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Spring brings an abundance of new life to our gardens, and a desire to spend more time outdoors, especially after the harshness of winter. However, you’re unlikely to enjoy the view of your garden unless you’ve done some tending to your pond.
Keep reading to view our simple-to-follow guide, full of insightful tips to help you get your pond prepared for spring!
Why might you need to prepare your pond this spring?
Throughout autumn and winter, organic waste, plant debris and dirt naturally build up in your pond. This accumulation can be caused by a host of factors, including fish activity, leaf fall or the lack of regular maintenance during the colder months.
6 key tips for spring pond maintenance
1. Remove any surface debris
Use a net or pond vacuum to remove debris from the top of your pond. Debris could include leaves, twigs, blanket weed and foreign objects such as litter.
Not only will this help your pond look much more spring-ready, but removing debris is the first line of defence against algae outbreaks. Any organic materials that find their way into your pond have the potential to cause algae problems by unbalancing pH levels, leading to green water and sludge if left untreated. These issues can harm pond life, and make the pond water smell unpleasant and look murky.
2. Give your pond filters a clean
The next job you want to do as part of your spring pond maintenance is to clean your pond filter – which helps to boost pond water quality and keep it clear.
It’s important that you clean it on a regular basis – otherwise, it won’t perform well and your pond filtration will suffer! All types of filters need to be cleaned, whether you have a mechanical or biological filter. Mechanical types sieve out dirt and solid waste, whereas a biofilter sieves organic waste products, including uneaten fish food, fish waste and other natural debris.
All the muck that travels through your pond filter starts to build up, affecting its ability to sift away the bad stuff. So, how do you clean your filter? Well, it’s actually quite simple – all you’ll need is some rubber gloves, a bucket and a hosepipe.
Cleaning your filter
- – Switch off your pond pump so you can open up your filter.
- – Remove the elements from the box, put them into the bucket and hose down each – don’t worry about making them pristine as some beneficial bacteria will remain.
- – Before returning the elements to the filter box, empty the water from it – you can pour this into your garden as it will be advantageous to your plants!
- – Assemble the system back together.
- – If your pond is particularly unclean, you’ll need to repeat this process every few days until your water is clean again.
After cleaning your pond filters, you should add Filter Feed to boost and restore bacterial activity in the filter. These naturally occurring and necessary organisms reduce nitrites, ammonia and organic waste within the filter box, contributing towards clean, healthy and algae-free water.
3. Check and clean your pond pump
Another essential part of your spring pond care is cleaning out your pond pump – your pump plays a vital role in your pond filtration, and just like your filter, it needs to be regularly cleaned.
Your pump can clog up if it has sucked in too much algae or debris during the winter, which can stop it from working and effectively pumping water through into your filter.
- – To check your pump for debris build-ups, the first thing to do is turn it off at the mains, and remove it from the water.
- – Then, remove the pond pump cage and the sponge or media inside. Use a pump cleaning brush to scrub the pump cage, and hosepipe it to remove any trapped debris.
- – Following this, clean the prefilter media in a bucket of water to remove any dirt, or replace it if it’s too worn.
- – Remove the pond pump impeller cover to access the impeller, and carefully remove it. You can clean this mechanism and the impeller chamber with a small brush, and rinsing with water.
- – After cleaning, reassemble the entire system, place the pump back into the pond and switch it back on.
4. Inspect your fish
Providing your fish with some much-needed TLC this spring is part and parcel of your spring pond care plan.
If you moved your fish elsewhere during winter, it’s time to get them back in the pond. Beforehand, it’s important to ensure the temperature of the tank is within 1°C of the pond temperature.
If you didn’t move your fish into a temporary tank during the winter, they’re likely feeling weak and need some attention this spring. But what do you need to look out for?
Fish weight
If your fish are looking a little underweight, it’s time for a feed – you can start feeding your fish again at temperatures of 10°C and higher. The reason for this is that your fish struggle to digest food in colder temperatures, meaning food is left uneaten, causing upset to the pH levels in your pond.
Lethargy
If your fish aren’t swimming well and look fatigued, they may be suffering from the effects of poor water quality and incorrect water parameters. The perfect environment for healthy fish needs to meet the following specifications:
- – Oxygen levels at a minimum of 6.0mg/L
- – pH levels between 7.5 pH and 8.5 pH
- – KH levels between 95ppm and 150ppm
- – Ammonia – zero, but can go up to 0.5ppm
- – Nitrite – Like Ammonia, it should be as low as possible
- – Nitrate – Nitrate levels below 20 ppm
- – Phosphate – Around 0.05 ppm
You can treat and stabilise pH, KH and ammonia levels with Pond Equaliser and stabilise Nitrate levels with Nitrate Klear. For more information on water parameters, take a look at our ‘What Are The Ideal Pond Water Parameters?‘ blog.
Skin lesions
Pond fish, especially koi fish, may suffer from carp pox during the early spring when their immune system is most weakened. Symptoms include raised bumps and a ‘candlewax’ texture on their skin. But don’t worry, carp pox is seasonal and will eventually clear.
They look ill
If your fish have clamped or pale fins, mucous and red sores over their scales, or are gasping at the surface of the pond, it may indicate fish illness, caused by parasites. You can treat fish illness with anti-biotic fish food, and by keeping your pond water in good condition.
5. Clip back and trim plants
Spring is the best time to have a general tidy-up of the pond area, as overgrowth can be a large factor in an imbalanced pond system. Be sure to prune and clip back excessive plant growth from nearby plants, and reduce the number of oxygenating plants from your pond – four to five bunches are adequate for each m² of pond surface.
If you decide during your spring pond maintenance to add new pond plants, be sure to do your research on aquatic plants, and their effects on water parameters.
It’s also worth clearing the surrounding area around your pond to prevent leaves and dirt from blowing into it.
6. Apply spring pond treatment to your pond
The earlier you can start treating your pond, the better. Applying a spring pond treatment to your pond gives the healthy bacteria longer to establish, greatly increasing the chances of keeping your pond clear, healthy and free from excessive algae growth. Or, you may require a more targeted treatment to address problems such as pond sludge or blanket weed.
Envii pond products, such as our widely popular Pond Klear, work as low as 4°C, which means you can start earlier in the spring, and treat later into the autumn too.
Plan for next winter, today!
Spring pond maintenance can be a lot less overwhelming and time-consuming if your pond is well-kept and treated throughout winter.
Have a quick read of our Featured Product – Winter Pond Treatment article for more tips on how you could save yourself time and effort next spring.
Speak with our pond care experts
Could you benefit from more spring pond care advice? If so, the experienced team at Envii can help. We can offer fish-friendly spring pond treatment recommendations tailored to your needs.
To get in touch, feel free to email us at info@envii.co.uk, or call us on 0124 624 0880 if you’d prefer.
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