The warm weather is back, and with it, the rising temperatures that signal the awakening of the ornamental pond. This is the ideal time to carry out a major spring cleaning in order to start again on a healthy basis so that fish and aquatic plants develop harmoniously in a balanced ecosystem.
Do not confuse cleaning with emptying!
Cleaning does not necessarily mean emptying. This is an important distinction and should be emphasized because many owners of small ponds make this mistake. Thinking they are doing the right thing, they empty their pond completely and without knowing it destroy the fragile balance between fauna and flora. The fish are then subjected to a stress that can be fatal to them.
This is why a total emptying of the pond should only be considered in case of serious situations such as a leak, a chemical pollution of external origin causing the death of fish or an imbalance of the environment such that the water, always cloudy and smelly, causes the disappearance of animal and plant species.
How to clean the pond?
Apart from the specific cases mentioned above, a simple cleaning will do the trick:
- Remove all organic debris from the surface of the pond with a large net. Dead leaves from trees, grass clippings from mowing, small twigs blown in by the wind, large green algae: everything must go!
- At this time the aquatic plants start to grow, to aerate them and give them a maximum of light, remove all the wilted leaves and the softened stems around the new shoots. It is also time to divide overgrown plants and introduce any new plants.
A partial change of water may be necessary; changing 1/3 of the volume should be more than enough and should not disturb the flora and fauna too much.
Maintenance of the pond equipment
- Clean the filtration system and the pump before putting them back into service;
- Heterotrophic bacteria can be placed in the filter when it is put back into service as soon as the water temperature reaches 10°C. These bacteria have the effect of rebalancing the pond, reducing the nitrate level and thus limiting the appearance of filamentous algae. They also accelerate the efficiency of the filtration process and reduce the need for maintenance of the filter media.
- Check the operation of the UV unit and change the lamp, which can lose power if it has been in place for several years.
