The rising pond temperature and increased fish activity is a sure sign that spring has arrived in your garden pond. Spring is a time of significant change within any pond eco system. It is time to carry out some routine maintenance to ensure you are prepared for the activities and changes happening within your pond.
Here are some useful spring time maintenance tips to get you moving along the right path ...
- Remove any excess muck and sludge from the pond bottom using a pond vacuum cleaner ... decaying vegetation and uneaten food will if left increase the opportunity for ammonia concentrations to rise, causing more work for your pond filter.
- Add pond salt to your garden pond as this will help to kill of many of the parasites and bacteria that affect pond fish at this time of year ... Apply a dosage of 3 lbs per 100 gallons of pond water.
- Check your UV lamp which will probably need replacing if you want to maintain crystal clear pond water. Green pond water, caused by microscopic algae will start to flourish as the levels of nitrates in the pond increase, due to increased fish feeding activity and longer sunny days.
- Ammonia levels will be higher as there is an increased amount of fish metabolic waste within your pond water. The levels will settle down once the beneficial bacteria colonies on your pond biomedia build up and your pond filter becomes more effective at converting ammonia into nitrates. Monitor the ammonia levels to ensure that they don't spiral out of control. Ensure that your pond is well aerated as oxygen is required in large quantities by the beneficial bacteria as part of the ammonia conversion process (nitrogen cycle). Feeding a smaller amount of fish food will also help to give your biofilter a chance to catch up.
- If you have a large Koi pond and use a specialized bead filter then open up the filter and break up the biological beads that have clumped together. This will not only make the filter more effective but will also prevent bad bacteria from populating the beads. Once you have done this perform a backwash prior to running water back into your garden pond.
- Prepare your pond plants for the forthcoming season and remove any plants that have died or failed to sprout. If you lowered your pond plants to the pond floor during the fall, in preparation for the colder winter pond temperatures then now is the time to raise them up. Fertilize each marginal plant species with 1 plant grow fertilizer tablet. For hardy water lilies use 2 fertilizer tablets. For Lotus you may need up to 5 fertilizer tablets.
The full article can be read at http://www.garden-pond-filters.com/spring-maintenance.html, where you will find other water gardening articles and pond keeping resources.
