Practical Garden Pond Cleaning Tips
Dont’s
When it comes to maintaining and keeping a healthy pond, you need to choose the location carefully. Some of the aspects to take into consideration include exposure to the sun, even if it’s just a few hours each day. You also need to make sure that your pond no exposed to run-off, which ultimately is a possible concern as it can kill the fish in your pond.
Runoff refers to the water that flows from your yard into your pond. In most cases, this water contains pesticides and fertilizers which are harmful to aquatic life. You also should ensure that your pond is not situated under trees since they have a tendency to block the sunlight and create dark areas. If the trees are small it won’t have much of an impact on the pond however larger trees will definitely prevent sunlight from reaching your pond. Also ensure that your pond is visible from your home or patio as ultimately it creates an aesthetic appeal to your landscape.
If you notice that your pond is an unhealthy shade of green, this could be due to an imbalance. In most cases, it’s because there are too many fish and organic matter and too few plants. However, if you remove some of the water you will notice that the water itself is relatively clear and the green appearance comes from the microscopic algae that float on the surface of the water. Ultimately it means that the pond ecosystem is unbalanced.
Do’s
An essential part of keeping a pond clean is making sure that the biological filters are in working order. Therefore, they need to be cleaned thoroughly in order to ensure that the environment is healthy for plants and fish.
To maintain the balance of good aerobic bacteria in the pond, you should switch the pump off before you move it from the water. Remove the filters and examine them. In order to understand how long a pond takes to get dirty, you need to establish a routine or schedule when comes to cleaning the filter.
Rinse the cleaners with pond water and not tap or hose water. Tap water has added chemicals that kill bacteria. Although these chemicals are added to kill harmful bacteria and ensure that you drink safe water, they can also kill the good bacteria that you are trying to preserve in the filters. Leave some residue in the filters after garden pond cleaning, and this will initiate the growth of new bacteria.