Fish Pond Maintenance & Koi Pond Care
It’s my favorite time of the year! The nights are getting cool, which means winter is right around the corner! Consider these 5 HELPFUL POND MAINTENANCE TIPS to keep your pond ecologically balanced through fall, and winter - ultimately your holiday season.
1. Add “Beneficial Bacteria” two times per week this Fall (dose as directed for your size pond). Once your pond stays below 50 degrees for the winter we recommend switching to our new Cold Water Beneficial Bacteria that will be available mid-October. Beneficial pond bacteria plays a key role it Koi pond care.
2. Reduce your fish feeding regimen As your water temperature drops below 65 degrees the metabolism of your fish slows down. Start feeding your fish just a couple of times a week. A fish food that is specially formulated for the fall (wheat based) is “a must” at this time of the year. Stop feeding your fish completely when water temperatures fall below 50 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer for your pond, get one!
3. String Algae Prevention Make pond maintenance easy, use Pond Balance once a month as preventative pond care to help control undesirable string algae. Pond Balance will assist in the breakdown and reduction of debris in your streams, waterfalls and pond, thus reducing your pond maintenance needs. Dose as directed on the container for your size of pond. It is a must that you dissolve the Pond Balance in warm water to activate the enzymes before adding it to your pond or you’ll be throwing your money away.
4. Barley Straw Extract Helps control string algae. Barley straw is an effective and eco-friendly way to reduce algae. It takes 4-6 weeks for barley straw to become effective, so we suggest using a Barley Straw Extract treatment this fall to help control algae over the winter.
5. Trim your perennial aquatic plants that begin going dormant as the weather cools. Your aquatic plants aren’t dying, but they may turn yellow or brown as they go dormant. You should trim back the yellowing leaves to prevent the fall out debris from building in your pond. This simple trick will make your fish pond cleaning responsibilities easy.
This is a good time of the year to lightly clean out your biological waterfall filter and service your skimmer box and pump. Most of the material you read from pond equipment manufacturers suggests that you only service your biological waterfall filter once a year.
However, we have found that here in California with our extended season, a light cleaning of your biological waterfall filter at this time of the year is highly beneficial. With these helpful fish pond cleaning hints and just a little preventative pond care it will help to reduce algae problems and extend your enjoyment of your water feature into the Holiday Season.
By now you know, that Exotic Aquatics is not your ordinary Landscape Contractor; we are full-blown water feature super freaks! We are constantly striving for excellence in our field, including pond maintenance, with continuous training, research and I am very proud to tell you we have been booked to lead the Pond Construction Seminar at the Tenth Annual National Pond Expo Convention in Savanna, Georgia in August 2007!
Our research and development in the water garden industry enables us to make educated improvements on our product line, thus helping you with the maintenance and health care concerns of your pond and it’s inhabitants.
Call to find out about converting your pad and lava rock filtration system to the Revolutionary Hybrid Koi Pond Filtration System; If you are interested in never removing your prized Koi fish from your pond each spring or never draining your pond again just to clean the gravel. Koi Pond Maintenance doesn't get any easier! If you retro-fit your pond this winter, you can start saving money on spring clean out costs next season!
There are important biological reasons for fall and winter fish pond maintenance from mid October through the end of November. If you would like to have an Exotic Aquatics technician perform these services for you, fill out the attached “Work Order Request” form and fax (909) 793-8517 or mail it to our headquarters. Fall & Winter Preparations scheduled after November 30th at the pond owner’s request may be subject to additional fees.
You can find all of the pond products you will need for your fall pond maintenance at our construction headquarters or at Daryl's Pet Shop. If you are out of the area, please call our construction office at (800) 522-5043 and we will gladly ship you any pond supplies that you need or better yet shop us on-line at for all of your pond supply needs.
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