Keep Your Water Garden Ponds Clean
With or without fish, a filtering system is recommended to prevent your water garden pond from becoming a mosquito breeding ground.
A fountain, waterfall or other type of accessory to keep the water moving will prevent it from becoming stagnant and foul-smelling. With many water garden ponds people think that once it is in and the pumps are running the work is done. However, in many cases water garden pond upkeep requires a labor of love to keep it in pristine condition.
A filter system is only good if properly maintained. If the filter is not doing its job, the pond will quickly fill with scum. Even with a good system in place, suspended particles may make a water garden pond appear dirty. If you are keeping fish in the pond, certain chemicals to help maintain the water’s clarity cannot be used.
Cleaning A Muddy Water Garden Pond
It seems that no matter how hard you try, there will come a time when cleaning a muddy pond will become a necessity. Whether used for landscaping, fish habitat or just to have the sounds of rushing water outside the bedroom window for relaxation, there likely will be something that causes mud to get into your water garden pond. Dirt can get into your water garden pond from many sources such as the wind blowing surface dirt onto the water or heavy rains washing the ground into the garden pond.
When this happens, there are some steps you will need to take to bring the water back to its original clarity.
If your pond is equipped with a pump and bottom filter, you will need to remove and clean, or sometimes replace the filter.
When cleaning a muddy pond, it can take several filter cleanings to remove all of the larger pieces of dirt. Continue this procedure until the water begins to turn clear.
If you have suspended dirt in the water, simply turning off the pump may stop the water movement enough for the suspended particles to fall to the bottom and be caught in the filter. When cleaning muddy ponds you may also need to add a clarifier that bonds the particles together causing them to become larger and heavier and sink to the bottom to be caught in the filter. Again, cleaning the filter will help the water become clearer, faster.
Keeping Water Clean For Koi and Other
Wildlife
If your water garden pond plays host to wildlife such as ducks or Koi fish, it may require regular cleaning to help maintain the water clarity. This could include scrubbing the sides of the pond with a brush with no detergents, just to release the particles stuck on the wall to be moved to the filtering system. If heavy rains cause the water to be laden with dirt, cleaning a muddy pond becomes urgent for the habitat of the aquatic life living there.
In extreme cases you may need to completely drain your water garden pond, scrub all surfaces and replace the filters. This should be a last-ditch effort if you have a good filtering system set up in your pond.
There are many chemicals that can be used when cleaning muddy ponds; however, if wildlife are involved you need to make sure they are not harmful to the creatures. In lieu of draining the entire pond, you might try pumping out about half of the water and adding clean water while letting the water garden pond’s filters do their work.
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