Spring Start Up -- Time to Get Going!

Your Guide for Early Spring Pond Clean Up

If your pond looks anything like the photo above,

or maybe this photo. You're in good company. Last fall the cold, snowy weather hit early and fast and we still had clients ponds to take care of and some other folks that wanted some late season ponds built (thank you very much).  So some clean up that we would normally do around our store just didn't happen. These photos show the results. Having a pond iced over for so long during the winter doesn't help either.  It seems string algae really likes the insulation of the ice and grows like crazy!

So what do we do now with these ponds that look awful? Here are the steps we will be taking...

Make sure the area around the pond is cleaned up.

It will do no good to clean up the water feature if there are leaves piled up all around it. Before touching the pond, clean up all the leaves and any other winter debris on the outside of the water feature first. If you normally mulch around your pond you can go ahead and do that also. Mulching will keep any bare dirt around the pond from washing in, which could cloud the water. Keep this in mind -- never use any dyed mulch around the pond. Dyed mulch is a recipe for brown, cloudy water -- not good. We use and recommend Forest Fines Hardwood Bark Mulch produced by Greendell Landscape Solutions in Mooresville. You can also find it at Rosie's Gardens on North College in Indy, Musselman Landscape Solutions in Noblesville, and Court's Yard on West Epler on the south side of Indy.

Clean the water feature if you are able.

Once you have the outside of the water feature cleaned up, if your water feature looks anything like the photos above, the best solution is a thorough draining and cleaning. Get all the gunk out. Do not power wash. Read more about power washing here. You can watch our cleaning video here or contact us to clean it for you here.

If you can't clean the pond, there is still hope. Start with netting out the leaves.

Get a sturdy, long-handled net and begin dipping the leaves out of the pond. (Next year make sure to cover the pond with netting.) Get as many of the leaves out as you can. This might take several attempts -- as you stir up the water you might not be able to see what you are doing.

Rake the string algae.(If you have string algae.)

With a child-size plastic rake begin pulling the long strands of string algae out of the pond. Twist the rake as you go to twirl it around and catch it. This is very effective. You can also pull out the algae strands by hand -- use some insulated, water-proof gloves this time of year!

Clean any filters or filter media. Get your pump running and your aerator set for summer.

If you have a waterfall filter or skimmer, get those completely cleaned out. This will require a pump and you will probably have to drain the pond down a bit to get the skimmer cleaned.  For those filters to work their best they need to start clean.  If your aerator was set for winter (air diffusers near the surface of the water) go ahead and drop those diffusers to the bottom to prepare for warmer temperatures. If your pump wasn't running this winter, time to get it cleaned up and plugged in.

By the way, the two water features pictured above are literally right next to each other. All I had to do was turn around to take the second photo. You might be wondering why they look so different? The first photo has no leaves in it but it does have fish. The fish waste from our feeding them supplementally builds up and eventually feeds string algae when the aquatic plants and beneficial enzymes have gone dormant. In the winter, the string algae has no competition. (This pond is also in it's first year so the string algae will just be worse until it "ages" a bit.)

The second photo has lots of leaves. It catches all the leaves blowing from the neighbors to our west before the other pond gets them.  It has no fish in it.  Although it is also in it's first year, it has no fish and the leaves have left tannins in the water. Tannins are natural algae inhibitors. You can see by the color of the water it has tannins. I am in no way advising you to throw some leaves in your pond or go without fish!  Just an explanation of the circumstances.

Now is the time to start adding BioClear and Clean and Remove Away Plus.

Regardless of whether you clean your pond or try the "net and rake method" described above, all ponds should start receiving BioClear and Clean and Remove Away Plus now, before the warmth of spring. As long as the water is 50 degrees or above, these products will work. Please don't wait and find yourself playing catchup later.  If you haven't used these products, they are amazing.  These treatments are for ponds.  If you have a water feature that is a pond-free or pondless waterfall or a bubbling rock feature, check out this maintenance article here.

I've used these photos before, but these are from our pond at home. We don't clean our pond because it's just too big, but we keep a good treatment regimen. The first photo, where you can see the pond is filled with string algae, was taken a few years ago in March right before we began using BioClear and Clean and Remove Away Plus for the season. The second photo is from May of the same year. We didn't rake out the algae or clean it in any way. We simply added the products every week. I'm still so excited that these products work so well!  They make owning a pond so much easier!

Get Cool Ponds' Recommended Spring Water Treatments Here

So those are the steps you should take in March.

In April we will talk about your aquatic plants.

Now get out there and start cleaning!

Thanks for reading.

Happy Spring!