Getting Your Watergarden Ready for Spring

THE FROG BLOG

Getting Your Watergarden Ready for Spring

With spring just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about getting your watergarden ready for the season.  It is important for the health of your fish and plants to keep the water clean.  But, it's not enough to drain out the old water and fill the pond back up with water from your garden hose.  This can actually harm your fish and damage your plants.  So, what needs to be done?  Here are a few pointers to get you started.

First, do a quick inspection.  Look for visible signs of cracks or tears in the liner, electrical cord damage, kinks or breaks in the tubing, connections, and etcetera.  If you have fish, use water from the pond to fill a large tub.  Use a net to catch the fish and place them gently in the pond water filled tub.  If your fish are lively, put a leaf net over the top so they don't jump out.  Be sure to place the tub in a shady area.  This is a good time to examine the health of your fish, check them for signs of disease and/or injury.  It's also a good idea to place an aerator in the tub to oxygenate the water, especially if the cleaning process takes more than an hour or so.  Next, pull out any plants that made it through the winter, place them in buckets filled with pond water and place them in a shady area.  Examine the plants for signs of disease, remove dead material, divide and re-pot as necessary and fertilize before returning to the pond.

Master Liquid Test Kit

Now it's time to drain the pond.  You can bail, siphon, pump or use a pond vacuum to remove the remaining water.  Clean out debris, sticks, leaves, and muck and using a skimmer net.  Next, scrub the rocks and remove any remaining debris.  Check all equipment again to be sure everything is in good working order, clean and/or replace filters, check for debris in the waterfall and clean out as needed.  Once all that is complete and the pond is clean, begin to refill the pond.  It is important to let the water from your hose slowly trickle in to the pond.  Adding water slowly, helps regulate the temperature to the surroundings.  Water that is too cold, can shock and harm your fish.  You'll also need to add a dechlorinator to the water and balance the PH (follow all manufacturer's instructions on the label).  Once the pond is full and the water treated, turn on your pump to start circulating the water.  Add some of the old water the fish are in to the pond, this will help the fish, and the plants, readapt.  Finally, reintroduce your fish and plants to your pond.  To mitigate soil escaping into the clean water, allow plants to sink slowly to their appropriate depth. 

Spring cleaning can reduce bacteria and parasites and is important to the health of your pond and its inhabitants.  After your spring cleaning, periodically check your watergarden throughout the season for debris, tears in the liner, mechanical issues, water condition, excessive algae growth, and so on.  There are many products available on our website to help you keep your pond clean and healthy.  Please feel free to leave questions in the comment section. 

Happy Spring!

~The Frogger Blogger


References:

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Water/sprngpnd.htm

http://www.watergarden.org/Seasonal-Care

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/ponds/2002050739023501.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/040318_backyard_pond_koi_maintenance.html