Cleaning Your Garden Pond
If you are like many garden pond owners you may notice that there seems to be an abundance of disgusting green algae present in your pond. This is certainly not an attractive look and most definitely takes away from the physical beauty that your garden pond once provided. The simple fact that there has not been enough regular maintenance to keep your pond from turning into a big bowl of pea soup. Garden ponds are a natural habitat for various species of wildlife, therefore they need to be treated similar to how you maintain an aquarium. Garden ponds by a rule of thumb should be treated and cleaned at least once a week in order for them to remain algae free and give your pond the look you originally intended.
In a few simple steps you can keep your pond clean and algae free, keeping up regular maintenance of the pond will reduce the amount of time and effort needed to keep it clean.
The first step in my opinion is probably the messiest. You need to physically get in your pond and vacuum it all out using a pond vacuum cleaner. By doing this task it will remove allot of the fish waste that would normally build up in the bottom of your pond and cause algae problems. Another good habit to get into while you are in the pond is to grab yourself a strong wire brush and scrub the side of the rocks clean.
This will help reduce the algae build up on the sides of the pond. The second step to cleaning you garden pond is as simple as keeping your fish count to a minimum. The obvious fact is that the fewer fish swimming around in the pond means less fish waste which algae uses to feed on. Sorry, a little disgusting but true. Another rule of thumb is not feed your fish more than once per day, it is not needed. Plus the more you feed them the dirtier the pond will become making your cleaning task that much harder. The third step would be to plant your pond with lots of aquatic plants provide shade and shelter for your fish which prevents algae growth. The final step in the process is an obvious one; use a pond cleaning net to remove all leaves, twigs and other debris from the pond. Simply fishing out the debris from the pond will help prevent algae growth as over time this debris will rot and cause bacteria to grow. It is a good idea to completely drain out the pond at least once a year, preferably in the spring. Hose it down, completely scrub it clean and re-fill with fresh clean water.
Some extra tips to help reduce the amount of algae build up in your pond and maintain the fresh and clean look in your garden. Algae stopper is a must have product if you are thinking of buying or already have a water feature in your garden. Kills Algae & bacteria and stops slime build up. Simply adding a garden ornament like a garden heron to the side of your pond is a perfect way to scare away the real thing from your fish and also add a sense of true British nature to your garden.
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