Koi Pond Maintenance How To’s And More You’ll Want To Know
Find Out How A Professional Pond Company Should Maintain Your Koi Pond In Des Moines
Koi pond maintenance involves cleaning skimmers, full cleanings, proper fish care, and more. Some you can do while others need an expert.
Find out more about them below-
It’s In Our Best Interests
Angela looks over at him overtop her coffee mug. “I know we need to do that once a week, but we definitely need more than just that. As for what, though, I don’t know.”
Adam sighs. “Well, guess we really should find out. How good our pond looks will determine how good our home looks in general. Don’t want a giant eyesore in our backyard,” he points out.
Angela nods and picks up her phone. “Then let’s look up how to do koi pond maintenance. We’ll be able to keep our pond looking and working at its best, then.” She starts typing furiously on Google Search.
After searching, here is what Angela finds and shows to Adam:
Koi Pond Maintenance
Koi pond maintenance involves occasional cleaning by the owner, at least 3 full cleanings yearly, and taking care of the fish and water quality. Many people choose to do three yearly cleanings in the spring, fall, and winter. They help prepare your pond for the coming season.
Nick walks you through some of what we do for fall cleaning in the video below:
Maintenance Owners Can Do
There are some tasks you can take care of yourself.
Cleaning out the skimmers at least once a week can help your pond a lot. These skimmers catch leaves, sticks, and such. Left alone, they’ll clog the skimmer and start breaking down in your pond. Your water will turn nasty and algae will start taking over.
If that’s not the reason your pond water is dirty, you can try one of the 5 methods for clearing pond water.
As part of koi pond maintenance, you’ll want to be on the lookout for algae. Algae forms because the water quality is dropping. There are a few different types of algae, but there are 5 ways you can control algae growth.
Maintaining a koi pond also means caring for your fish. What you feed your koi fish is important. If you have an ecosystem pond you don’t need to feed them because they can find food in the pond. If you do feed them, you’ll want to know what you can and can’t feed koi fish.
A popular question is what to do with pond fish in the winter. Depending on your pond you might not have to do too much. You might also have to set up a tub and put them in your garage with a heater.
If your water level drops and keeps dropping, you may have a pond leak. Some you can fix yourself if you know how to fix a pond leak. Otherwise, you’ll need a professional.
Spring, Fall, And Winter Koi Pond Maintenance
- Initial inspection
- Drain pond
- Remove any fish
- Power wash and flush pond sides, bottom, and filters
- Plant care
- Rock placement
- Put it all back together again
- Inspect the pond
- Fill tubs with water and dechlorinate it
- Drain pond halfway
- Remove debris
- Fix edges if they’re settling
- Clean individual parts
- Care for plants
- Check lights and reset transformer (if needed)
- Refill pond
Winter koi pond maintenance is very important. It can be the difference between healthy and disgusting for your pond and your fish. Anything left in the pond before it freezes will break down. It turns into sludge and sits on the bottom.
The winter maintenance process is all about setting up your fish and pond to minimize this. Here are the steps for it:
- Stop feeding fish unless using cold water food
- Remove leaves and debris
- Trim aquatic plants
- Add cold water bacteria
- Clean and remove pump, filter, and skimmers
- Install aerator/recirculating pump
- Add floating de-icer