Aquatic Ponds

Regardless of the type of garden pond you choose to add to your backyard, pond care will be pretty much the same for just about every type of pond. The only changes that you will see in the way that you take care of your pond will be relative to the weather and the season.

In the early spring you will want to check your outdoor pond to ensure that the cold winter months haven't caused any damage to your water feature, pond pumps or tubing. A good cleaning is in order to ensure that there isn't any debris trapped inside the filtration system or that there aren't leaves in the bottom of your pond that you want removed. If you have aquatic plants or fish, this is the time of year that life becomes more active, so it is important to ensure that you are taking care to add the correct koi food and bacteria to keep your pond alive and balanced.

In the summer months pond care takes on a different strategy as your main focus will be on keeping the pond filters clean and back flushed, adding necessary water treatments to prevent the hot summer sun from growing algae and learning how and where to place water plants to help enhance the look, feel and health of your pond. You should check your pond daily and remove any excess algae growth that has attached itself to rocks and other water features to help keep it clean.

In the fall you will need to protect your outdoor pond from all of the falling leaves, debris and other objects that will inadvertently find their way into the water. A great way to keep the debris from settling into the bottom of your pond is to use a surface skimmer at least once each day - more whenever possible. As the weather gets colder some of your pond plants will begin to die off, adding more biological debris and decay to your pond. These should be removed as soon as possible.

The winter months are by far the most challenging, particularly if you live in a northern location that receives a lot of snow and ice. If you have fish in your pond you will want to be sure that the pond doesn't completely freeze over or a build-up of toxic gasses will kill your fish. Make sure that all waterfalls and other features are turned off during this time of year and in some cases remove them from the pond and move them indoors to protect them from the cold.