Forget spring cleaning, fall is arguably the most important season to be diligent about cleaning your backyard pond during. With the major influx of falling leaves, if you don’t stay on top of your cleaning tasks your pond life could be in big trouble. If getting outside on a regular basis to skim your pond manually isn’t feasible, you might want to try more permanent pond cleaning options.
Pond Filter: Pond filters are used to clean debris and biological waste from your garden pond. When choosing the right product for your water garden, keep in mind that most pond filtration systems have varying degrees of mechanical and/or biological filtration.
Pond Skimmer: A pond skimmer collects debris and dirt from the surface of the water, keeping your pond clean. The unobtrusive design of pond skimmers make them an easy addition to your pond that can be hidden from view.
Pond Vacuums: Pond vacuums work just like a regular vacuum cleaner, except they vacuum water. They are ideal for cleaning algae blooms, fish waste, dead leaves and other debris that collects at the bottom of the pond.
Leaf Netting: While leaf netting isn’t a tool to help you clean an already dirty pond, it is an excellent preventative. Not only does netting prevent leaves from falling into your pond, it protects your pond fish from predators while still allowing sunlight to filter through.
Water Treatments: If the chemical balance of the water in your pond is off and needs cleaning up, you’ll need to look into water treatments. Using pond water treatments can bring these miniature eco-systems into balance and ensure clear water and healthy pond life. Pond water treatments can include clean-up bacteria, start-up bacteria, pond water conditioners and more – depending on your needs.
While these options make keeping your pond clean much more automated, it is still important for you to keep things moving along yourself. Checking on filters and skimmers and using a pond vacuum is something that the pond owner should still plan to do on a regular basis. Clean out your filter weekly, fish out clumps of leaves manually before they clog up your filter, and keep an eye open for algae growth.