Got a green and murky pond?

We have lots of enquiries asking how to keep a backyard garden pond looking clean and healthy. As long as you don't mind getting a tad wet and a bit dirty, it's not very difficult. Here's a helpful list: 

 1.  Autumn's the best time to prune back waterplants and remove excess root mass in the pond. So get your gum boots and rubber gloves on, grab your secateurs and get into the pond and cut back the overgrowth. Don't forget to clear out the sludge on the bottom as well, with either a scoop or a pond vacuum. Before you begin – turn the pump off and leave it off while you're in there stirring up the mud. Wait another 2 hours after you've finished & then turn the pump back on so that any floating debris has had a chance to settle to the bottom.

2.  If you try to clean a pond by emptying all the water out and then scrubbing out the mud, you're wasting your time and effort. You'll destroy the eco-system that's been developing in the pond and it'll take at least another 6 weeks to grow back! It's perfectly fine to replace say one third of the current dirty pond water with clean water, but no more than that.

3. Give your pump a clean and service. Lift the pump out of the pond, disassemble it and clean out the rotor and the recess from where the rotor was removed with a toothbrush. Make sure all the bushes are put back on the axle shaft. You will increase the life of the rotor / impeller assembly with this service procedure. Be sure to always keep the pump well off the bottom of the pond to reduce solids intake by sitting it on an upturned pot, or some bricks.

4. If you have a biological filter, go for gold and give it a service too. We recommend that UVC lamps are replaced every Spring to get the maximum performance over the hot summer. Remember that biological filters are sewerage treatment plants for your pond – not vacuum cleaners or debris filters. Your filter must work dirty, but be porous enough to allow the beneficial bacteria happily living within the barrel's bio media to work by reducing water toxicity. Clean foams in pond water (not chlorinated water) only when choked and only ever partially.