POND MAINTENANCE

Why do ponds and water features need to be cleaned?

Water features in the landscape build up organic materials and detritus over time by biological processes and wind transport.  Fish food, sun light, dust and whatever else gets into the pond all add to the load of the ponds biological system. Materials can remain suspended in the water or settle to the bottom.  When materials settle to the bottom they often fill in the gravel with organics leading to decay of these materials and if there are enough present anaerobic conditions at the bottom of the water feature. These processes release chemicals which usually pushes the ponds natural system out of “balance. The typical manifestation is a over abundance of algae or generally cloudy water conditions.  Long story short we clean the ponds to remove the gunk contributing to an unhealthy system. 

Some companies will try to vacuum ponds but we have found that unless you remove most of the water and really work the bottom over little benefit is gained. Therefore our process is to remove as much of the water as necessary to get the result you and I are looking for. Sometimes ponds only have a short term accumulation of leaves and the like and only require small water reduction and a lot of netting to remove the organics. If materials have degraded more it requires more a significant pump down.  We put aerators in large tanks to house fish during this process.  We then clean the pond, pumps, skimmers, biofilters and anything else that may have build up in it. Typically we do not use pressure washers as this short cut can damage the liner. After the dirty job is done we refill, dechlorinate the water and run the feature to oxygenate the water. The final step is to equilibrate temperatures and water quality between holding tanks and the pond to avoid shocking the fish from reintroduction. We have yet to link any fish loss to this cleaning system.

We also clean fountains and more ornamental water features.  This process is more like cleaning a typical pool, with brushes, cleaning agents and pressure washers etc. 

WINTERIZING PONDS

There are two options for winterizing ponds. 1) Do nothing. And 2) what is typically called winterizing:  remove the pump, drain all lines and install a pond heater or aerator for the duration of the winter.

1)      Do nothing.

For the do nothing option the big danger is robbing the pump of water and burning the pump up. When this happens water can also remain trapped in the lines and freeze.  Freezing water expands and usually ends up rupturing the lines.   Leaving the feature running is definitely a dangerous option, which is not to say that many people don’t do it. They do. The trick is keeping up with water loss due to freezing and evaporation. All those beautiful ice structures that form is water not getting to the pump. These structures can also lead to water being pushed out of the water courses. Frozen surfaces can also keep water from making it to the intake. Often we will ad small floating heaters near the intake to the pumps to make sure water can make it to the pump.  The bummer in the winter is that auto fills are shut down and hoses are usually frozen, not to mention its cold. If you choose this option keep a hose in the garage and don’t be scared to get your boots on. Typically features need water once a week so it’s not a horrible chore, just be sure not to forget the water is running or you may end up with a skating rink. And Please don’t walk on frozen ponds, hypothermia stinks.

2)      Winterize

For the winterize option, pumps are typically removed and placed in the garage.  Submersible pumps should sit in a bath of water so the seals don’t dry out.  If this is too much trouble pumps can be pushed to the deepest part of the pond if you are sure that no ice will penetrate to that depth.  Just like with pipes you don’t want freezing water anywhere near pumps.  If there are check valves on the return line make sure they are removed or that the water they are trapping in the line has been cleared.  Clear all lines. If they have non-drainable sections then use a big shop vac.  If centrifugal pumps can not be pulled then make sure drain plug on impeller housing is removed and carefully stored for the winter. We recommend keeping the drain plugs off or at least very loose so any water that might sneak back into the pump housing can drain.  Once pumps and lines are taken care of one must figure out how to keep a hole the ice so that the fish don’t suffocate.  You can use a floating tank heater or an air stone. Sometimes we use both, an air stone under the heater keeps a larger section open.

2.1)            Concrete fountains that are not either heated and covered or heated with a frost free fill line should be completely drained for the winter. Pumps, filters, lines, etc.  Sump pumps in vault rooms should remain connected, with floats active. Measures should be taken to keep water from freezing in sump lines.

We happily provide the above services if you need and can store your pumps for the winter if you don’t have room.