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Center > A Springtime Checklist for Ponds
At last, the long, dreary winter
is behind us. Time now to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Time, too,
for the pond keeper to re-establish his pond. And to make sure he
doesn't overlook anything, here are a list of things you might remind
him every pond keeper should do:
- Inspect your pond -
check to see what effect the winter weather has
had on it.
- Remove dead leaves and
other debris- Be mindful that a lot of the debris that has blown
into the pond has settled and, because of low temperatures, has lain
dormant throughout much of the winter.
- Clean and start up the
filtration system.
- Help re-start the
biological filter- BioFilter Booster,
a highly concentrated solution of specifically selected bacteria,
will help re-start and maintain the biological filter and keep your
pond naturally balanced.
- Make a water change-
Over the course of several days, make a 15% to 25% water change to
eliminate accumulated pollutants.
- Remove toxic ingredients
from tap water- Whether making a water change or merely adding
water to the pond, remember that tap water contains chlorine. Even a
small trace of chlorine will irritate fish and damage gill tissue
and large amounts can be toxic. Some tap water is treated with both
chlorine and ammonia, two chemicals that combine to form chloramine,
a compound deadly to fish and detrimental to plant life. Use Ammo-Lock
2™ to remove the chlorine and instantly detoxify the ammonia.
- Feed your fish a
low-protein fish food- As the temperature of your pond water
approaches 42°F, your fish will start looking for food. Because
they are less active in the spring than they will be later in
summer, they will require little protein. In fact, they'll convert
excess protein into toxic ammonia, which they'll then excrete,
adding to the pollution of the pond. To prevent this from happening,
feed your fish Pond Care Spring & Autumn
Pond Food, a reduced-protein, high-carbohydrate,
vitamin-enriched diet, specially formulated to feed pond fish when
water temperatures are between 42°F and 70°F.
- Provide your fish with
essential electrolytes- In addition to a proper diet, pond fish
also need electrolytes such as potassium, sodium, magnesium,
chloride, and calcium to reduce stress, improve gill function, and
help protect against nitrite toxicity. Pond Salt will provide all of these electrolytes. To
determine the proper dose of Pond Salt, test your pond water with
the Salt Level Liquid Test Kit.
- Protect your fish against
disease-After a long cold winter, pond fish are very susceptible
to disease. As a protective measure, you should use Stress
Coat®, a unique water conditioner that replaces the natural
slime coating fish lose during handling, netting, fish fighting, and
other times of stress. Stress Coat acts
as a liquid bandage, protecting damaged tissue against external
toxins and disease-causing organisms and preventing the loss of
internal fluids and electrolytes. In addition, Stress Coat contains
Aloe Vera to help heal skin wounds and torn fins.
- Re-establish your pond
plants- Re-establishing pond plants in the spring requires that
they have essential nutrients. Aquatic Plant
Food Tablets provides these nutrients in the form of slow-
release tablets which, when placed in the soil, ensure maximum
growth and flowering.
- Clear cloudy water-
When re-potting your plants and cleaning your pond, you're likely to
stir up sediment, causing cloudy water conditions. Pond
Care Accu-Clear quickly clears cloudy pond water by causing the
tiny suspended particles of dirt and debris that create these
unclear conditions to clump together and fall to the bottom of the
pond, where they can then be siphoned out or removed by the pond
filter.
- Improve water quality-
Debris continually enter outdoor ponds, building up unwanted sludge
and waste. Pond waste and sludge consume valuable oxygen, lower the
pH, and create a breeding ground for fish disease. The addition of Pond-Zyme®
Plus improves water quality because it contains beneficial
bacteria to dissolve away hard-to-clean wastes that accumulate in
the pond filter and hard to reach areas of the pond.
It's worth it...
Sure, there's a certain amount
of work involved in re-establishing a pond,
but it's work the pond keeper will enjoy doing, and he'll be rewarded
many
times over with the satisfaction and pleasure he derives in the spring
and
summer months ahead. |
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