Annual Spring Pond Cleaning and Startup
This is the question most pond owners ask themselves every spring.
The overall rule of thumb is simply to take a good look at the water quality see how much debris is in the bottom of your pond and determine if it could use a good cleanup. Some pond owners choose to do it every year and some do it every so often.
Here is a basic outline of what you need to do. You can either do a Complete Cleanup or a Partial Cleanup depending on how bad it is.
Option 1: Complete Cleanup You might decide to do a complete Spring Cleanup. The first thing you need is a holding tank ready for your fish, complete with a bubbler or small pump to create oxygen for your fish. It is best to use water from your pond in this holding tank. A lot of dechlorinators on the market can help protect a fish’s slime coat so you can also put that in your holding tank to help protect your fish. If you have Koi you may want something to cover the tank with such as netting, as they like to “jump ship”.
Drain your pond’s water, taking the fish out as you go. (You will find it easier to catch your fish this way). Use a power washer or a garden hose with a strong water pressure attachment. Please be cautious with the type of head is on your power washer and how close you get to your liner as this can cause damage to liner if done incorrectly. Start at the bottom of your pond and work up to the waterfalls. Clean out all debris. Rinse out starting at your waterfalls, working down your stream, and finally your main pond. Pump out all dirty water. Clean all filter mats thoroughly including mats that may be in the waterfalls units. Replace filtration mats that are torn or flimsy.
This is an ideal time to divide and trim your aquatics and bring your Lotus to an upper shelf.
Add water back to the pond. Add your dechlorinator and bacteria to jumpstart your filtration system. If you choose you can also add salt to help jumpstart your fish’s immune system . Other products to note that can be added are Pond Balance or a Barley Straw Product to get a head start on string algae. Start your waterfalls. If your fish are doing fine in the holding tank and you have the luxury of extra time, wait a few hours to add your fish back to your water feature. Otherwise, make sure you add plenty of dechlorinator and add fish as soon as you are done.
Option 2: Partial Cleanup Not everyone wants to or needs to do a complete Spring Cleanup. In this case, use your fish/debris net and fish out as much leaves and debris from the streams and your pond as possible. Trim and divide all your aquatics. Rinse out the pump house and waterfalls unit filtration mats thoroughly and put them back in the units. If mats are getting flimsy and worn-looking, you will want to replace them with new mats.
Check your water level and add some if necessary. Jumpstart your filtration system with bacteria and dechlorinator, and salt to jumpstart the immune systems of your fish. Add Pond Balance or a Barley Straw Products to get a head start on string algae. Products that are marketed towards sludge or muck can be helpful to add at this time as well.
Finishing Touches – Touch up edges with more accent rocks, gravel, and/or new mulch. By doing this it will make your pond look new and fresh.
Swan’s Water Gardens has all the products needed for your Spring Start-Up. Call or text 913-837-3510 or email us at swanswatergardens@gmail.com. If you rather not do it yourself and live in the Kansas City Metro area contact us for service availability and pricing.