Regular Pond Care Benefits Pond maintenance is beneficial to the aquatic life in your backyard. You will enjoy a beautiful, natural ecosystem if you grow and raise goldfish or koi in your garden pond. Garden ponds are not just beautiful but also functional as a habitat where different types of animals can live. If you have fish in your backyard pond, you need to check on the quality of the pond water on a regular basis to make sure that the water is not contaminated or harmful to the creatures living in it. Proper pond care will make sure that the pond remains an inviting and beautiful place for you and your family.
How do you clean fish pond water? This is a question that would surely be asked by anyone with a garden pond. Pond water is usually maintained by skimming and surface cleaning. Skimming involves removing leaves, twigs, fallen branches and other garden pond debris from the water surface. This makes sure that the water is free from pollutants that could potentially harm the plants in your garden pond. A clean water level also promotes plant growth.
The next step in this process is known as surface cleaning. This involves removing any unwanted dirt, dead leaves, sticks and other particles from the pond surface. You should be careful not to let any small creatures (such as algae) escape the pond to pollute and poison other aquatic plants. By using a garden pond skimmer, this process is easily completed. This is one way to keep algae growth at bay during warmer months. However, if you notice algae growth after heavy rains or snowfall, it is recommended to place aquatic plants that require sunlight and oxygen to thrive in water with adequate dissolved oxygen content.
Algae growth on a pond surface is probably the most common problem faced by garden pond owners. The most common form of algae found on a pond surface is Cryptocoryne aerata, also known as “bio-diver,” a tiny greenish or brown algae that grows easily on wet pond surfaces. It prefers dark, oxygen deprived environments such as old tires or metal objects. If allowed to flourish, it will eventually coat the pond with a gray or white powdery substance and will eventually block the pond’s water level.
The best way to deal with this problem is to prevent it from occurring. One way to do so is to properly stock the water garden with aquatic plants that need sunlight, oxygen and water to survive. This includes such familiar plants as water lettuce, watercress, water thrush and other water garden plants that are capable of photosynthesis. You can also include some ornamental grasses like Anemone weed, because they are also photosynthesizing plants.
Another effective method of controlling algae growth on a pond surface is to change the pond’s water chemistry. Certain plants have natural ammoniaase which allows them to convert excess nitrogen into ammonia. Aquatic plants also use nitrifying bacteria to process excess nitrogen. If you add more of these “friendly” plants to your backyard pond, nitrification and the processes used by aquatic plants will work together to enhance water chemistry.
Algae control through proper stocking and mixing of nutrients is a must for most garden ponds. Aquatic aquatics cannot exist in an environment where their roots are subject to excessive nitrite or nitrate builds up. This causes dead plant life to form on the bottom of the pond and weakens the structure of the aquatic structure.
The best solution to this problem is a water feature that combines biological filtration with appropriate nutrients. For example, aquatic animals like frogs and butterflies typically need nitrites to survive. To create a more natural setting, it may be beneficial to combine the pond with a waterfall, fountain, or lagoon. With this setup, there is no way for nitrites to get back into the water. This setup also gives frogs and other aquatic animals the best places to breed, creating healthier ponds overall.