Pet Help

The number one thing you must do is keep the water clean and keep testing it. You need to test the pH, hardiness, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrite levels. This testing is important to keeping your fish alive.

There is three types of filtration for your pond, mechanical, chemical, and biological. Biological filters come in three different types down flow, up flow and lateral flow. Skimmers pull water from the surface and remove things off the top.

You also need a waterfall or fountain for aeration. This helps provide oxygen to your fish. You can also add a regular pump.

Algae can provide food for your fish. It can also over grow your pond. High nitrate levels and direct sunlight contribute to this. You can us a UV sterilizer to help reduce algae.

Ponds are like new aquariums, they need to be conditioned before adding fish. This can last 4-6 weeks. You can add plants during this time, it will help speed the conditioning up. Test the water so you know when you can safely add your fish

Consider adding an overflow pipe and a bottom drain to your pond. This can save you a lot of problems later on.

Cleaning the pond is critical. You need to remove leaves from the top and vacuum the dirt that collects on the bottom. If you have a bottom drain you can open it to remove dirt too.

Winter time means that you need to keep the pond from totally freezing over. You may have to shut down your filter, but you can buy a pump to help keep water circulating. The pond can also be covered to protect it from debris.

Springtime is when you need to do some cleaning. In the summer you need to monitor the algae and do partial water changes. In the fall you need to remove dead leaves and also dead plants in your pond.