These monthly pond tips are only a guide for pondkeepers living in Southern England, and are based on historical experience of the seasonal changes that affect outdoor fishponds. Now that the Seasons appear to be adjusting, possibly as a result of climate change, it is difficult to know whether our past experiences will still be applicable for a given month, and therefore you use the following Pond Tips entirely at your own risk.
POND TIPS FOR MARCH
By this month you should have completed any winter repairs or maintenance to or around your pond. If the water is cloudy, this is due to sediment being stirred up by either the fish or frogs and toads becoming more active. What you need to try to do is get the sediment from the pond bottom into the filter. (After all, that is one reason for having a filter.) There are several ways to stop this happening each Spring, or at least improve the water clarity.
The first and possibly the best is to fit a bottom drain. However, this can only be done at the construction stage. So if you plan to upgrade or build a new pond, I would recommend a bottom drain and 4 inch pipework.
If that is not practical or possible, then how about a pump that 'chomps up' the muck and debris and pumps it in to your filter. One or two of the Eastbourne Pondkeeping club members use an Aquamax. They are not cheap but they don't use a lot of electricity to run.
Finally a very fine mesh net slowly pulled around the bottom will get rid of a lot of sediment. This will need to be done several times to have any effect. After each session, you will also need to leave a few days to let the remaining sediment resettle.
POND TIPS FOR APRIL
Check the fish for damage, fungus growths etc, and take the necessary action. Make sure you know what the problem is before you treat for it, as you can do more harm than good, by using any medication. If in any doubt, consult your local aquatic dealer or a pondkeeping club.
As an example, if a fish is jumping or rubbing its body on the sides of the pond, it may look as if it has parasites BUT it could be that the filter is maturing and the pond water has a high level of nitrite.
By using an anti-parasidic treatment you could slow down the filters maturing process thereby increasing the nitrite problem.
Towards the end of April you can divide up large water lilies. Remove the plant from the pond, select sections of the tuber about 6 inches long with a growing point. Cut off and trim back the larger roots to within 1 inch of the tuber. Plant in a large shallow basket or bowl (washing up bowl) using only good garden soil that has NOT been treated with any chemicals or, alternatively, aquatic soil bought from your local aquatic dealer. Half bury the tuber. Put gravel over the soil and if you have large fish cover the gravel with small boulders. Carefully lower the plant back into the pond with just a few inches of water covering it. As the lily leaves reach the surface lower the basket down a few inches at a time until it's at the right depth.
Last but not least, take your time feeding your fish. As they come to the surface to eat, observe them carefully to make sure they are swimming ok and that they have no cuts, lumps, etc. As long as the water temperature is stable above 50 degrees F, feed staple food plus titbits such as earthworms, daphnia, lettuce and peas.
Remember only feed what they will eat in a few minutes. Don't leave uneaten food in the pond as this will decompose and eventually pollute the pond.
POND TIPS FOR MAY
This is the month when the water temperature rises above 60°F and the goldfish will start to spawn if the conditions are right. They will use up a lot of energy doing 'what comes naturally', so you will need to feed them well with high protein fish food. Some people also suggest that they will enjoy eating boiled peas, lettuce and prawns, so why not experiment a bit. Remember, most fish are omnivorous, so they will eat what you eat to a certain degree.
Test the pondwater using recommended Test Kits for ammonia, pH and nitrite. Each kit usually contains details of the ideal readings for a safe, healthy pond environment, but if not, get a specialist book which explains the methodology.
If you have water lily in your pond, it is not too late to take any cuttings you want. Oxygenating plants that have gone rampant will also need cutting back, and breaking up if too large for your pond. Don't throw them away if you have too many, but seek out other pondowners who may be glad of some free plants. When plants have finished flowering they can be trimmed back or divided. For irises, let the seed heads dry on the plant and collect them later in the year and plant them. Finally, keep the filter running all the time and don't be tempted to turn it off at night to save a bob or two. Also, don't clean the filter media unless it gets blocked ~ but if necessary, only use pond water to clean it. One way to do this is to fit a drain plug to the bottom of the filter tank, then you can open this and pour a few buckets of pondwater into the top of the filter to back-flush. This method will ensure that the biological action of the filter is not disturbed significantly.
POND TIPS FOR JUNE
Your pond water should look reasonably clear by now providing you have not been turning your filter on and off. However, don't expect your water to be crystal clear at this time of year, as there will be a lot of growing and developing organisms in the pond, which is a healthy sign.
Goldfish, Tench and Orfe should have bred by now if they are mature and the pond conditions are right. As the pondwater temperature rises to the upper 60°F, any Koi in your pond should start to spawn and if you think that the other fish made a mess of your plants, just wait and see what randy koi can do! Fish will often jump without warning, especially in the late afternoon and evening. They are out to catch gnats, flies and various other insects that land on the waters surface ~ but it could also signify that you have a parasite or water quality problem. Feeding time is a good time to observe the fish for any problems, and time spent watching them after offering them food is time well spent. There are several approaches to feeding patterns, and your personal circumstances may well dictate how and when you feed your fish. If you are out at work all day, it is obvious that you cannot feed them little and often. In this scenario, you will probably have little choice than to feed them just ONCE per day. Whether you do that before you leave for work or when you return, depends entirely on your work schedule, but I prefer to feed them ONCE a day in the morning, so as to let their bodies have sufficient time to digest the food before nightfall. The important thing with feeding times is to decide when you intend feeding them and stick to that same time of day religously. By all means offer them additional titbits later in the day if you are around, but whatever you do, DO NOT leave uneaten food in the pond for more than about 20 minutes or so. At this time of year, you may also need to introduce additional air into the pondwater day and night. If you have large fish such as Koi in your pond, they require lots of oxygenated water and the easiest way to achieve this is to install an Air Pump and run it 24/7. Other alternatives would be an ornamental fountain or even just letting the returning water from your filter splash on to the pond surface. Finally, when it is necessary to top up the water level in the pond, use ordinary tap water and let it spray onto the pond surface.
POND TIPS FOR JULY
As the sun - when it comes out - is likely to be fierce at this time of the year, you need to consider providing some shade to the pond if your fish are to avoid suffering from sunburn. The easiest way to do this is to grow water lilies. The aim must be to cover just over 1/4 of the waters surface with lily leaves. There are many varieties and therefore sizes of lily leaves. If you have large fish you will need a fast growing one because Koi and the other fish all nibble the leaves, and new leaves need to grow quickly to replace them. Some lilies produce scented flowers, but you may not be able to get near enough to smell them, so don't limit yourself to those.
Keep feeding the fish plenty of hi-protein fish food. Follow the manufacturers instructions so as not to over-feed your fish and cause polllution in the pond. Remember you can give your fish additional titbits - even lettuce, dog biscuits and washed baked beans has been suggested by some pond owners ~ just remember to remove uneaten food quickly if it is still there after 15 minutes. Air is very important when the water temperature is high. Don't be misled by thinking that just because you have installed lots of oxygenating plants that you do not need an air pump. Nothing could be farther from the truth. During the day the plants make oxygen but at night they absorb oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. The larger the fish, the more oxygen it needs to survive. If there is a shortage of oxygen in the water, it will always be the largest fish that suffer and/or die first. By now, your fish should have bred and if so,you may have a few baby fish hiding in the plants. Don't be tempted to try and catch them to rear inside your home. Once they get about an inch long, they are relatively safe in the pond. Finally, never turn the filter off, especially at night. However, if this should be necessary for some reason, and the filter is off for more than an hour, you will need to completely clean the filter making sure that none of the dirty water gets back into the pond water. When the filter is restarted, you will need to add bacteria to kick start the filtration action again.
POND TIPS FOR AUGUST until end of SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
This is a time for relaxation and watching the fish whilst sitting in your favourite garden chair with friends and family around and a drink in your hand.
But there are still things to do around the pond and the most likely will be a top-up of the pondwater. If you have a gravity fed filtration system installed with a venturi on the return, you must keep an eye on the water levels to ensure filtered water is continually being pumped around the system. Aeration is also likely to be critical at this time, so get as much air into the water as possible. Depending on your style of pond, you may be able to introduce a waterfall which will assist the transfer of air to the water. Another way is to have a fountain installed or a venturi fitted on the outlet of the return pipework; alternatively install an air pump connected to a number of airstones located in the pond itself as well as in the filter media. Good quality air pumps don't come cheap, but they are my preferred method of introducing additional air to the pond water. The biggest hastle, however, is likely to be Blanket Weed which seems to grow extremely quickly at this time of year. Although described as a weed, it is still another plant species, but causes mayhem by choking everything in its path. A number of different ways of combatting this problem have been tried over the years, but none has so far been able to claim 100% result for every type of pond. Whenever I get the problem, I usually use a manual method to pull out this green cotton wool type weed rather than use chemicals or any electronic device.
POND TIPS FOR NOVEMBER
As you have no doubt noticed, at this time of the year your pond water is crystal clear. This is caused by a combination of several things; as the pond water gets colder the growth of algae either slows down or is cut back completely; blanketweed will still grow throughout the winter but usually at a slower rate; the fish also slow down thereby not stirring up or producing so much waste.
Your fish should only be fed wheatgerm fish food or brown bread once the pond water drops below 10°c. If the water temperature drops below 5°c and you think it is likely to stay that way for a while, stop feeding. Don’t be tempted to start feeding again until the temperature rises above 5°c and stays there for several days.
Once the fish have stopped feeding and before the pond water gets too cold it is a good time to cut back any plants and if they are at the waters surface lower them a few inches. This will stop the frost and ice freezing the roots. You can now thoroughly clean the pond (you don’t want the fish laying in muck throughout the winter).
If you’re planning to turn off your filter now is the time, but remember to clean it out and leave it dry ready to turn on in the Spring again when you start to feed the fish again. Your pump should be disconnected from the electricity and removed from the pond. Clean and dry your pump. Any moving parts can be smeared with Vaseline (this stops corrosion and won’t pollute the pond water when it is restarted in the Spring).
If you are planning on leaving your filter and pump running throughout the winter there are several things you can do to get the best from it during the really cold weather. Protect the filter from the winds. This can be as simple as wrapping it in cardboard boxes and covering them in plastic sheeting (black dustbin liners are good for this). Make sure no moving water comes in contact with the cold air by returning water to the pond through a pipe instead of allowing it to cascade down a waterfall. If you’re able, slow the flow of water through your filter (don’t restrict the water from entering the pump, slow it down when it leaves).
Don’t worry about adding air, as cold water holds far more than warm water.
You can now retreat indoors and not be too concerned about the fish in the garden pond, other than ensuring that ice never totally covers the pond. If you are running your filter and pump throughout the winter, even with snow falling, it is unlikely the water will freeze if there is continuous movement at the waters surface. If the pump is removed and the water is not moving, it is best to buy an igloo-type air device that simply floats on the waters surface. Provided you ensure the top is clear for air to enter, the fish will be OK.