Before you jump into the process of cleaning your pond, consider the possibility of hiring a professional. Many professionals, maybe even the one who may have installed your pond, offer pond maintenance and cleaning services. Whether you clean your pond or hire a professional is really a matter of personal preference.
If you do it yourself, you can mark it down for your daily exercise, you can be proud of what you’ve done, and you can learn a little more about what’s lurking beneath the water. Sometimes it isn’t pretty, but isn’t that the beauty of pond ecology?
Now if you decide to have it done by a professional that you know and trust, there’s a good chance it’s going to be done right, taking little or no time away from your day. Plus, if a professional happens to be washing out our filter media and finds a problem, they can address it right there. The trained eye of the contractor could even prevent a problem before it occurs.
So will you go for the personal satisfaction of cleaning out your pond, or will you trade your hip boots in for the TV remote and let your contractor do it? The choice is yours.
Checklist of Materials for Your Pond Clean-out
If you’re planning to get your hands dirty with a spring clean-out, here is a list of materials that may be helpful when you’re in the trenches. Being prepared ahead of time will prevent the need to run to the store in the middle of your clean-out project. Here’s a handy list of things you may need before strapping on you hip boots and wading in:
- Kiddie pool (or similar, large container to hold fish and frogs)
- Net to cover fish container to prevent them from jumping out
- Fish net to catch the fish before the clean-out
- Lily tabs – might as well fertilize those lilies while you’re in there!
- Two-five gallon buckets for collecting leaves and debris
- Wading boots or old clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
- Rubber gloves
- 25 feet of 1.5 to 2-inch discharge piping
- A high-pressure nozzle for your garden hose or a power washer
- Garden shears for trimming plants
- Benificial Bacteria
- Dechlorinator if you’re filling your pond with city water
- Extra rocks/pebbles to cover exposed liner
- Expanding foam to fill in any necessarily spots
- New filter mats, if needed
Now that you know why you should do a clean-out, your next step is to learn how to do a clean-out. Now don’t worry – it’s really not as complicated – just a little dirty. If you follow a few easy steps, your clean-out can be done quickly and easily. Check out these easy-to-follow steps.
10 Steps to a Successful Spring Clean-out
- Start Draining the Pond – An inexpensive pump or a sump pump is sufficient. Be sure you use some of the pond water to fill a container with pond water for the fish.
- Disconnect the Circulation System – This will allow the water in the plumbing to drain out.
- Catch the Fish – Drain the pond down to the lowest shelf in order to catch fish easily and safely.
- Remove Debris – Once the pond is drained, remove the large debris like leaves and twigs.
- Wash the Pond – A 1,500 psi pressure washer or a high-pressure nozzle on a garden hose is recommended for pond cleaning.
- Rinse the Pond – Rinse the pond from top to bottom with a garden hose without the high-pressure nozzle. This will help wash any remaining pond debris from under the rocks. As the dirty water accumulates on the bottom, continuing to pump it out.
- Clean the Filters – Spray the filtration media until relatively clean and rinse down the inside of the filter units.
- Refill the Pond – Pull the clean-out pump out and begin re-filling the pond.
- De-chlorinate the Water – Most city water contains chlorine and chloramines and should be treated with a de-chlorinator before fish are introduced.
- Acclimate the Fish – A spring clean-out can be stressful to fish, so proper acclimation is suggested to decrease stress and avoid future health problems. In order to properly acclimate your fish, you’ll want to slowly introduce it to the water by floating them in the pond fish and adding pond water little by little before letting them in.
Now your pond is officially ready for spring!
