Pond Maintenance throughout Central Florida
Hopefully you don't have a friend of neighbor who had a beautiful pool but stopped spending time in it and gradually gave up on cleaning it and keeping it up. Now the water shifts between blue, green and some other shade of murky. The sides have traces of stuff going on them that needs to be scrubbed to be removed and nobody wants to even put a foot inside of it. Well, you don't want to become that pond owner either.
Most companies will tout that these Florida water scapes are easy to maintain. That is a true statement but they're usually not maintenance free. After installation, our team can walk you through the steps needed to keep your pond healthy, your fish in great shape, and your plants happily blooming so you can spend the bulk of your time soaking up the calm, tranquil vibes. If the minimal care that is required is not something you're up for, set up a maintenance plan with us and we can take care of the work. While a monthly schedule is likely best, we can also talk to you about quarterly and annual visits which would require more rigorous steps to keep the environment functioning and looking its best.
Keep in mind that even if you're able to keep your water crystal clear, you may still have occasional upkeep costs
that follow your initial investment. Pumps don't last forever and are often cheaper to replace than to repair. Liners even have to be replaced sometimes. While most quality EPDM liners can last 20-30 years, you want to take caution if you're cleaning your pond regularly, that you don't rip or damage the rubber liner. Trees in the area can also send roots through a liner leading to a required repair or replacement. This is one of several reasons that we use an geofabric underlayment beneath any liner we install. These extra liners divert all sizes of roots and prevent them from puncturing your liner. The point here is that watching your pond for maintenance outside the typical scope of work is a good, responsible practice for any owner.
GET A FREE INSTANT QUOTE TODAY ▼
Free Instant Quote
Annual Maintenance Tip
Early spring is a great time to give your pond's bottom a thorough cleaning especially if you're only going to do it once a year. In summer time, the biological process should be working on its own, so you don't really want to disrupt that and start the pond over with less bacteria and fresh water. The bottom of the pond, where you'll have rocks sitting on top of the liner, will build up with gunk over time. This may come from leaves or yard waste that falls or blows into your pond and settles on the floor. The fish waste and uneaten food may also sink and build up so you want to try and remove this stuff for optimal pond health.
Depending on how man you have, scrubbing the rocks by hand is an option while using a fine net to remove the sludge is your DIY method. We'll even be doing some of that, but we also have professional equipment like a pond vacuum for smaller ponds or portable dredges for larger ones. Power washing the rocks easily removes muck buildup and makes the loose matter easy to remove from the pond. Are you aware that pond mud is actually a great fertilizer for your plants? As long as you haven't been pumping your water full of chemicals, the decomposing stuff that has been living in the base of your pond can be really healthy as a surface cover for your garden and landscaped greenery. For a little more info on cleaning options, check out this page about
cleaning your Tampa pond.
Pond Rules to Live By
Use the Right Pump
If you've hired us, then rest assured we will do the calculations to know what pump is going to do the best job for your pond's size. If the pump taking too long to cycle all the water through it's system, the water is more likely to get cloudy over time because of the lack of natural cleaning. If your system uses a skimmer, you'll also want to check this regularly and empty the contents so your pump can work at its optimal level. We'll give specific advice on this when we complete your pond project, but you may need to check the skimmer as often as every other day. It's quick task and not hard to do by any means.
Mind Your Serving Size
The first fish my kids ever had was a fighting fish or betta fish in a small plastic tank. The fellow at the petstore told us, "the easiest way to kill these fish, is by overfeeding them," so we made sure to keep a close eye on his diet. The same goes for fish in a pond. You may not be harming the fish directly with the food by overfeeding, but your slowly harming your ecosystem by dumping copious amounts of feed into the pond. If your fish don't eat it all within five minutes, try feeding them a little less. Food that goes uneaten can break down and slowly erode the quality of the water. Also, the more the fish eat, the more waste the create, so follow the food packaging instructions closely.
Muck Reducer Tablets
These do exactly what they say they do...and yes, that's the common name of the product. By adding these tablets to your pond, a positive type of bacteria is introduced that helps to break apart existing waste and sludge. They're designed to help remove this stuff from the liners, rocks or any other material where there is build up and they do so without harming your fish. Follow the directions on any package according to the size of your pond. You don't want to overdo it. Many even advertise that they help with bad odors coming for your pond.
Use the Right Filter and Have It Cleaned Regularly
Another easy task that can produce happy pond health is cleaning your filter regularly. With many types, a square or circle shaped sponge-like media needs to be removed and the sludge that has built up needs to be hosed or squeezed out. If you collect the substance in a bucket as you clean the filters you can provide the remnants to your back yard plants as there are plenty of healthy nutrients in this mud-like material. The larger the pond and the more fish you have, the larger and heftier the filter may be required to do the job (or the more often you'll want to clean it). We'll make sure to set you up right for your exact pond maintenance in Tampa or elsewhere.
Pond Plants Do More Than Look Pretty
If you have a pondless waterfall or disappearing fountain, the needs for plants becomes less important. However, in a pond, plants play a major role in that ecosystem. Shade around the edge of your pond can be useful for the wildlife as well as the water quality. Shade within the pond is beneficial too so use a variety of plants around the perimeter, floating in the water and even submerged beneath the surface. Too much nutrients in the water and algae tends to grow...which isn't necessarily a bad thing in nature, but is rarely the look a backyard pond owner wants. The assortment of plants that we can help you select should use these extra nutrients to help themselves thrive as well as clear them from your pond. Win, win!
Your natural inclination may be that a pond should have sloping edges with the lowest point in the middle, however an aesthetic tip that we often use is to create at least one shelf on a side of the pond. This convenient space will work perfectly to keep partially submerged plants.
Be a Proactive Pond Caretaker
Most problems can be avoided with simple steps like, observing and acting upon anything that looks out of the ordinary. Just like the swimming pool example at the top of this page, neglect is probably one of the most common reasons that a pond gets icky. If your water feature lies in an area that is prone to excess yard debris or near a tree that drops leaves regularly, you may want to allocate some extra time each week to remove any floating yard waste. If you can remove it before it sinks to the bottom, the less chance you have of quick muck buildup. Or consider a barrier of shrubs or taller wall of stones to keep some of the leaves from blowing in to the water in the first place. Be smarter than your landscape!
Count Your Fish
If you have koi fish that you've picked out for symmetry or a beautiful color pattern, then you want your color to be as crystal clear as possible so you and everyone else who visits can enjoy the splendor of your fish. One suggestion is to make sure your pond is not overpopulated with any type of fish. According to The Pond Guy in Michigan, they recommend no more than 1-2 koi or 2-3 goldfish per 200 gallons of water. So if your pond is only 500 gallons of water, the suggestions is to keep 3-5 koi or 5-7 gold fish. There are wetland filters which can be used to help offset a larger number of fish, bu the idea here is that too many fish lead to too much waste in the water which creates an imbalance that ends up requiring more maintenance than should be necessary.
Combat the Heat and the Algae
If you have a pondless waterfall or disappearing fountain, the need for plants becomes less important. However, in a pond, plants play a major role in that ecosystem. Shade around the edge of your pond can be useful for the wildlife as well as the water quality. Shade within the pond is beneficial too so use a variety of plants around the perimeter, floating in the water and even submerged beneath the surface. Too much nutrients in the water and algae tends to grow...which isn't necessarily a bad thing in nature, but is rarely the look a backyard pond owner is going for. The assortment of plants that we can help you select will feed on these extra nutrients to help themselves thrive as well as clear them from your pond. Win, win!
In Florida's long summers, making sure ampule shade exists for your fish is especially important. This will reduce the surface temp of your pond and keep the oxygen levels adequate in your water. If your pond sits in direct sunlight for a lot of the day, you may need a pond aerator to supply extra dissolved oxygen into the water. This process helps with the natural biological process and, even with hotter water temps, will lead to a more content area for your fish and plants.
Additionally, flowing water can help add oxygen so consider more than one agitator if your yard layout is going to require a sun drenched pond. A pond agitator is any element that makes the water move such as a waterfall or fountain. Each one helps as an additional source of oxygen for the pond. If you don't have space for a lovely waterfall, consider adding a bubbler which is likely the cheapest and easiest option to create water movement in your water garden.
We're Your Pond Partner for Maintenance and Professional Pond Planning
As you can see, there are only a couple items on here that require some extra research and know how. If you're already spending hours in your yard each weekend pruning, trimming, skimming and planting, you may be totally capable of adding a few extra steps into your routine and enjoying the results of clear water, thriving plants and abundant fish. We're happy an answer questions at anytime and train you to be the expert for your own water oasis but if you're more content sitting on the sidelines, we have a team of experts that can handle these tasks at regular intervals so all you have to do is enjoy the sights and sounds each and every day.
