Most people have poor water quality and extra algae in their water gardens for one main reason; they don’t do enough regular maintenance to keep their pond from turning into a green mess. Ponds need to be treated just like aquariums, and require weekly maintenance to be at their best. Most pond owners and contractors are taught to only do once per year cleaning in the spring. The truth is, this is not enough. Imagine only doing once per year cleaning on your aquarium in your home. Your aquarium would look just as bad as your pond in the back yard. Your aquarium stays perfectly clean and clear because you perform weekly cleanings to remove excess fish waste and nutrition that would other wise lead to heavy algae growth and poor water quality. Your pond needs the same amount of attention to look great.

Follow my instructions below and never have poor water quality again.

#1 Get in your pond and vacuum out your pond gravel with an aquarium vacuum that you can by at any pet store once per week. This will remove allot of the fish waste that would normally build up in the bottom of your pond and cause algae problems. Doing this will also change out about 1/4 water volume on your pond every week. If you can’t find an aquarium vacuum just make sure you do weekly 1/4 water changes with a pond pump. Also find yourself a rigid type of scrub brush to scrub down the rocks or the sides of your pond. This will also keep the algae growth to a minimum. this whole process only takes about 1/1/2 hours to complete once per week. Doing this weekly maintenance never allows the fish waste to build up in your pond thus, keeping your pond clean and not green.

#2 Keep the amount of fish in your pond to a minimum, the less fish you have in your pond the less waste you will have providing nutrition to algae growth. This will make it easier to keep your pond clean. Do not feed your fish more than once per day, this will keep the fish waste down to a minimum improving water quality. You should stock your pond with goldfish, shubunkins, comets, etc… They have a max size of only 12″ inches. Their smaller size makes it easier to keep a healthy water garden. Also thin out your baby fish in the spring when you do a full clean-out on your pond. The biggest problem with most customers’ ponds is that they have way too many fish. Your pond filtration determines how many fish you can have, not the size of your pond. The average waterfall filter sold in the industry today is designed for a very small fish load. What I mean by small is 4 or 5 goldfish, shubunkins, or comets at a max size of 12″inches with no koi.

Koi get way to large for most backyard water gardens reaching an adult size of 36″ inches. It’s sad but allot of koi are forced to live out their lives in cramped under filtered ponds that stunt their growth, and lower their life span. Big fish also mean big waste; Koi can quickly turn a water garden into a green mess in record time. Koi require large ponds with perfect filtration to be at their best. We use large bead filters in conjunction with a waterfall filter when we build koi ponds. You also need to clean your waterfall filter once per month like an aquarium filter not once per year. This will also make your filter pads last allot longer than they would if you were cleaning them once per year.

#3 Remove all leaves, and spent lily and lotus blooms out of your water garden. They will rot and have to be broken down by bacteria. Which will contribute to algae growth if they are not removed from your pond. Net your pond in the fall, and do a complete pond cleanout in the spring. Drain all of the water, power-wash the pond and stream, and clean out all filters.

#4 Plant your pond with lots of aquatic plants if you’re planning a water garden with minimal fish load shubunkins, comets, ect… up to 60% of your pond’s surface should be covered with pond plants. Plants provide shade and shelter for your fish which prevents algae growth, they also consume phosphorous the main nutrient in pond water that causes algae growth. Thus helping to keep your pond clean and not green.

Pond supplies are an important aspect for all pond owners. It is important for you to keep your pond clean as well as preserve your pond and add necessary supplies when required. Mentioned below are few pond supplies that are a requisite for every pond owner:

* A stock of filters for the filtration system as well as any chemicals that you use in it. * A supply of good quality food for the fish. * Cleansers, skimmers, and other supplies to clean the pond. * You might have to purchase a pond heater to maintain a standard temperature of the pond. * An aeration kit to keep it full of the oxygen richness it needs.

Matching Fish And Pond Supplies

It is important to know what type of pond you own so that you can have the right kind fish and supplies for it. Different types of ponds maintain different balances of eco systems and so it is important for you to know the type of pond you own. If the pond supplies don’t match with the eco system of your pond then you are simply killing the aquatic life in your pond and making the water poisonous. Once you know the type of pond you own purchase the best quality pond supplies along with fishing and thus ensure a long life to your pond.

Fish and Pond supplies vary depending on the various type of fish you have within the pond. Suppose you have gold fish in your pond then you have to find a pond supply that will not disturb the gold fish. It is not necessary that a pond supply that does not harm gold fish can be applied in ponds with other fish- specific types of fish genre requires specific types of ponds supplies; so you need to consult an expert before purchasing any pond supplies.

It is also important that you select a pond supply that is in harmony with nature. Don’t go for cheap pond supplies; buy the right type of food for your fish. You also need proper pond liners and filtration system to protect the aquatic life in your pond. The pond kits that you choose should fit with the environment around them. The pond and fish supplies that you require can be purchased online but you have to be very careful with the quality. Buy a product that is always available in the market and that is recommended by experts.

Always remember that pond supplies ensure a healthy well being of all the aquatic life within your pond.

Did you know that manmade ponds rely on the same ecosystem principles that natural ponds do? Yes, for any manmade pond to thrive it must mirror the ecosystem of the natural world. One aspect of this is a pond nitrogen cycle. Understanding how this cycle works is invaluable for maintaining a pond’s overall life.

To an untrained or inexperienced eye, a natural pond seems like little more than a natural “tub of water”. That is, water – mostly from rain or runoff - collects into a small body of water. This then “magically” turns into an acceptable ecosystem for plant and animal life to live in.To an average person, the need to know how a pond regulates itself is relatively useless information. However, when someone wishes to duplicate a manmade pond on their property, the passive witnessing of nature may not be enough. Instead, it becomes important to understand the cyclical process that maintains the pond’s aforementioned ecosystem. This includes understanding the pond’s nitrogen cycle.

And what is a pond’s nitrogen cycle? A ponds nitrogen cycle is a series of steps that take place in a pond that helps to keep the pond clean and cycle out organic waste. Here is a simple break down of it.

In a fish pond, fish will release waste into the water. As the waste breaks down, ammonia is produced. Ammonia can be toxic if it builds up. To keep ammonia levels from getting to dangerous levels, beneficial bacteria called Nitrosomonas will break down ammonia and convert it into Nitrite, which is still toxic if it builds up, but less so than Ammonia. After the Ammonia is converted to Nitrite, another group of beneficial bacteria called Nitrobacter will in break down and convert Nitrites into Nitrates, which are far less toxic than Nitrites. This Nitrate is then utilized by the plant life in the pond as a source of nourishment, which helps to keep the Nitrate level low and can also help with controlling algae. So, the nitrogen cycle is essentially the amazing way a pond’s ecosystem cleans itself of harmful toxins and creates sustaining nourishment within its environment.

This natural process was developed over many years of evolution and is the way it should work in a naturally balanced pond. However, manmade ponds sometimes require assistance from pond products to tip the ecosystem odds in favor of pond life survival. Pond filters can help filter out extra waste and also provide a safe breeding ground for beneficial bacteria to grow and thrive. There are also bacteria inoculants on the market that can be added regularly to ensure that proper levels of beneficial bacteria are present to help break down waste and to help convert ammonia and nitrites. Additionally, pond plants can be purchased and added to a pond to help with the utilization of un-necessary nitrates to prevent its availability to nuisance plants like algae. All of these products can assist a small fish pond environment with establishing a proper and efficient nitrogen cycle.

Over time, the need to take special steps to maintain a pond’s nitrogen cycle will decrease. This is because the pond will become self-sufficient and able to produce and feed adequate amounts of bacteria that fish waste ammonia is no longer a threat. As the saying goes, nature eventually takes care of itself.