especially koi. Try to keep the fish and plants in the shade while working so they
don't "cook" in the tub while you're cleaning the pond. (Make sure you keep your
plants wet, if not submerged in pond water in another tub) Pump out all the water and
sweep up any remaining debris with a broom and soft-edged dustpan. Rinse liner and
repeat as necessary. I often use a new, unused sponge mop and mop it out well
- giving it a little scrub with the mop as I go along or an old, clean bath towel.
It's important that you DO NOT use any type of cleaning agent - use only tap
water! Once your pond is all cleaned out, fill with tap water and dechlorinate it
with Ammo
Lock2. This will instantly lock up the chlorine and chloramine that are in your
tap water. Be sure to acclimate your fish to your new pond, just as you did when
you brought them to the pond the first time. Click here to find out how to
properly acclimate your fish to your pond.
4. Add Microbe Lift
beneficial bacteria to jumpstart the biological system.
5. Add barley straw to help prevent algae
growth and increase biological system.
6. Start the biological and mechanical filters, adding
fresh filter media.
7. Fertilize each plant and
place at appropriate depth. Lilies and lotus should be fertilized every 2-3 weeks,
marginal plants every 5-7 weeks.
8. Add floating plants such as water hyacinth and water
lettuce after danger of frost has passed. If your pond is in full sun, 2/3 of your
pond's surface area should be protected by shade, either by aquatic plants or trees,
etc. This will provide a place for your fish to retreat from the hot sun as well as
help reduce algae, since algae loves full sun to thrive on. Add additional aquatic plants such as bog and
marginal plants, water lilies, lotus, etc. (We have hundreds of aquatic plants to chose
from!)
9. Monitor your water chemistry once a week with the Pond Master Test
Kit.
10. Take pictures, enjoy, relax, stretch, go smell the
roses, tell someone you love them, enjoy life... and your wonderful pond! |
