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There is not a whole lot of maintenance to your pond, except in the summer months. This is when your pond needs to be maintained actively as often as possible. Ponds don't take care of themselves.

In The Spring

In the spring is when you have the second most maintenance to the pond. It's not difficult and does not have to be time consuming if you follow a couple of guidelines. From late fall, you should have cut back all the foliage on the plants. If you didn't, you have a lot of work ahead. First of all check your plants and baskets. If roots are hanging out everywhere and look like the container will bust, it's time to divide then up. Root bound containers do not do well, especially with waterlilies, so learn how to divide them and do it in spring.

Consider a fresh layer of pea gravel on top of the soil and around marginal plants. It will be more difficult for the fish from stirring up the soil in search of larvae.

If your pond suffered from allot of debris and leaves on the bottom, clean it out now before the your plants start growing. If the water is an unnatural color like black or blue, empty it and clean it out.

If you used a pond deicer, heater or aerator, remove it, clean it and store them for the winter. This is now the time to get your pump and filter system in operation before the water gets warm and you end up with pea soup. 

Summer Prep

Probably the most important thing you can do is to fertilize your plants. It's important that you feed your established plants so that they will be healthy and produce wanted blooms. Waterlilies are the worse at requiring ample feedings. These plants are heavy feeders, so feed them according to the directions on your whatever product you choose. When choosing a fertilizer, be sure it does not contain nitrates or phosphates. You only want to fertilize the plant not the algae.

Summer Care

The most important thing is to keep the water level topped off as often as possible. In the heat of the summer, some ponds can loose a couple inches of water a day through evaporation. Generally topping of the pond will not require using a dechlorinator, but it won't hurt anything either. The results of to much chlorine in the water means dead fish.

This is not the time to replant or disturb the plant life growing in your pond. Periodic fertilization is not a problem and should be done according to the directions on the product.

Don't radically thin submerged plants during this time period. If they get to over taking the pond, carefully remove and discard them. Remember, the pond has taken on it's own biological form, and anything you do to disrupt it can cause problems down the road.

Feeding Your Pond Pals

When the water temperature gets to about 50 degrees, start feeding your fish low protein foods. They will be active after their winter nap and will darn near beg for constant feedings. A well-balanced pond can provide enough food for most fish, however with today’s balanced and nutrient rich foods; they will be happier and healthier if you feed them.

Feed your fish at the same point in your pond twice per day. Eventually, they will see you coming up to the pond and will break speed records trying to get their first. Only feed them what they can consume in about 5 minutes. If there is food left floating, remove it with a net and discard. If not, the food will decompose adding to water quality problems later on.

Also, this is the time of the year when you will start seeing young ones in the water. These new fish fry will be noticed in outcropping of plants where they can feed on algae and have a place to hide. Be sure to provide rock piles and submerged plants. Even a dark colored plastic milk crate with submerged plants pushed in the holes is an excellent haven for the small fry.

Controlling The Green Monster

There are different types of algae that invade a pond throughout the warmer months. A balanced pond normally will not suffer from the pea soup look and in some cases will be clear and still have filamentous algae. This is the long stringy algae that invade ponds from the east cost to the west. To eliminate it you need to rob the algae from the nutrients it needs. The first thing to do is to use a stick or broom handle and remove as much of the string algae as you can. By using a product like Microbe-lift, you can rob the remaining algae of the nutrients it needs and eventually it will be eliminated.

The best cure for the common suspended algae, which every pond has, is to use proper filtration, aeration and UV clarification. Be sure your bio-filter is at least one size larger than required, especially if your pond is in the direct sunlight most of the day. If your pond is 1000 gallons, use a bio-filter system rated at 1500 or 2000. Also the use of an integrated bio-filter/UV combination unit or stand alone UV is highly recommended. The UV divides the cells of the algae causing it to clump together and be removed by your filter system. Hence...clear pond!

Autumn Prep

Even though your pond seems to be dormant with not much activity, nothing could be farther from the truth. The proper preparations are paramount in the survival of your pond life through the harsh winters.

First things first. Cut back the foliage on your plants to the tops of the pots for all but marginal plants. Cut back these to just above the water level to prevent rotting. Whatever you do, do not allow the clippings to remain in the water. Remove them and discard as they will sink and pollute the pond for spring. Your lilies, except tropical will winter over just fine so don't worry about these. Any other tropical plants must be removed from the pond, as they will not make it over the winter. Place your lilies in the deepest section of the pond and leave them alone until spring.

Some of the floating plants can be saved by placing them in a cool light place in bowls or jars of pond water and scatter some soil over the base of the plant. This is not a guarantee, but many people swear that it works for most floating plants.

This is also the time to remove your pump and filter system, clean, dry and store. Use a small pond deicer with aerator to keep a hole in the winter ice and also to aerate the pond. Cover the pond with pond netting and winter in.

The Winter Cold

There is not much to do with your pond during the winter months. The main thing is to be sure that you have provided a means for aeration and that the pond will not completely freeze over. If this happens for an extended period of time, noxious built-up gases will kill your fish. If your fish become active during warming spells, you can offer them wheat germ based winter food. Just give them a small amount and no matter how mush they beg, refrain from constantly feeding them during the winter months.

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