Pond Management Schedule

Regular Pond Maintenance Our regular pond service includes the addition of new specimens, water changes (if necessary), plant grooming, and interior and exterior filter maintenance. April - Pond Opening Depending on the weather, we start opening ponds in April. This consists of cleaning the skimmers, pads, nets, and removing leaves and winter debris in and around the perimeter rocks and streams. If the waterfalls have been bypassed for the season, the bypass setups will be removed and the waterfalls started. Please understand that this is the time of year when your fish are the most vulnerable to disease and pathogens. To change the water or get inside the ponds, clean the bottoms, and foul the water with dirt and detritus this early would be unsafe and could cause harm to your fish. The water temperature needs to be 60 degrees before it is considered safe to do the Spring Cleanings. May - Spring Cleanouts Again, timing is weather dependent. Spring Cleanouts are a major cleanout of the entire pond, including a large water change, bottom cleaning, cleaning and/or replacement of the filter pads, nets, and brushes, thorough cleanout of leaves and winter debris. Ultra-violet Lamp Sterilizers are setup with new bulbs for the season and service to any pond and landscape lighting is done - new bulbs, lenses cleaned, and units re-positioned. June - Plantings You may want some aquatic plants to accent your water garden. Aquatic plants are not only beautiful, but they provide a great service to our ponds - Algae Control. Understanding that we all love to feed our fish generously, some ponds may develop unwanted string or hair algae. Aquatic plants use the dissolved organic nutrients from fish and debris as a food source, reducing the excess nutrients that will feed the unwanted algae. Aquatic plants are broken down into a few categories. Submersible plants (lilies), Marginal plants (pond’s edge and stream), and Floating plants. We define them again by Tropical and Hardy plants. Tropicals are just that,” tropical”, meaning they are temperature sensitive. They are planted in late June and will only live one season in this climate. Tropical varieties are usually larger, brighter, and of course, more expensive. Hardys are more temperate. They can be planted in May/June, and will come back every season. September into October - Fall Cleanouts and Netting Blowers are used to remove leaves and debris from the ponds’ edge. A thorough cleaning of the filters, skimmers, pads, nets, streams, waterfalls, and bio-falls is done. Depending upon conditions and weather, any and all plants will be trimmed and/or cut back. The net framework and nets are installed and the UV unit is removed from the system and placed in storage. December - Winterizing This includes final cleanup of leaves and debris and the removal of nets and framework. Skimmer pads, brushes, and nets are cleaned, deicers setup but are not plugged in (We only recommend plugging them in if ice forms across the pond surface). For any clients that want their waterfalls bypassed for the winter season, the bypasses will be setup.