Category: Advice
Despite the wet and windy weather that many of us are currently experiencing, there are signs of Spring all around. So it’s time to don your pond gloves and give your pond a little attention to keep it looking at its best throughout the year. Here are a few reminders:
Trim aquatic plants and split those which have become too large so that they don’t take over, but keep enough to help balance the pond chemistry. A mixture of lilies (heavy feeders which also keep sun off the water), oxygenators and marginal plants is ideal. Feeding them at this time will give them a boost, improving blooming, and using multi-purpose Ecopond Aquatic Plant Food Plus will also help to prevent algae growth.
Clear out most of the debris which has accumulated over the autumn and winter so that it doesn’t degrade and create a nutrient rich environment in which algae and duckweed will thrive. Our 3-in-1 Pond Net Set is perfect for this and other pond cleaning chores. However, leaving a small amount of weed and sludge can create useful shelter for pond life. Always leave any weed and debris by the side of the pond for a day or two to allow any wildlife you accidentally remove to get back into the pond. If you have frog or toad spawn in the pond a sludge digesting product like Ecopond Mud Muncher will help to keep the level down over the longer term without causing disruption.
Check the pump – if you have a pump and it’s been turned off, try it out to make sure it’s still working and if it has been running all winter, give it a clean to make sure it’s not partially blocked.
Check your UV filter as bulbs have a limited life span and may need to be changed as regularly as yearly. We have many calls from people with green water problems which have arisen when their UV bulb has not been replaced and has become inactive. If your pond has already started to turn green, then dosing with Ecopond Barley-bio Algae Control will kill the algae and assist the UV system until a new UV bulb takes full effect.
However, UV will not help to overcome filamentous algae or blanket weed. It is only effective on single cell “green water” algae as the algae actually has to pass through the unit to be exposed to the UV light.
If you have fish consider using a filter booster as soon as the water warms up (to approx. 10oC) to make sure that you have sufficient beneficial bacteria in the system to keep the pond healthy, particularly with the onset of feeding and greater fish activity. Ecopond Fast Start for Filters is a good booster for small fish ponds.
For a wildlife pond Ecopond Pond Revive is a probiotic that stimulates and supplements the naturally occurring micro-organisms in ponds that appear lifeless.
You can now start to feed fish again or, if you have been using a wheat germ food over winter, return to feeding food which has a higher protein content.
