If you’re lucky enough to have a pond and/or water feature in your yard, you’ll be positively itching to start enjoying it again this year. But before you fire up the pump(s), a bit of maintenance is needed to ensure the health and longevity of the water feature and its contents.
The maintenance required on an annual basis, while important, is not terribly difficult. A basic cleaning and simple test of moving parts and related components is typically sufficient. A more thorough cleaning (outlined further below) is only required every three to four years, or when your water feature has accumulated a significant layer of sludge on the bottom and water is quite dark and murky.
The standard preparation can usually be done toward the end of April, but you want to be sure that any risk of heavy frost has passed. Significant frost could damage water feature components and place undue stress on pond fish, if you have them.
When ready, begin by removing protective covers and netting, cleaning as necessary and storing until fall. Then remove any aeration and heating devices used in the winter, as well as accumulated debris from the pond and water feature reservoirs.
Check all hoses and lights for function, replacing as necessary. Clean out the skimmer net and biofall filters. Then connect and test the pump to ensure proper water flow, filtering, and circulation.
CARING FOR YOUR KOI
If you have Koi or Goldfish in your pond, this spring cleaning will affect them too. While Koi are very hearty fish, there are some precautionary steps you should take to minimize stress and ensure a healthy, safe transition into the warmer months.
While cleaning your pond, you’ll have to temporarily displace the fish. Essentially, you want to avoid the shock caused by moving fish into water that is radically different – in terms of temperature or composition – than the water they’re coming from. We usually suggest to store the fish in a small tank and use the water from the pond to fill the tank to avoid shock or stress to the fish. We’ve included a link at the bottom of this post to an Aquascape video for more information about proper handling of your pond fish.
TIME FOR A DEEP CLEAN?
Every three to four years, you’ll need to deep clean your pond or water feature. In addition to the annual cleanup steps outlined above, this may also involve partial or complete water change, some scrubbing or power washing of components, and maybe even some specialized maintenance products.
For information about pond fish health and general spring pond cleanup, watch this video from Aquascape.
Of course lawn, garden, and pond cleanup is never easier than when you hire professionals to do it for you. Call us to schedule your lawn, garden, and pond maintenance.