Kol Koi Pond and Water Garden

Professional pond cleaning services, maintenance, repair and construction are also available.  Call today to schedule a consultation.

Spring is such an exciting time of year.  Nature begins to awaken from winter hibernation and it is time to get your water feature off to a good start.

Does your pond need a full clean-out or does it just need to be tidied up a bit? If you see a layer of "crud" on the bottom and the water is dark in color, it would be good idea to do a full cleaning.  However, if there is just a small amount of debris that can be stirred up and caught with a net or removed with a Muck-Vac and the water looks clear, then just a little tidying and maintenance is all you need.

Early spring is the best time for a full cleaning, while the water garden is still in its winter dormancy. That way the ecosystem of your pond will maintain its balance.  

For a full cleaning, here is what you'll need to get started:

• A clean-out pump with approximately 25 ft. of discharge hose
• A high-pressure nozzle for your garden hose, or a power washer
• A child's swimming pool or a similar sized container to hold fish and any other critters you find during the cleaning
• A net or something similar to place over the fish container to keep them from jumping out
• Buckets or bags to collect leaves and debris    
• A fish net
• An aerator
• Dechlorinator Plus to remove chlorine and chloramines before putting fish back into pond
• Microbe-Lift PL beneficial bacteria

Draining the pond

• Place the clean-out pump in the deepest point of the pond to remove the water
• If you have fish, use some of this pond water to fill up the holding pool.  The fish can be removed from the pond using a net once the water is low enough to easily catch them.
• Drain the remaining water into the surrounding landscape.  Be sure you drain the water to a lower point in the yard so the water doesn't run back into the pond.  Also, be sure to relocate the pipe 2 or 3 times to allow the water to seep into the ground and not flood the yard.
  
• Don't keep the fish in the holding pool for more than a few hours without aeration.  Keep them in a shady spot with a net over the top of the pool to prevent them from jumping out.

 Don't overdo the cleaning

• Use a hose to rinse the inside of the pond.  You can also use a pressure washer to help remove debris from the rocks and gravel.
• Don't try to scrub all of the algae away.  Some algae on the rocks is beneficial in developing/maintaining your ecosystem.  For and average size pond (11' x 16') this should take around 15 minutes.
• Use the gentle stream from a garden hose to rinse the rocks and gravel, if present.  Start at the top and work your way down to the bottom.  Periodically turn the clean-out pump on to remove the dirty water.  You can discontinue the periodic pumping once the water rinsing down to the bottom begins to look clear.  Remove the pump and begin filling the pond.  Another effective method for cleaning the bottom liner in the absence of rocks and gravel is to use a wet-dry vac on the liner that covers the sides and bottom of the pond.

Cleaning the filters

• Remove any debris from the bottom of the skimmer box.  This can be done by hand or with a small net, or by using the clean-out pump.
• Remove the filters and either replace or rinse them out and reinsert them, depending on the type of filters you have.
• Biological filter media (ie. fish floss, bio-balls, etc.) should not be hosed off because the chlorine in the tap water will kill the beneficial bacteria.

Returning your fish to their clean home

• If you are on city water, it is imperative that you add dechlorinator to the water so it is safe for the fish.
• Carefully place your fish, one by one, back into the clean pond after inspecting each for anything unusual.