For many people, summer is the best season of all. It’s a time when they can finally make the most of their gardens and when the weather is at its best. So, of course, if you feel this way, it makes sense that you would want your garden to look wonderful in time for summer so that you can enjoy it to the full.
If you have a pond, you’ll need to ensure it’s clean and fresh. You wouldn’t want a murky, algae-filled pond to ruin the look of your summer garden, especially as stagnant water will smell, and that would be very unpleasant indeed. With that in mind, here are some of the best ways to clean your garden pond in time for summer.
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Drain The Pond
Although at other times of the year, you might simply scoop out any organic (and non-organic) debris and leave it at that, when you want the pond to be ready for summer, it’s a different and more thorough job that needs doing. Therefore, the first thing you’ll need to do to be able to clean your pond properly is to drain the water away. The best way to do this is to place a specialist pump from water-garden.co.uk in the deepest part of the pond to help to remove the water for you. Remember that wherever the water is draining to could get flooded, so you’ll need to move the drainage pipe a few times to prevent this from happening (or have the water drain into a container).
You can use some of the water you’ve drained away to create a holding pond for your fish, as they will need to be protected while you clean the pond.
Clean The Pond
Once the water is out of the pond, you can clean it. This should be done carefully so as not to damage the liner. Scrub the inside of the pond to remove any algae and other dirt, but leave some algae on any rocks – this will be helpful in keeping the ecosystem balanced.
Every now and then, when you are cleaning, make sure you turn on the cleaning pump. This will remove the dirty water you are creating. If you have a pressurewasher, you can use that (carefully) to clean the pond, but otherwise, a hosepipe or even just a cloth will do the job perfectly well, although it may take a little longer.
Also read: What Do Swans Eat In The Winter!
Clean The Filters
Once the pond itself is clean, you’ll also need to clean the filters. Remove any nets and biofilters from the pond and clean these as well. Rinse all the filters so that any debris stuck in them is removed entirely.
Once clean, the filters, meshes, skimmers and other elements can all be put back together. Check that everything is working before you re-fill the pond.
Acclimatize The Fish
Once the pond is clean, it’s time to put your fish back into it, but you must acclimatize them first. Fill the pond with water from the garden hose, and then add any bacterial elements you need to keep the algae at bay.
Take some of this new pond water and put it into a container, into which you can place the fish. Put the container and fish into the pond (without them being able to escape into it). This will help the fish get used to the temperature of the pond water while they are getting used to the new setup of the water. After about fifteen minutes, they can be put into the pond proper.
