5 Tips to Keep Your Garden Pond Clean, guest post by Katie Michaels

5 Tips to Keep Your Garden Pond Clean

Having a garden pond is an exciting new venture for many but when the water starts to turn green and you can’t see a thing, it’s not a good sight for you and it’s definitely not good news for your fish so how exactly do you keep your garden pond clean?

There are several things to consider when it comes to keeping the pond water clean and avoiding it turning into a green and smelly swamp, from the plants you add to the pond, through to how much you are feeding your fish.

With so many elements affecting your pond water it can feel overwhelming but here are five key things you need to think about if you want to maintain a clean garden pond and a pleasant healthy environment for your fish to live in:

1.       Don’t have too many fish

While it might be tempting to fill your pond with beautiful colourful fish you need to make sure you don’t over fill the pond. Fish produce waste products which pollute the water and they also breed, so if you have too many fish your pond will very quickly become an unpleasant environment.

Keep an eye on your fish population and if they do breed you might be able to sell the young to fish stockists to help keep the population under control. Alternatively make sure all your fish are the same sex to avoid any growth in the population.

The other factor when it comes to fish is removing sick or dead fish from the pond as quickly as possible so that you don’t end up with a polluted pond that way either. It’s best to check your fish weekly for signs of any problems.

2.       Don’t feed the fish too much

This is one of the most common problems with new fish owners – the temptation to continuously feed fish when they don’t need it. Fish will only eat what they need so any unwanted food will just fall to the bottom of your pond.

Waste food will then start to rot, polluting the water and causing problems in your pond so don’t over feed, and always remove any leftover food which the fish don’t eat, straight away, otherwise your pond water quality will go downhill rapidly.

3.       Don’t smother your pond with too many plants

Water plants take in oxygen so make sure you don’t allow your pond to become over grown as the plants will end up causing oxygen levels to drop in the water. Too many plants will also result in a lack of light and sun in the pond due to the coverage of the leaves, which again can have a negative impact.

Make sure you regularly trim back plants and clear fallen leaves and dead plants from the water to help keep the quality high. Avoid plants which have a tendency to grow across the water surface and cover it.

4.       Make sure your water pump and filters are working properly

Managing and maintaining your pond equipment is key to keeping it clean. The water pump for your pond is the key to making sure your water is being circulated regularly so you need to make sure it is well maintained and fully functioning at all times. It’s important to have a pump which is big enough for the size of pond you have otherwise it won’t cope.

You should check your pump regularly to make sure it is not clogged with debris and to make sure all the parts are working effectively – if you notice any wear and tear make sure you replace the parts straight away to keep it running well.

You should also make sure your filter system is the right size for your particular pond and make sure it is working effectively. Change and clean your filters regularly to ensure they don’t get clogged with debris and dirt.

5.       Always clear debris from the pond surface

Ponds tend to attract all kinds of debris from dead leaves falling from nearby trees, to rubbish items blown in on the wind or even dropped by birds so always make sure you clear debris daily from your pond surface, before it has a chance to sink to the bottom and start to rot and pollute your water.

If you can, use netting to cover the pond to help catch any falling debris so that it never reaches the water in the first place – this will go a long way to helping to keep your garden pond clean and your water sparkling and healthy for all your fish.

These five tips will go a long way to ensuring that your pond remains a clean environment for all the family to enjoy all year round and by following simple regular maintenance outlined here, you should never be left with any huge pond cleaning issues. 

guest post by Katie Michaels

guest post on Ponds, from Josh Nicholas of Swallow Aquatics

How to get and keep your pond healthy ready for summer

Good news everyone! Spring is on its way, winter has finally ended and hopefully we will soon be seeing some sunny days, a little less rain and feeling that itch to get out into the garden once again!

If you're anything like me, this time of year also means it is time to do some maintenance in order to get your garden fighting fit ready for the summer months, and one of the first items on your list should be your garden pond - after all, this is the time of year when new frogs are coming into the world.

So with that in mind, I have decided to give you a few friendly tips to maintain your garden pond. How to prepare it for summer and keep it healthy and full of life. Gardening gloves at the ready? Good, let's begin.

Remove bubbler and heater

Depending on where you live and the ecosystem of your pond you may have installed a heater and a bubbler over the winter in order to keep your fish alive. Don't forget to remove it now that the weather is getting warmer.

Remove debris

The first step in any pond maintenance of course is to remove any debris from the pond. Over the winter, chances are good that you haven't been doing this, so now is the time to do a thorough clean out.

Grab those big bits of debris such as fallen leaves and sticks, but it is also worth using a skimming net to get the finer debris. A skimmer net will have finer holes that a regular pond net, so it will pick up even small bits of debris, hence improving water clarity and allowing more light into your pond. Additionally, here's a handy guide to using your garden hose to remove debris.

And for bigger ponds, consider using a pond hoover (like this one) to gently remove excess silt and debris from the water. These are well worth the investment and will help to keep your pond nice and clean.

Check water health

Next, you should check the health of the water by measuring the PH levels, ammonia and nitrate and nitrite levels. The correct levels will again depend on various factors, but there are plenty of guides for measuring each. Here's one q and a that may help.

Change the water

If the levels are off, or if the water is particularly dirty, it may be worth partially changing the water in the pond. Emptying and replacing around 30% of the water in the pond should be sufficient and safe.

You can use your regular pond pump to pump the water out of the pond, and then a regular hose and bucket to fill it back up.

Before adding water to the pond though, you should use a water conditioner, which will remove the chlorine, ammonia and any other nasty chemicals which might harm your fish or your plants.

Save your water!

Just a note here. Pond water is very nutritious, full of nitrogen and other nice things that your plants will love, so after double checking based on what plants you have, feel free to use the excess pond water to feed and water the plants - they will thank you for it come spring time.

Pump maintenance

Next, you should have a look at your pond pump - particularly if it has been turned off over the winter. As a minimum, take it out and check the inlet for debris or a build up and plants, soil and general gunge.

A good clean out will keep it functioning well, failure to do so may cause slowed water flow and even burn out, which will cost you a new pump and cause a drop in oxygen levels in the pond. Here's a YouTube video to show you how!

Add beneficial bacteria

Finally, don't resort to harmful algae treatments which will use nasty chemicals. Instead, get a natural pond treatment which contains friendly bacteria. It's just like one of those yoghurts, but for your pond and will keep your ponds ecosystem healthy and algae free.

If you follow all of these tips, you will never need to use chemicals, your pond will be healthy, full of life and the water will stay clearer than ever before.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your pond maintenance this summer!

Post contributed by Josh from Swallow Aquatics garden centre.
Thanks for reading!