HOW TO PREPARE YOUR POND FOR SPRING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Spring is around the corner, what can you do to prepare your pond for spring? How can you make the summer months more enjoyable for you as a pond owner and insure your pond will provide a healthy ecosystem for your aquatic inhabitants? 

As the weather warms, the grass grows and the birds chirp, your pond begins to awaken from its cold winter nap.  The fish begin to become more active, the plants start to sprout and will soon be bursting with color, attracting insects, birds and other critters which will make your pond part of their daily routine. If you missed our information on whether or not your pond is ready for winter. Stick around for a bit and see how you can prepare your pond for spring. 

Here are FIVE tips that will help prepare your pond for spring.

1. Trim and remove any residual plant material that may have been missed from the fall trimming.

If you do not trim or remove over growth or dead plant material will eventually make its way into the pond and decompose. Once this plant material begins to decompose it releases its nutrients into the water column. This is the pond equivalent to dumping fertilizer into the water and watching the algae grow. Plant growth is often over looked until it is causing some sort of problem, such as water loss, liner damage, or simply crowding the fish out of the water. Regular maintenance of not only the pond, but the plant material is key to keeping your pond in check. 

2. Stay on top of leaf matter in the pond.

Fall and winter here in So-Cal is the time when the leaves fall, often for several months, which can be time consuming to remove from your pond…. EVERY DAY! If leaves and debris are removed daily it will pay off. Removing leaf matter daily will prevent the leaves from falling to the bottom of the pond which at this point have already started to release their nutrients into the water column.These nutrients will help provide nutrients for the algae in the spring. 

3. Reduce or stop feeding fish.

Once the water temperature drops below 60 degrees, we encourage you to completely stop feeding your fish. As the water cools, the fishes metabolism greatly slows down. As this happens the fish do not need the heavy protein and vitamin rich food they consume so happily during the warm spring and summer months. Excessive feeding can foul the water quality, and even lead to fish sickness. If you like to learn more, please read our winter feeding blog.

4. Water changes.

Water quality is a top priority with ponds but somehow often over looked. If the water is clear and you can see the bottom, the water quality must be good right…..WRONG! Just because the water may appear clear does not necessarily mean the water quality is good.

Cleaning your filter and performing a water change each week is key to keeping your water quality in check. Changing a portion of the water every week works wonders for overall quality of the pond. Water changes will encourage rapid growth in your fish. 

5. Have a plan.

Make sure you know what your pond requires in the warmer months. Will the filter need weekly or monthly cleaning? Will the plants quickly consume the pond and need to be trimmed out more often than not? Do you have all the dry goods your pond requires, such as bacteria and dechlorinator?

With these tips we hope you have some knowledge on how to prepare your pond for spring and help ensure you have an enjoyable pond season. If you have any questions or would like some more information on how to properly care for your pond please comment or use the contact form to send us an email. 

Leave the regular maintenance up to us.