Welcome Back, Spring
Welcome spring! Although there’s still a nip in the air, Spring is on its way which means it’s crucial to take care of your pond or water feature correctly in order for it to prosper during the spring and summer months. Here we will share a few tips in case you forgot over the winter on how to open and properly maintain your water garden.
To start, ponds should be drained and cleaned minimally every other year. During the cleaning process is a good time to fix any rock that has moved out of place, remove any over grown roots of plants or even add a fish tunnel for your finned friends. If this year you did not drain your pond and are waiting for Action to do so, make sure that any leftover debris such as leaves, dead plants, etc. is skimmed out of your pond and any dead plants are trimmed back. Any unwanted dead plants will create methane underneath the surface and will also make your pond water look brown and murky. Now is also the time to fertilize your plants as they will soon, if not already, start to bud new growth. Make sure you add one to two tabs of our Pond Plant Fertilizer in a small pocket in the ground next to the plant and then cover up with soil. Also if you have any dead fish/frogs or other animals floating around make sure you dispose of those properly as well. If there is a lot of algae and sludge buildup then we recommend using Aquascape’s Sludge and Filter Cleaner. Sludge and Filter Cleaner has a combination of natural cleaners that help to maintain a strong biological balance in your pond while quickly cleaning between rocks and gravel and keeps filter pads from becoming quickly clogged. It is also recommended to add Cold Water Beneficial Bacteria to your water feature at this time. CW Beneficial Bacteria works best at temperatures below 50F by reducing organic material as well as ammonia, nitrate, and excess nutrients known to cause cloudiness and poor water conditions for plants and fish.
Speaking of your finned friends, it is definitely a plus to salt your water once you start to open your pond back up. Salting your water helps prevent any unwanted parasites or diseases your fish can get as the water starts to warm up while restoring their slime coat. Slime coats literally are a slimy-like layer on fish that protect the little creatures from infections. Once your water starts to get a bit warmer, about 53-64F, you can start feeding your fish Premium Cold Water Fish Food but no more than once every other day. Once the water temperature is consistently warm (about 65F and above) then you may feed your fish regular fish food or Aquascape's Premium Color Enhancing Fish Food once or twice a day.
If you own a fountain and/or spitter first drain the basin and clear out any muck or debris that is inside. Once all that is taken care of, fill your basin with fresh water and enjoy the lovely, calming sound of that fountain once again.
If you are not comfortable doing any of this on your own, please feel free to fill out a spring maintenance form attached in this newsletter or directly on our homepage of our website and mail or fax it to us at Action Water Gardens, Inc. 47 Hartford Turnpike, Tolland, CT 06084, (860)872-3790. We’d be happy to come by!