A healthy pond ecosystem doesn’t just happen. Imagine seeing your fish thrive, your plant flourish in well-oxygenated pond environment, and your pond water turned crystal clear! You can achieve that dream pond by understanding the five key elements: filtration, aeration, aquatic plants, healthy fish and beneficial bacteria. These five pieces work in sync with Mother Nature to create a sustainable environment that will thrive all year long. Better yet, you can achieve optimal health and beauty with little effort and no chemicals that can be harmful to animals, people or the planet. Let’s take a look at each of these five elements and understand why they’re important.

Filtration – Ensure your water crystal clean & safe

Our water garden experts are often asked, do we really need a filtration system? If your planning on keeping fish thriving in clean & clear then yes you will need one.

A good filtration system will include mechanical & biological components.

Mechanical – include skimmers such as Atlantic Pond Skimmer,  filter brushes, foam pads, and other tools. This will trap and remove all unwanted & visible debris and waste and makes things easier for the next stage of the filtration process which is biological.

Biological – Once all visible solids are removed, the biological filtration comes into place and reduces the invisible wastes in the water such as ammonia that is toxic to fish or excess nutrients and convert them to less harmful compounds. This filtering system introduces aerobic bacteria, which will attach themselves to surface such as rocks, plants, or filtering media and eat away debris. One of our PondMAX latest products, PondMAX Clear Water Kit will provide you with multi-stage cleaning with coarse black filter traps larger debris, a fine blue filter catches smaller particles, and multiple bio-balls contain helpful bacteria to promote a healthy ecosystem.

Circulation– Improve pond and fish health.

Efficient circulation helps to maintain appropriate oxygen levels for plants and fish to thrive. It also helps avoid that unpleasant sulfur-like smell that can accompany still water where methane and other gasses have accumulated. Stagnant water can quickly become a haven for weeds, bacteria, noxious gases & unpleasant sulfur-like smell, but circulation will maintain a pond’s natural balance and create a healthy environment. Water gardens alone cannot produce sufficient amount of oxygen, but aeration kits like Teton XA Aeration Kits OR PondMAX Aeration Kits will do the tricks. Subsurface aeration works from the bottom up, circulating water and increasing dissolved oxygen levels. When the sun goes down, fish and plants both use dissolved oxygen in your pond water. By providing well-designed aeration & pumping system, oxygen levels stay high all day and night. Aeration is also great for winter climates. Running an aerator and a deicer together cuts your electricity costs and keeps a hole open in your pond.

Aquatic Plants – Natural algae control.

Aquatic plants are like the perfect spouse: amazing to look at, likes to clean, and will provide food, shade, and shelter. They also consume “filtered” fish waste which will become fertilizer to create exceptional plant growth and help reduce algae blooms. Approximately 40-60% of your pond’s surface area should be covered in plants. This is extra important if your pond is in direct sunlight most of the day.

Fish – The beautiful habitants of your pond

Not only adding colors, fish and other aquatic animals also eat algae and move stagnant water around. However, the more fish, the more waste, and fish loads and waste must be controlled. Want some advice? With standard filtration and 60% plant coverage, allow 1-2 koi or 2-3 goldfish per 200 gallons of water. If you need help figuring out how much filtration your fish need or filtration solutions for your pond, give us a call!

Beneficial Bacteria – Natural treatments for a balanced pond.

Using natural treatments, such as those found in PondMAX Water Treatment products, aid in keeping your pond balanced and happy. This product range is well designed to keep a pond’s ecosystem perfectly balanced by removing excess nutrients and debris, and maintain pond water crystal clear.

It’s Possible To Have Too Much In Your Pond

Don’t add too many plants or fish to your pond’s ecosystem!

You’ll want to have right amount of fish and plants in your water garden . Too many fish will cause too much waste, plants and filters will be blocked, and the water will get…murky. 

If you avoid this, you can have a thriving ecosystem and an amazing pond.

A water garden that’s well planned out and designed with the right solutions for these key elements will save you tons of time for maintenance including ph tests or other water tests. You can enjoy more of your pond and work less.

You should start preparing for the cooler weather before it comes, therefore cleaning and maintenance is needed year round for the most part. Although it is most needed in preparation and throughout the cooler weather season, vacuuming your pond is a necessity for you to keep your pond in its best shape, and for the health of your koi.

Many overlook what’s on the bottom of their pond, and the buildup of muck can become detrimental to the quality of the water. It’s important to start cleaning before the pond reaches 50F because the fish will still be active and constantly moving during the warmer weather.  This makes them less likely to be affected negatively by the cleaning procedures, and lessens the chance of harmful toxins, fungi and parasites.

A Pond Vacuum is a maintenance device that has minimum disturbance and can suck up debris from the hard to reach areas of your pond. Just like a regular vacuum for your household, pond vacuums are simple and hassle-free to use, making your pond maintenance routine easier than ever before.

Why vacuuming is neccessary

1. Leaves and debris land on the pond surface all year and sink to the bottom, which will create an increase of ammonia through the winter months. – The rotting leaves, tree branches, dead aquatic plants that fall into your pond through time ruins the oxygen levels of the pond, which can harm your fishes’ health. Using a pond vacuum can help you get to hard to reach areas to suck up debris and keep your water clear and in its best shape.
2. Algae dying from cooler water temperatures sinks to the bottom. – The aquatic life also contributes to the debris that can build up at the bottom of the pond, which can cause ammonia for your fish from its alteration of oxygen levels. It is best to remove them from the bottom of the pond to prevent it in the best way you can.
3. Excess fish food and fish waste sink to the bottom of the pond. – When feeding your fish, their diets can change throughout the cooler weather, and feeding the perfect amount every time is not guaranteed. The fish food and their waste can contribute to the debris as well.

TYPES OF POND VACUUMS

AUTOMATIC – The PV450L by PondMAX is an electric pond vacuum designed to provide high suction and a large capacity waste tank. When in auto mode the PV450L will suck until the tank is full and then automatically go into standby while it drains the waste tank for 30 seconds. Then it returns to suction mode and makes cleaning out the debris in the bottom of your pond or fountain a breeze.

MANUAL – The ProSucker from PondMax is also a great manual option. It makes it very easy to clear out the light muck that build up in a smooth bottom water feature. The ProSucker uses the pressure from your garden hose to create a vacuum and pull out the waste.

Consider these options from PondMAX and contact your local store to check availability.