A backyard pond is a nice water feature to have on your property. They bring a calming, fun atmosphere to your home that few other features can. But they’re not without their concerns, as issues with water quality, fish, and plant life can come up and make it less than stellar.
With that in mind, here’s a list of garden pond maintenance tips and common pond problems and solutions for how to fix them.
PLANTS
Problem: Algae taking up all oxygen and nutrients.
Solution: Add more plants to absorb nutrients so algae doesn’t have a chance to grow.
Problem: Too much sunlight is reaching the underwater area.
Solution: Add more floating plants to help shade the bottom of the pond.
Problem: Too many nutrients, which contributes to algae growth.
Solution: Use soil specifically made for aquatic gardens and feed plants with slow-release aquatic plant food.
Problem: Pond water is cloudy and brown due to malfunctioning pump and filter.
Solution: Clean pond filters on a regular basis to keep the pump and filter functioning properly.
Problem: Leaves and plant debris in pond.
Solution: Perform basic pond maintenance by skimming the pool surface often and removing any dead leaves coming from the pond plants themselves.
Problem: Unhealthy floating plants.
Solution: If a plant like a water lilly has excessive leaf growth, divide the plant in half and place the second half of the plant elsewhere in the pond.
FISH
Problem: Unhealthy or dying fish due to lack of oxygen.
Solution: Add more submerged plants that produce oxygen. These can also help reduce the amount of algae.
Problem: Too many fish in your pond
Solution: Keep fish population down to 1 fish per 3-4 feet of water surface. Larger fish like Koi should be given 10 sq. ft. per fish.
Problem: Too much chlorine in pond is killing your fish.
Solution: Test the pond with commercial kits and adjust chlorine to safe levels.
Problem: Fish freeze under ice
Solution: Move fish to other containers if they’re not capable of surviving winter. For the pond itself, place a small floating ball on the water surface so gases can disperse through the unfrozen area.
WATER
Problem: Water level keeps dropping.
Solution: For water loss caused by evaporation, simply check water levels and add water as needed. For larger drops in water levels, drain it and repair any cracks. SANI-TRED products can repair any cracks, holes, or problems with your pond to keep it waterproof permanently.