Backyard pond maintenance advice, Property Renewal tips, Online house guide

Backyard pond maintenance tips for homes

30 Mar 2021

A serene backyard pond with lush greenery and exotic fish can be a vision to behold. It can instantly make your surroundings divine and soothing. You can sit there to shake off your stress, fatigue, and negativity. More precisely, it can offer you much-needed relief from everything mundane and demanding, a quintessential part of urban life. But building one is easier than maintaining it. You may believe that you can soak in its beauty without putting in any additional effort or money. But, you have to do a few things from your end to take care of your pond, aquatic life, and more. Here is a quick rundown on this.

Backyard pond at Yorkeys Knob, Queensland, Australia, 2020:

photo : Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Do you have a backyard pond? Here are some maintenance tips

Cleaning

One of the main parts of pond maintenance is cleaning the garden ponds of dirt and debris. You have to remove them as these can be toxic to the ecological balance. You can use a skimmer set to filter out leaves and other light materials. If you notice sludge, you would need a pond vacuum to eliminate it. Make sure you leave a small amount in the pond for algae, though.

Managing and adding plants

Do you have trees in the garden near the water feature? The falling leaves can quickly crowd it. You would need a trap net and a filter mat to cover the pond with these items to prevent this situation. You can secure them with bricks. The leaves will fall into them. You can clean the net from time to time to stop it from slipping from its position due to increasing weight. Besides, you can prune tree branches with a garden shear or a proper tool if you find them looming over the pond. It is necessary to help aquatic plants receive enough light for their health.

When it comes to maintaining a pond, you can do many things apart from cleaning. For example, you may want to plant new things in the early summer for rapid growth. In that case, you can rely on floaters, marshes, lilies, and others. Fertilize them with proper ingredients once in five weeks. If you have animals in the pond, you will want to keep plants healthy as they feed on them. For this, you have to stay away from harmful chemicals and pesticides. Besides, you should trim plants on time to help the water’s surface stay clear of them. If the growth is too dense, you can use a garden rake to eliminate some water plants.

While you clean the water, you must pay attention to the dead plants. If you find them, clean them immediately, as these can spoil water with toxins.

Preventing freezing

During the winter season, icing and freezing become common issues. It can block the water body below from getting adequate oxygen, which can be harmful to aquatics. You can help this situation by applying a de-icer solution on the surface. Or, you can install a heater. Even though you notice ice formation on the surface, you can take the help of a hot pan and melt it. Make sure you don’t apply force. It can ruin your aquatic life.

Suppose it doesn’t work on the ice. In that case, you can leave the wood on the surface to suck in the ice’s pressure and protect the water feature from any damage. Some believe that creating an air hole in the ice can be effective when you float a wood. On the other hand, you can insulate the structure with a cover to block cold air from infiltrating it. PVC materials can be the better option. However, buy only clear ones so that the light can enter the structure.

Checking algae growth

The unchecked growth of anything can be dangerous for a system, and this applies to algae too. Water animals eat them. Hence, you cannot get rid of them. But you have to maintain their balance. Some people use both natural and artificial methods. Adding plants like hyacinth, lettuce, and lilies can take care of the feeding animals while checking micro plants’ growth. As for the other procedure, you can use a garden rake to clear non-flowering plants. Or, you can also use dye to interrupt the passage of sunlight to algae. Some homeowners prefer to use sterilizers or UV water purifiers for this purpose.

Ensuring the proper water level

Hot weather can cause the pond water to evaporate quickly, and this can leave your aquatic life gasping for oxygen. If you see the water has gone down, you should fill it with clean water. Don’t use tap water that can be full of solutes. These can lead to excess algae growth. If you have a garden hose, your job will be easier. Else, you can build a water supply with a filter and valve for this. The pond should contain about three-quarters of water every time.

Taking care of the water temperature

Ice can be the biggest threat in the winter season for your pond. It can affect the water temperature. If it becomes cold, you would need to use the heating system to retain its suitable condition. Similarly, summers can heat the water, which may not be ideal for aquatics. If you notice this, you can add cold water to reduce the heat.

Maintaining and caring for a backyard pond can look like a task. But it doesn’t have to be painful. If you don’t have enough time for all this, you can hire an agency specializing in this area of service. You will have to pay them, but they will take care of everything. Since they know the best solutions for these things, you don’t have to doubt their skills and abilities. At the same time, you will not have to regret that you could not save your beautiful water feature from damage.

If you don’t know any such agency, you can search online for a nearby service provider. You can speak to them and ask questions to understand if they are suitable for this job. The skilled professionals will possess information about the water features and hence, they should be able to satisfy your queries.

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