How To Clean A Pond
Keeping your pond clean and healthy is essential for creating an environment for fish, plants and wildlife to thrive.
A well-balanced pond allows fish and other pond life to flourish by providing clean, healthy water which fosters strong plant growth, which in turn provides increased oxygen, improved water quality and an alternative food source. It can also encourage diverse wildlife, from frogs and birds to insects and other small creatures.
The key to pond health is regular, gentle maintenance rather than infrequent, big clear-outs, which can disrupt this important balance.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to properly clean and care for your pond, step by step, with practical tips and seasonal advice.
Contents
How often should you clean your pond?
Assess the condition of your pond
Key pond cleaning and maintenance jobs by season
How to fully clean out a pond
Common pond cleaning mistakes
How often should you clean your pond?
Pond health is all about balance; over-cleaning can do more harm than good. A complete drain and clear-out are rarely necessary and can disturb the pond’s inhabitants and disrupt the natural balance, which can take years to restore.
Instead, check your pond regularly and perform the necessary maintenance jobs each season or as required.
Assess the condition of your pond
Before cleaning your pond, take some time to assess its condition and look for any common problems.
- Plant overgrowth
- Water quality issues
- Algae build-up
- Pondlife health
Avoid fully draining the pond unless it’s a last resort. Topping up your pond again after draining it can cause even more disturbance to the balance if tap water is used without first adding a dechlorinator.
Learn more about how to dechlorinate tap water.
Key pond cleaning and maintenance jobs by season
Caring for your pond varies by season, with different tasks to ensure a healthy environment throughout the year. The best times for cleaning the pond are early spring and during autumn but there are jobs you can do to maintain your pond all year round.
Spring
Spring is ideal for light cleaning and maintenance after the colder months.
Check the pump: Make sure they’re running smoothly, and follow our guide to troubleshoot any pond pump problems.
Check and clean the filter: We recommend checking and cleaning the filter at least once every 4 weeks during the pond season (April-Sept) and once every 8 weeks out of season for a correctly sized filter. If your filter is incorrectly sized for your pond, it may need to be cleaned more frequently.
Remove debris: Scoop out any leaves and other debris that may have built up over winter.
Prepare your existing plants for the summer: Consider adding specialist aquatic plant food if your plants flowered poorly the previous year.
Add new plants: Spring is the best time to add new pond plants. Learn more about the right pond plants for your pond.
Be careful during reproduction: Avoid cleaning out the pond, or take extra care when fish or other pondlife are reproducing.
Summer
In summer, your primary goal is keeping the pond oxygenated and preventing water loss.
Top up water levels: Water can evaporate quickly in the heat. When adding water from the mains, use a de-chlorinator to protect the pond life.
Cut back excessive plant growth: Keep around a third of the surface of the pond water clear and thin out excessive growth of underwater oxygenating plants.
Keep the water oxygenated: Run a fountain or air pump to keep the water oxygenated.
Remove floating weeds and pond algae: Use a pond net to remove unwanted plants or algae. Leave the plants you’ve scooped out at the side of the pond to allow insects to crawl back into the pond.
Autumn
Autumn is the best time for a more intensive cleaning when aquatic life is less active.
Remove debris: Use a net to remove any dead or dying leaves to prevent decomposing debris from building up in the pond and adversely affecting water quality.
Remove sludge: Remove as much sludge as possible to keep the nitrate level down (higher levels of which can cause algae).
Both small and large ponds can use sludge removal treatments as regular maintenance.
Or, for more in-depth cleaning, use a pond vac to clean the bottom and sides of the pond thoroughly. There’s no need to drain the pond beforehand; the fish can remain in the pond.
Don’t use a pond vac in a wildlife pond in spring when pondlife, like frogs or newts, are reproducing.
Winter
Circulate the water: Use a pump to improve the oxygen levels for fish and amphibians.
Prune overhanging plants: This will ensure light can get into the pond for submerged plants to photosynthesise and replenish oxygen levels in the water.
Prevent ice formation: If your pond freezes over and contains fish, melt some of the ice to prevent oxygen levels from dropping.
Learn more about how to look after your pond in winter.
How to fully clean out a pond
Before fully draining and cleaning your pond, consider whether this is absolutely necessary. A full clean can disrupt the natural ecosystem, which can take several years to recover. It is also very disturbing to fish and other pond inhabitants, causing undue stress, which can result in potential health issues.
If your pond has reached the point where it requires a full clean, follow these steps:
- Prepare holding containers for your fish. Fill suitably sized containers with pondwater and pond plants and place them in a shady spot.
- Drain the pond using a pump.
- Carefully remove fish and plants. As the water level drops, move fish and other aquatic life to the holding containers.
- Scoop out the silt from the bottom of the pond. For thick silt, this can be scooped out manually. Otherwise, using a pond vac will do the trick.
- Clean the pond liner. Use a scrubbing brush or pressure washer to clean the pond liner properly.
- Refill the pond with dechlorinated tap water. Use dechlorinated tap water to refill the pond, placing in plants as you go and gently reintroduce the fish.
Common pond cleaning mistakes
Overcleaning: Excessive cleaning or too much intervention in your pond can upset the natural balance.
Not dechlorinating water: Always treat tap water with dechlorinator when adding it to the pond.
Draining to remove algae or blanketweed: If you don’t change what caused it in the first place, a drain and refill will result in the same problem again in a few weeks. Instead, focus on addressing the underlying cause.
Shop pond treatments, pumps and plants from Pond Planet
Maintaining a healthy pond requires regular but gentle care, allowing nature to handle most of the balance while you assist with seasonal upkeep.
Avoid full clean-outs unless absolutely necessary, as with proper maintenance, your pond can remain a vibrant, thriving feature of your garden for years to come.
Shop pond treatments, pumps, plants and more from Pond Planet to keep your pond in the best condition.
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