Spring Pond Care

Springtime is the first time after the winter freeze that you will be able to get your pond ready for the warm weather, Time and effort put in now will pay dividends through the summer.

You should be looking to clean out your pond thoroughly to remove as much of the build up of waste from the pond as possible. If you have fish, these will probably still be in hibernation buried in the mud at the deepest and warmest part of the pond. You should not attempt to clean the pond out until they have resurfaced.

If you have a filter pump, this should have been put back on as soon as the last threat of the pond icing over had passed to introduce much needed oxygen into the pond.

Plants
If you have plants in the pond, this is a good time to take them out, inspect them and repot and divide them should they have propagated.

Check underneath the leaves of plants to inspect for any pests and dispose of accordingly.

Water lillies in particular could do with some fresh pond approved soil for nutrients and their pot changed if they have become root bound; this will give them the maximum chance to flower in summer.

It is also a good time of year to introduce plants but they should all be disinfected prior to adding them in an appropriate substance. Only buy or source plants from a reliable vendor. Introducing harmful organisms to the pond at this time of year can be catastrophic, at the very least you may introduce more algae into the pond and you have enough algae already.

Fish
If you have fish in your pond they will begin to surface after the last early spring frost has passed. Do not worry if there is no sign of them as they tend to stay submerged in the warmest part of the pond until things begin to heat up.

Once they come alive you should attempt to feed them and do your best to inspect each fish thoroughly for signs of disease, examine the body of the fish and the fins. Do not try and catch fish unless you are intending to remove one or all, as this will stress them out at this delicate stage in the season. The best method is to switch off the filter pump and let the water settle and view them on a clear day. If one fish appears to be ill than it is likely all will end up ill, so the whole pond should be treated with a recommended treatment such as a general tonic.

Once the last of the Spring frosts have passed it is now time to restock your pond if you have lost any fish over winter. If you intend to restock you should quarantine your new fish in a seperate tank for a minimum of two weeks prior to adding them into the main pond having treat them with a good all round disease treatment. If you are restocking an empty pond, the fish can be added directly into the pond and treat.

There are many easy to use products on the market which inform the buyer of the different fish complaints, but a good place to start is check the body and scales, fins, head and mouth area for any signs of something out of the ordinary. If in doubt, consult a local pond expert. I always use an early start tonic which is a general bacteria control to keep the harmful bacteria at bay and give the waking fish more of a start.

As fish come alive they will be weak after the long months fasting and hibernation, unfortunately, bacteria good and bad tends to wake just before the fish and their coats may not be up to 100% yet to protect it.

Water
The water over winter may have appeared to be crystal clear but the algae is always there waiting for the first rays of sunlight and prevention with algae is better than trying to treat it once it gets hold.

A pack of barley straw hung or suspended over where the filter funnels water back into the pond, or suspended under a waterfall is a good way to keep algae blooms at bay.

Also, pond plants of various types compete with the algae by using the nutrients in the pond and fish love plants to hide behind.

Do not use any chemicals or algaecides yet until your fish have surfaced apart from a good “spring start” type product mentioned earlier.

Every pond suffers a green cloud algae explosion as the waters heat up. A combination of treatments will resolve this plants, algaecide treatments, UV treatment, manual removal with a net and over time keep the algae problem at bay.

Do test your water regularly using an approved pond water testing kit. This will help you ascertain if the water is high in any harmful chemiclas such as ammonia. After the ravages of winter your pond is bound to have more detritus at the bottom so testing the water is paramount to identifying problems before they overwhelm your pond eco system.

Cleaning out the pond
Once the fish have all resurfaced and you have fed them it is time to begin your spring clean. I keep 4 rain butts in the garden and I use the water from these to bathe my pond plants, filter parts and wash my equipment. Tap water can be used on equipment but should be left out in the air to dry as much as possible before replacing or treat first with a conditioning product to remove harmful chloramines.

Begin by removing the pond filter and all of the plants if they are potted. Move the plants into a bowl of water to stop them drying out. Next take a good soft brush – a plastic one which can be bought from any hardware store would be appropriate – and brush down the sides of the pond to remove algae and slime. The water may turn green so you may need to leave it for a while to resettle. Next take a fine net and scour the bottom of the pond and remove as much of the mud and detritus as possible. You could add this to your regular garden plants as it is usually full of nutrients and nitrogen and garden plants love it.

Next, clean out the filter thoroughly and remove and wash the components removing any buildup of leaves and/or mud in the filter. If you have water statues that shoot jets of water take these and run some water through the lines to remove any buildup and ensure they are clear.

Take a large clean bucket and remove about half of the water from the pond and either use it to hydrate another portion of your garden or dispose of it. Refill the pond with clean fresh water (not tapwaterback to the permissible level.

Again, I use rainwater kept in secure butts for topping up my pond as in Britain we get a lot of rain in Spring so these are frequently replenished and rainwater does not contain any of the chemicals added to tap water which can harm aquatic life.

If your water is still cloudy it will now be time to look into using a natural product such as an algaecide but I find that by putting things in place before such as barley straw, regular manual cleaning and plants the majority of green water is kept at bay after the inital green explosion.

Next replace the filter and plants back into the pond and turn your filter back on. Well done, you have prepared your pond for Spring; sit back and enjoy.

For summer/autumn advice, read my summer/autumn pond care article.
For winter advice, read my winter pond care article.