Keeping the Balance of Nature: Pond Water Maintenance

Discuss – This is because you are going to need to take the time to care for koi much like you need to take the time to care for pets. You want to be sure that your koi pond is a very healthy environment so that your Japanese carp will flourish.

You might be tempted to let Mother Nature, tend to your backyard
pond, and who could blame you? After all, she does a pretty good
job of taking care of really big ponds, so why would your
backyard ecosystem pose much of a challenge to her?

Unfortunately, the fact is your backyard pond is only going to
get some cursory attention from Mom; the rest of the work is
going to be left up to you.

In the “real world” chlorinated water doesn’t find its way into
ponds very often. “Big” pond water passes through a great many
natural filtration and oxygenation systems, and the various fish
and flora work together to keep the pond clean and fresh. Our
backyard ponds don’t have quite that much help, so here’s where
you need to step in:

If you are going to keep fish then you absolutely must remove all
traces of chlorine from your pond before your favorite Koi set up
housekeeping. Pond fish cannot live in chlorinated water so don’t
even try. There are many products available to remove chlorine
quickly, or you can opt for the old-fashioned, natural way if you
have the time to spend.

Discuss – Building a fish pond entails more work than just digging a hole in the ground, and filling it with water. The first thing individuals have to do is use a plastic lining to separate the ground from what to become the fish pond.

If you opt for ‘a la natural’ then expect to wait about 8 to 10
days for the chlorine to dissipate. You will need to make sure
that your pump and filter are running and that you have set up an
aerating method such as a waterfall or “splasher” to bring oxygen
into the water. Make sure that the pond is exposed to plenty of
sunlight (the natural enemy of chlorine), and use a chlorine
testing kit to check the water daily.

Me? I just drop some de-chlorinating product into the pond and
check back the next day.

Even if chlorine is totally removed, you still have nitrite and
ammonia to worry about. These two toxic buddies are byproducts of
fish waste and can wreak havoc with your Koi’s health. After a
while Mother Nature will kick in some help by allowing beneficial
bacteria colonies to develop that enjoy eating nitrite and
ammonia for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They won’t be present in
new ponds, however, unless you buy some bacteria starter kits to
kick start the process.

Discuss – Those who want to have plants on their fish pond should keep in mind that they should place their fish pond in a place where it can be exposed to great amount of sun light.

Your garden pond could become overtaxed, ecologically, if you add
too many fish too quickly. Start out adding no more than two per
week so that the newly introduced bacteria do not get overwhelmed
by the waste that will be produced.

Just when you think you’ve got it all under control that ugly
thing called “pH” raises its head. Testing for pH levels is also
very important since neither plants nor fish will survive very
long if the pond’s pH is out of whack. Your pH test kit should
show a reading of between 6.8 and 7.4. You can add the proper
chemicals to raise or lower if as neccessary.

Speaking of test kits, get one that will allow you to test the
pond’s salt levels as well. Unless you’re raising baby Sea bass,
too much salt is not a good thing.

After your pond is fully established, Mother Nature will lend a
bigger hand and you can settle into a routine of testing every
three of four weeks unless something serious, such as flooding,
has occurred in between.

Discuss – Including an assortment of plants inside the fish pond, and planting it around the edges will help manage and absorb the nutrients in the fish pond. Some water plants will also help to control the presence of algae.

Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several
other pond-related websites including
MacArthurWatergardens.com
and
href=”http://www.pond-filters-online.com”>Pond-Filters-Online.com. He
also publishes a free monthly
newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over
9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE
‘New Pond Owners Guide’ visit MacArthur Water Gardens today!