Garden ponds require a fair amount of maintenance to keep them looking healthy and protect protect the pond life living inside. Unhealthy ponds can look very murky, dull and dirty so it's definitely worth putting a bit of time in to keep your pond fresh and healthy. Here are 5 tips to help you maintain a healthy looking pond.
1. Monitor Oxygen Levels
Oxygen is one of the most important factors when it comes to keeping your pond healthy. Your fish require oxygen to breathe and it also helps to maintain a healthy pond environment. If your fish are gasping for air at the surface of the pond then this is a sign that their isn't enough oxygen for them. You can do tests to check the oxygen levels in your pond. Adding oxygenating plants, clearing out waste and replenishing water can help.
2. Keep Algae Under Control
Algae can become very frustrating and have devastating effects on pond life. If you want your pond to stay healthy then there are a few things you need to do to control algae levels. Use a good mixture of plants and clear any excess algae and you can also buy algae minimising products online. Another way to keep algae under control is to minimise the amount of sunlight that it is exposed to, you can do this by adding lilies and plants and building your pond in an area with some shade.
3. Fish Food
In order for your pond to stay healthy, your fish need to be healthy too. Make sure you feed them regularly with high quality fish food. Check the label to see how much you should feed them on a daily basis. Overfeeding is a very common problem with pond owners. Overfeeding your fish can block the filter and produce excess waste. Most pond owners will feed their fish around once a day. If you don't know how much to give them then a good judge is an amount they can consume within 5 minutes.
4. Clean Regularly
Check your pond regularly for any decaying plants or weeds as these can produce chemicals that are harmful to the fish. They also don't look very nice and ruin the beauty of your pond. Pull them out of the pond or use a fishing net to grab some of the plants that have fallen right to the bottom, but be careful not to catch any pond life in your net.
5. A Healthy Mix Of Plants & Pond Life
Plants are very important to the habitat of a pond, try and get a wide variation of plants including surface plants such as lilies and submerged plants. Plants also help to provide shelter for pond life such as frogs and fish, who can hide away from predators. A nice mix of plants will also look your pond look healthy, lush and full of life.