Seasonal Maintenance Tips

Don’s Ponds
SPRING POND OPENING TIPS

• We recommend a full pond cleanout each spring to get rid of all the grunge, algae, leaves, and deposits from last year.
• Drain about ¾ of the pond water out using your pond pump and a sump pump hose (from Canadian Tire). Put some of the water into a large clean container (Rubbermaid?) to hold the fish.
• Now catch all the fish (have fun) but be careful as they are weak from their winter period. Put them in the container and if you have a small pump or air bubbler use it to give them oxygen while there. If you don’t have one watch that they are not gasping for air at the surface in a while. If so, they need oxygen NOW.
• Now you can drain the rest of the pond water. Chances are you will have to clean the pump intake because of dirt clogging it.
• Once drained, use a strong hose spray or pressure washer to clean the stones and liner, washing the dirt to the bottom. Drain and flush a few times. Finally, clean up what sludge you can from the bottom using a scoop (4 litre jug with the bottom cut out?). Remember, you don’t have to get the stones and liner spotless because some remaining material will help get the bacterial growth going again. My pond looks kind of like a zebra skin with “stripes” when I finish.
• Tidy up any stones or plants which may have slipped down during winter or washing, and remove any sharp objects.
• Now you can start filling the pond again. Add dechlorinator at this time and bacterial conditioner to get new bacterial growth started. We recommend a product called Microbe Lift as a liquid or in the form of barley straw pellets. We carry both at Meadow Acres Garden Centre. The conditioner is important to get in the water before the weather warms up too much and the algae gets growing.
• While filling the pond, get your pump and filters out and reconnected. Hopefully you cleaned them when you put them away.
• Once you have a fair amount of water back in the pond, you can gently put the fish back in the water. Any time you change fish from one water body to another, the two water temperatures should not be more than 10 degrees in difference. If you haven’t checked them for sores etc. already, see the section below on fish.
• Once the pump is running, watch the pond and stream edges closely for a couple of days to be sure there are no leaks or overflows.

FISH INSPECTION

• Once you can see the fish moving around as the water warms up in the spring, watch them each closely to see if they appear to be OK and if there are any sores visible.
• If you are about to clean the pond, this is the time to separate any sick fish and try to help it out. Non iodized salt can be used for fish in the same way we take aspirin for some ailments. However, there are a number of other fish treatments for specific illnesses or diseases. We have a number of fish medications at Meadow Acres Garden Centre. Also, a good web site is www.koivet.com . He is a vet specializing in fish, and there is a question board for your free use.
• Remember NOT to feed the fish before the air and water temperature are above about 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees.

1. How big or small can it be?
   • As big or small as you like. However small ponds tend to be harder to keep balanced. Our average size for pond installation range from about 8' - 10' x 12' - 16'
2. What about pre-formed ponds versus liners?
   • Pre-formed ponds are generally smaller and too shallow (18") to keep fish over the winter. As pre-formed ponds gets larger they are as expensive or more money than the liner type ponds.
3. How deep does a pond have to be to keep fish over the winter?
   • We recommend that an area of the pond (not too large) should be about 2.5' deep, but the rest of the pond can be 2' or less.
4. How big a pump do I need?
   • The rule of thumb is to be big enough to circulate the volume (gallons) of water in the pond once every 1-2 hours, more towards the 1 hour mark.
   • Other factors to take into account are how high the waterfall is, and the distance to the waterfall. Also you need to think about whether you want a "Babbling Brook" or "Niagara Falls" or somewhere in between.
5. How do I determine the number of gallons of water in my Pond?
   • Average length x average width x average depth = _ cubic feet
     _ cubic feet x 7.5 U.S. gallons per cubic foot = _ gallons in pond (approximately).
6. How do I know how much liner is needed?
   • Longest length and width plus about 7 feet (2 ½ ' to the bottom plus 2 ½ ' up the other side plus 1' extra at the edge on each dimension. Example: 10' x 13' pond needs about 17' x 20' liner.
7. Can I have the pond in full sun or largely shade?
   • Yes, and yes, it just takes proper design work and you can have a pond anywhere on your property.
8. Do I need to put anything in the water?
   • Yes, you need to put water conditioners in the water to help establish and maintain a balance in the eco-system of the pond. This is especially important to do in the spring.
9. How much maintenance does it take?
   • A properly  designed pond and filtration system should only require about 15 - 20 minutes of maintenance per week.
10. How often does it need to be cleaned out?
    • Once established, we recommend an annual cleanout, usually in the spring.

Please Watch for our Bulletin Board  Which Will Be Coming Very Soon!