If your pond is murky and full of debris, then it might be time for an old-fashioned pond cleaning! Time to clean your pond. But before you even consider draining your reservoir, let’s talk about how you can get your pond water back to being clean and clear in three easy steps.
A common misconception when your water starts to become murky is that you need to drain your dirty water and replace it with fresh water in order to correct the problem. In most cases, this is completely unnecessary, and could potentially do more harm than good.
Not only will replacing the dirty water cause problems in the future, but it also disrupts the natural ecosystem. Draining your water is only necessary in extreme cases. Indeed, you should not use it as a general way of cleaning your lake.
The Power of Good Bacteria
Did you know? Billions of good bacteria and microorganisms live in your pond water? They can decrease the number of harmful chemicals that occur, such as nitrogen and ammonia.
When you drain your murky water, you also drain all of the good bacteria and microorganisms, which is a natural filtration system in your natural ecosystem. When you add water to your basin, most likely from the tap, you are compounding problems. Most tap water is chlorinated, a chemical that your good bacteria, microorganisms, and your fish won’t tolerate well.
To Drain or Not to Drain?
You’re probably wondering… Is there ever a time where I should drain my pond? Let’s rule out whether or not you need to drain the water.
First, you will never need to drain out the water entirely, especially if you have wildlife. It’s crucial for the health and benefit of the organisms you have in your water to allow some of the bacteria to remain in your lake.
Draining up to half of the water can go a long way in helping with the water quality. If your pond becomes overstocked, you may end up with poor water quality. Particularly during the summer when your fish produce more waste because of their metabolism is higher.
Good bacteria can sometimes become overwhelmed when there is too much waste build-up. And that imbalance will result in poor water quality, inevitably. In these conditions, a small water change may help improve the quality of your water, but you definitely do not need to drain all of the water.
Lastly, be sure that the water you refill your pond with has been properly dechlorinated to ensure the safety of your fish, good bacteria, and microorganisms.
How To Clean Your Pond: Step by Step
Let’s get started. Shall we?
Step 1: Remove the Debris
The first step to cleaning your pond is removing floating debris. This step should be done on a regular basis, not only to keep your pond looking beautiful. But it will also catch the debris before it sinks to the bottom and adds to the sludge because that is harder to remove. If you start by cleaning the liner or bottom of the pond before you clean the surface, you’ll end up having to clean it again as the floating debris sinks.
There are many pond cleaning products and tools available to help simplify the process of debris removal – pond rakes, pond nets, or pond skimmers. With smaller sized lakes, a simple pond net would suffice. Pond nets are significantly less expensive than skimmers and are a helpful tool for keeping your pond free of debris. When selecting a pond net, be sure it has a long enough handle that will allow you to reach over half the length of your pond, and a wide enough basket with fine mesh so that you can collect and an array of debris.
Skimmers
Pond skimmers are an automatic system that constantly keeps your pond surface clear of debris and foamy pond water. Skimmers go a long way in maintaining the overall health and cleanliness of your pond. If you have a larger pond, these will be a great investment as they will maintain your water and will keep it in tip-top shape. Skimmers work around the clock, continuously removing even the finer debris not visible to the naked eye.
There are two types of skimmers available. Box skimmers are best suited for large ponds because they have a higher capacity and will remove debris very quickly. If you have a smaller pond, floating or submerged skimmers may be more applicable for you. The costs are considerably less than box skimmers, and they work great on a smaller surface area.
Now that you have tackled the floating debris, we can move onto the sides and bottom of your pond. The sludgy layer! It’s actually not crucial to remove bottom sludge. But it’s helpful when your fish move into their hibernation period during the winter season.
This is the time that pond owners will typically feel the need to drain the water in order to remove the layer of sludge. However, this would only be necessary if you will be removing the sludge with a shovel or rake. As you now know, removing the water is harmful to your pond’s ecosystem. The best way to remove the sludge is with a pond vacuum.
A pond vacuum
Pond vacuums are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can get one that comes with several attachments that can help you to reach even the hardest to reach spots in your pond. This specifically designed vacuum will allow you to clean the bottom of your lake without having to drain the water. If you have a deep pond, be prepared to spend a little more for a vacuum that has good suction and maybe a telescopic handle if necessary. Basic models are more ideal for smaller ponds as they can lose suction the deeper they go.
If you have a wildlife pond, you should keep the majority of your sludge. Sludge provides nutrients for pond plants and food for insects and microorganisms. If this is the case for you, it would be best that you do not remove the sludge manually and instead add beneficial bacteria, which is laid out in the next step as a means to remove some sludge, not all of it.
Step 2: Beneficial Bacteria Treatment
Now that you have removed surface debris and as much sludge that you need to manually from your pond, your next step is to add some beneficial bacteria to maintain the health and clarity of your water.
There are two types of beneficial bacterial available. Pond sludge removers contain a high concentration of natural bacteria that break down lingering waste in your water. Like the natural bacteria and microorganisms that are already present in your pond, they give your environment a healthy boost to the bacterial population while eliminating as much waste as possible.
As mentioned previously, this is ideal if you have a wildlife pond since you may want to keep the majority of your sludge in order to provide nutrients for your pond plants and feed the microorganisms and insects.
In this case, you can simply add beneficial bacteria, which will enhance the natural nitrogen cycle. Sludge problems tend to occur mostly in ponds that contain fish as they produce ammonia. In addition, too much can cause an imbalance in your water. If you do not have fish, simply adding good bacteria without vacuuming your pond will be a cost-effective way to clean your pond.
Step 3: Algae Control
Though algae is a natural and common occurrence in a healthy pond and provides shelter from predators looking for a tasty goldfish for a snack, it is good to keep algae growth under control. Too many algae can cause problems with water quality and can add to the buildup of sludge.
In the right conditions, algae blooms will occur and can take over your lake. The water does not have to be drained in order to control algae. A UV clarifier will remove algae as it grows. It filters the water and destroys the algae at a cellular level. Additionally, it minimizes the number of dead algae that adds to the sludge layer.
If your basin has a buildup of string algae that connects to the pond floor and does not fit through the UV clarifier, then you will benefit from a pond vacuum.
The natural approach to keeping algae under control is by adding oxygenating plants to your pond. Indeed, your plants compete with algae for the nutrients and will gradually slow the growth of algae over time.
Introducing snails is another natural and effective way to control the growth of algae in your pond. Keep in mind that they reproduce quickly, and an overabundance of snails will start feeding on your pond plants.
The filtration equipment
These are more long term solutions. For a quick fix, a pond vacuum, UV clarifier, even manually removing algae with your hands will suffice without having to drain the water.
Finally, you need to have a pond filtration system. Filtering your lake mechanically aids in removing debris. A habitat that has a healthy biological filtration system will not have issues with water quality. You shouldn’t have to clean the filter unless it were to become clogged. Cleaning your filter will disturb the natural bacteria that are present in the filter box. Over time you may need to replace parts that become damaged, so it is important to keep an eye on your filter.
Adding a water filtration system is vital to ensure the quality of your water. And, it enhances the overall health of your pond. Since it filters small debris, it will help to reduce the need for regular water cleaning.
With the combination of a filtration system, a UV clarifier, a pond skimmer or pond net, and beneficial bacteria treatments, you can ensure the health of your water and its inhabitants. With the addition of the use of a pond vacuum for deep cleanings to remove stubborn algae and sludge, you will have a complete overhaul of your reservoir without having to drain any water.
How Often Do I need To Clean My Pond?
Our experts recommend that you perform a thorough cleaning at the end of the fall. Then, do a lighter cleaning at the onset of spring. If you do not have a pond filtration system, you will need to clean your reservoir more frequently. Plus, the task will require more manual labor.
Performing your major cleaning at the end of fall will ensure your fish will have very minimal waste in their habitat when they move into their winter hibernation. The cleanliness helps in keeping them safer and more comfortable.
This is especially true in colder climates where lakes can freeze over, which causes little to no gas exchanges to occur. In those cases, oxygen levels are reduced, causing harmful substances to slowly rise. Plus, your fish may become sick and die by spring. Therefore, give your water a thorough cleaning at the end of the fall to greatly reduce risks to the health of your fish. Additionally, this cleansing will aid in keeping your pond thriving throughout the year.
As a kick-start to the warmer seasons, though your spring cleaning will not be as big as your fall cleaning, by removing old debris and sludge, you can ensure that your fish have a good start when they emerge from their hibernation period.
The first warm day or late winter or early spring is a good time to do a beneficial bacteria treatment. This will boost your pond’s ecosystem. Thus, it may keep a healthy balance when the waste from your fish increases as they become more active.
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificates in Natural Health and Herbology from accredited programs. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
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