Pond Care Basics
It is important to know the total volume of your pond! Basic
pond keeping often begins with such things as adding a product to the water to
remove chlorine. The correct dosage of this product and any others can be added
if the number of gallons that your pond holds is known. This not only saves you
money, because you will not be adding too much product, but it will also help
to keep your pond healthy. Here, then, is the formula to figure the amount of water
your pond holds: Length(ft) x Width(ft) x Depth(ft) x 7.5 = Gallons.
Other chemicals must be kept out of the pond, also! Lawn
fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, etc. will kill fish fast and some with also
hurt your plants. It is best to slightly elevate the edge around the pond so
water from the lawn cannot wash into the pond during heavy rain. Try not to use
insecticides or other chemicals that must be sprayed, as some of the residue may
drift into the pond. Organic fertilizers and insecticides are a good choice,
not just to keep your pond healthy, but to keep your whole garden and our
environment healthier.
The next important step is to balance the pH in the pond.
The correct pH is very important and is often overlooked as a major cause of
problems such as sick fish and algae growth. It is very easy to check the pH of
the pond. Simple and inexpensive test kits are available for this purpose. The
pH should be as close to neutral (7.0) as possible. A range from 6.8 – 7.4 is
acceptable. The pH scale is logarithmic, like the Richter scale for earthquakes,
and each full point higher really increases the value ten times. So, a reading of
8.4 is much, much higher than 7.4. Easy to use products are readily available
to adjust the pH in the pond. The pH balance of the water must be close to
neutral.
The natural cycle in the pond works basically like this:
Fish and other inhabitants of the pond produce waste. This waste is converted into harmless
fertilizer by beneficial bacteria. The fertilizer is then extracted and used by
the plants in the pond. The items previously covered assure that the natural
cycle in your pond can function. A garden pond is a little ecological miracle
we created and it does need a little helping hand to assure it is functioning
properly. Fish should be added one or two fish at a time to give the natural, beneficial
bacteria colony time to get established and get big enough to be able to take care
of the waste produced by the fish. A garden pond is a little ecological world
with a natural cycle of its own!
Garden ponds that are primarily fish ponds, in particular
those that support Koi, generally need a pump and a filter to keep the pond and the fish
healthy. The filter’s main purpose is to increase the biological action and remove as much
waste as possible. Filters are designed to provide a large and healthy bacterial colony to
keep the fish waste from poisoning the fish. A filter generally does not remove the
algae that turns the water green (the only mechanical device that can do that
is an Ultra-Violet-Clarifier), but if it is efficient enough and if the water
quality is good it can help to discourage algae from growing in the first
place. Fish Ponds generally need a filter!
Ammonia and Nitrite levels need to be checked in the pond if
fish are present to make sure levels of poison do not increase. These levels
need to be checked more often in the
beginning and less often after the pond is well established.
A future column on “Pond Fish Care” will provide further information. Initially
it is best to check all values every couple of days. After your pond becomes
established and all values are within acceptable limits it is sufficient to
test once a month unless some problem develops.