The Early Spring Clean Out......
The best time of year to perform your clean out is the early spring, before your pond awakens completely from it's winter dormancy. Ideally, your clean out should take place before your water temperature creeps above 55°F. As long as your water is cooler than 55°F, the beneficial bacteria that grow in your filter and on your rocks will not yet be established. If a clean out is performed after the bacteria colonies form, your ecosystem will be thrown out of whack, and your pond will go through a "green phase" before your bacteria colonies re-establish themselves again.

If your pond was installed by a contractor, they'll almost certainly offer a spring clean out service. So, if you don't want to tackle this project yourself, they'd certainly be able to do it for you. On the other hand, if you've built your water garden yourself, or you're just looking forward to kicking off another pond season yourself, plan on spending a Saturday afternoon to complete this project. Here's what you'll need to get started.....

You'll Need.....

• Kiddie pool (or similar container to hold fish and frogs).
• Fish net.
• 2 five gallon buckets to collect leaves and debris.
• Wading boots or old clothes you don't mind getting dirty.
• Rubber gloves.
• 25' of 1.5 - 2 inch discharge piping.
• Your pump from your skimmer with a makeshift screen of chicken wire or similar material.
• A high pressure nozzle for your garden hose or a power washer.
• Garden shears for trimming plants.

1. To prevent fish from being sucked into the propeller, a sump pump with a screen, or your skimmer pump with chicken wire around it, should be used to drain your pond. Use 1.5 or 2 inch flexible PVC pipe or similar material to discharge the water into the surrounding landscape. Simply relocate the pipe two or three times to allow the water to seep into the ground. (Note: this water is excellent for fertilizing plants) Use some of the pond water to fill the container that will temporarily house the fish.

2. When the water settles down to about 6 inches deep, unplug the pump and net the fish. (Note: don't waste your time trying to catch the fish while the pond is full!) Place your fish in the container alongside your pond. If you have Koi, be sure to cover the container since Koi will jump.

3. Once your fish and critters are in the temporary holding tank, begin hosing down the rocks and gravel.

4. A high-pressure nozzle on your hose, or if you have one, a power washer should be used. Don't try and scrub all the algae away. Some algae on the rocks will prove beneficial in developing your ecosystem. For an average size pond (11' x 16') this should take around 15 minutes.

5. The most time consuming part of your clean out will be simply washing off, and removing debris from your rocks and gravel. Do not use a power spray to do this. Use the water coming directly out of your hose to wash the gravel.
Also, keep your pump plugged in while you're doing this. Sediment trapped in the gravel will be channeled to the deepest point, and sucked out by your pump. Clean the top shelves first, and work your way down to the center of your pond. When the water starts clearing up around the pump, you're done. This whole process should take about half an hour.

6. Clean out the skimmer box by sucking out the water, and hosing it down. Also, make sure to clean out the net and filter pad as well.

7 & 8. You are now ready to clean your BIOFALLS®, mats, and bags of lava rock. Simply hose these down until they're clear (15 minutes).

9. Now that most of the algae's removed, and the gravel is clear, remove the pump and begin filling the pond. You're clean out is now done, and your pond is prepared to run on its own for another year.
You still need to put your fish and critters back into your pond though. Once your pond is half full you can prepare to reintroduce your fish and plants.

10. If you're on city water, it's imperative that you add de-chlor to neutralize the chlorine in the water. Introducing your fish before adding de-chlor will result in their death. City tap water is safe for humans to drink, but not fish. Read the directions on the label, and add the appropriate amount.
Dip your five gallon buckets into your holding tank and fill them with a few inches of water. Add your fish into the buckets and float the bucket in the new water.

11. After approximately fifteen minutes, periodically begin splashing pond water into the bucket. By now the temperatures of the pond and the bucket water should be close to the same. You're now ready to spill your fish back into their spring cleaned home.
Note: Spring clean outs should be performed start to finish on the same day. Fish should not be left outside the pond in a holding container in full sun or longer than a few hours. Fish are weak in the spring and after a long winter. But they'll do just fine if you limit the stress of a clean out, by following the steps listed here in a timely fashion.

Once your spring clean out is done, your ecosystem will kick in and provide you with a low maintenance water feature to enjoy for the rest of the year.

© 2001 Pond Guy Publications™