Spring Pond Care

Wiese Acres Pond

I love my pond.  There is nothing quite so relaxing as listening to the water rush over the rocks while watching the fish lazily swim about.  The downside of being a pond owner is that along with ownership comes responsibility for care. 

I don't drain the pond or remove the fish in the fall.  The center of the pond is approximately three feet deep, so the fish go to the bottom and hibernate for the winter.  I pull the main pump and replace it with a small bubbler pump that sets on the perimeter of the deep part of the pond and use a small pond heater to keep an air opening in the ice. 

In the spring, serious pond maintenance is necessary to remove the winter debris and the nutrient load the pond receives from snow melt and spring rain run-off.  I skim all visible debris and algae out of the pond and drain about one-third of the water, then slowly replace the volume with fresh water.  It is important to replace the water at a slow rate to keep from cooling the water too much for the fish and to prevent too high a chlorine content from affecting the fish.  If you have a very high chlorine content in your water, you may need to add a water conditioner to dissipate the chlorine more quickly.  After the pond is refilled, I replace the beneficial bacteria, using the amounts and frequency listed for whatever type of bacteria I am using and start the big pump to begin circulating the water.  

About every other year, I temporarily remove the fish and place them in a large container I've pre-filled with water from the pond.  I place the container in a shady location with a net covering it to protect the fish from predators.  I also remove all the hardy water plants and set them in a bucket of water to keep the foliage and the roots moist.  Then I have my husband drain the pond completely and pressure wash the muck and the algae off the rocks (he gets the really fun job).  When he's all done mucking around in the mess, I add fresh water and beneficial bacteria and let that circulate for a day or so.  Then I move the fish back to their nice, clean home and get set to enjoy my pond. 

I check plants for any signs of decay, clean any old foliage off them, and divide them if necessary.  I insert a pond plant food tablet in the container and gently lower it back into the deep part of the pond.

Each spring, I check the waterfall hose for kinks or leaks, make sure the cord for the pump is intact, and clean the skimmer and filter boxes.  I wash the biological filters well and replace the old pads with new ones to avoid re-introducing non-beneficial bacteria into my cleaned pond.

Doing the proper spring start up care will make it easier to care for the pond the remainder of the season.  Starting with a nice, clean pond and adding beneficial bacteria on a regular basis (just how often depends on the type of bacteria you use) will help keep things in balance in the pond.  Hitting algae blooms with the appropriate algaecide and keeping the right number of fish and plants for the water volume of the pond will help your pond provide far more enjoyment than work.