Does every pond need a spring cleanout?
Every pond is different. Some ponds do not require an annual cleanout. Ponds larger than 2,000 square feet might only need a cleanout every few years. Larger ponds may never need a complete cleanout because any impurities present are minimal compared to the volume of water in the pond. You can tell whether the pond needs a spring cleanout by simply looking at it.
It all depends on the climate!
In a warm climate, your pond can go for many seasons without a full cleanout if your system is free of ice and is running year-round. There will be a period of time when your plants start to die back in the middle of winter, but depending on your southern or coastal coordinate, it won’t be long until your pond plants bounce back. This means most of the bacteria and the ecological balance of your pond will stay strong the whole year. You will not get the same accumulation of muck in the pond because the bacteria will continue breaking down waste all the time. You are definitely ahead of the game if you water garden in the south.
For cold climates rolling with the seasonal changes just takes a little planning and a lot of patience! If your pond has been under a blanket of snow and ice all winter, spring is the most exciting time of the year! The air is full of endless possibilities for the season to come as your pond slowly awakens from its long winter slumber. The fish are becoming more and more active each day. If your pond is in need of a cleanout, spring is the time to do it in order to kick start your biological filtration. Does your pond need a full clean-out this season, or does it just need to be tidied up a little? There are a couple of things that you can look for to help you decide. First, if there is a layer of decomposing leaves, muck and other debris at the bottom of the pond causing the water to be dark and murky, almost like a cup of tea, or like the muddy Mississippi River, it is advised to do a full clean-out. On the other hand, if there is just a small amount of debris and your water is relatively clear, you may only need to stir everything up so you can capture the debris into a net and capture the smaller debris in your pond filtration system.
12 Steps for a Successful Spring Cleanout of Your Pond
1. Disconnect the Plumbing
Unplug the waterfall pump, and disconnect the check valve from the return line, allowing the pipe and BIOFALLS to drain. If you have an automatic water fill valve installed, it will need to be turned off during the cleanout.
2. Drain the Pond
We recommend using the Aquascape Designs Cleanout Kit for draining large ponds. A smaller, screened pump is sufficient for small ponds. Don’t forget to fill a separate container with pond water for the fish; the larger [holding facility] the better. Make sure your fishes’ temporary home is in a shady area to avoid excessive water temperature changes.
3. Catch the Fish
Drain the pond to roughly six inches of water in order to catch fish easily and safely. Place the fish in a container of pond water off to the side. Be sure to use water from the pond to avoid shock from rapid temperature change and cover the container with a screen or net to prevent the fish from jumping out. Gold fish and Koi especially have a tendency to jump as water temperature fluctuates in the temporary holding tank. The most likely fish to jump are either the most expensive in your collection or the one your spouse loves the most.
4. Remove all Debris
This is the time when it is a good idea to trim plants and shrubs surrounding your pond that may drop debris into your water feature. All large debris, such as leaves and twigs, should be removed by hand. Take this time to trim those aquatic plants that have died back to encourage new growth. Also, the pond plants that have become over grown can be split and given to your friends or share them with other water gardeners at your local water gardening club. For information on NAWGS (North American Water Garden Society) check out www.nawgs.org.
5. Wash down the pond rocks
A 1,500 psi pressure washer or a high pressure nozzle on a garden hose is good for pond cleaning. Do NOT over clean your pond. Some algae on the rocks will prove beneficial in developing your ecosystem. So avoid trying to scrub all the algae away.
6. Rinse the Pond
Rinsing down and removing debris from the rocks and gravel will be the most time consuming part of the cleanout. Use the water coming directly out of the garden hose to wash the gravel. A power washer or high pressure nozzle is unnecessary and may actually be counterproductive at this point. The cleanout pump should still be running, and located at the lowest point of the pond so that the sediment trapped in the gravel will be channeled to the deepest point and removed by the pump. It may be beneficial to have a second person able to turn the pump on and off if the pump draws water out of the pond faster than you are replacing with the garden hose. Rinse the pond from top to bottom until the water begins to run clear.
7. Clean or replace the Filters
Pump out the water in the skimmer. Clean the BIOFALLS by hosing it down and letting the water flow into the skimmer. Then clean the skimmer box by hosing it down and pumping the water out. Also, make sure to clean out the net and hose down the filter mat. Clean the BIOFALLS filter mats, and bags of lava rock, BioBalls, BioBlox, Bio Ribbon or whatever bio media that is being used before re-installing them. Simply hose these down until they are clean. If you are using lava rock, it may need to be replaced. Lava rock is good for about two years before it needs to be replaced due to clogging. It is advised to only replace about half of the lava rock at a time to prevent stripping all your bio filtration at one time. Clean the BIOFALLS no more than once a year. The BIOFALLS filter mats as well as the bio media house beneficial bacteria as do the rocks and gravel. The debris and sediment that builds up in the BIOFALLS is natural, and washing it out will greatly reduce the amount of bacteria in the ecosystem resulting in toxic ammonia and nitrite spikes.
8. Refill the Pond
Pull the cleanout pump out and begin refilling the pond. If you don’t know how much water your pond holds, now is the time to figure out your pond’s water volume. There are several ways to do this. One is to use a water meter that attaches to the end of your garden hose. Another is to use the water meter on your home. Ensure that water is not being used for any other purpose during the time you are filling the pond. Also, check your water bill to see if your meter is in gallons or cubic feet. If your meter is in cubic feet, you’ll need to calculate your gallons. One cubic foot of water is 7.48 gallons.
9. De-Chlorinate the Water
Most city water contains chlorine and chloramines and should be treated with a Dechlorinator before fish are added. Dechlorinator works almost instantaneously so you don’t have to wait long before you can begin moving your pond inhabitants back into their nice clean home.
10. Acclimate the Fish
A spring cleanout can be stressful to fish. Proper acclimation is required to reduce stress which can lead to fish health problems or even fish death. Once the pond has 1" of water you can prepare to reintroduce the fish by transferring them to smaller buckets of old pond water and floating the buckets in the pond, allowing them to acclimate too the new pond water temperature for approximately 15 minutes. If you have city water, it’s imperative that you add a dechlorinator to neutralize the chlorine in the water. Fish should not be left outside the pond in a holding container for more than a few hours, or in the full sun.
11. Add Beneficial Bacteria
The addition of cold water bacteria that is safe for fish and plants such as AquaClearer Extreme Cold Water Formula should be added to give your biological filtration a boost. It is also advised to begin your string algae preventative maintenance with the one, two punch of EcoBlast and S.A.B. Extreme.
12. Enjoy your pond for another Year
Finally, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Your pond is now off to a great start for the season.