Keeping the Balance of Nature: Pond Water Maintenance

Article by: Brett Fogle

You might be tempted to let Mother Nature, , Daylily 'When My Sweetheart Returns' tend to your backyard pond, and who could blame you? After all, she does a pretty good job of taking care of really big ponds, , Planting Bare Root Roses so why would your backyard ecosystem pose much of a challenge to her?

Unfortunately, the fact is your backyard , Can Robotic Lawnmowers Save the World or at Least You Money? pond is only going to get some cursory attention from Mom; the rest of the work is going to be left up to you.

In the "real world" chlorinated water , Stone Garden Benches doesn't find its way into ponds very often. "Big" pond water , Funniest Pond Stories-Part 1, May 2004 passes through a great many natural filtration and oxygenation systems, and the various fish and flora work together to keep the pond , Patio Swings Spruce Up Your Outdoor Space with Comfort and Style clean and fresh. Our backyard ponds , Rock Gardens - A Different Kind of Garden don't have quite that much help, so here's where you need to step in:

If you are going to keep fish , Park Benches then you absolutely must remove all traces of chlorine from your pond , The Many Faces of a Fence before your favorite Koi , National Home Gardening Club set up housekeeping. Pond , Plants - Your New Roommate fish cannot live in chlorinated water , National Home Gardening Club so don't even try. There are many products , Introduction to Snow Blowers available to remove chlorine quickly, or you can opt for the old-fashioned, natural , Create and Furnish Your Outdoor Room way if you have the time to spend.

If you opt for 'a la natural' then expect to wait about 8 to 10 days for the chlorine to dissipate. You will need to make sure that your pump , Discover the Single Most Important Trick to Overwintering Pond Fish and filter are running and that you have set up an aerating method such as a waterfall , Tips for Choosing a Chiminea for Your Backyard or Patio or "splasher" to bring oxygen into the water. , The Advantages of Both a Liner Pond and a Preformed Pond, Rolled Up Into One Box! Make sure that the pond , Daylily Just Plum Happy is exposed to plenty of sunlight (the natural , Reblooming Poinsettia enemy of chlorine), and use a chlorine testing kit to check the water , Deck Swing Buying and Assembling Tips daily.

Me? I just drop some de-chlorinating product , Reblooming Poinsettia into the pond , Abatement and Congregation of Material and check back the next day.

Even if chlorine is totally removed, you still have nitrite and ammonia to worry about. These two toxic buddies are byproducts of fish waste and can wreak havoc with your Koi's health. After a while Mother Nature , Introduction to Snow Blowers will kick in some help by allowing beneficial bacteria colonies to develop that enjoy eating nitrite and ammonia for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They won't be present in new ponds, , 'Northern Encore' Tree Rose however, unless you buy some bacteria starter kits to kick start the process.

Your garden , Flower Shops pond could become overtaxed, ecologically, if you add too many fish , Sowing an Annual Flower Border too quickly. Start out adding no more than two per week so that the newly introduced bacteria do not get overwhelmed by the waste that will be produced.

Just when you think you've got it all under control that ugly thing called "pH" raises its head. Testing for pH levels is also very important since neither plants , Learn All About Feng Shui Money Trees nor fish , The Advantages of Both a Liner Pond and a Preformed Pond, Rolled Up Into One Box! will survive very long if the pond's pH is out of whack. Your pH test kit should show a reading of between 6.8 and 7.4. You can add the proper chemicals to raise or lower if as neccessary.

Speaking of test kits, get one that will allow you to test the pond's salt levels as well. Unless you're raising baby Sea bass, too much salt is not a good thing.

After your pond , Growing African Violets in Natural Light is fully established, Mother Nature , Garden Makeover On A Budget will lend a bigger hand and you can settle into a routine of testing every three of four weeks unless something serious, such as flooding, has occurred in between.

Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens , 10 Tips to Care for Your Antique Ceramics and several
other pond-related websites including MacArthurWatergardens.com
and Pond-Filters-Online.com. He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 9,000. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive our FREE 'New Pond , Planting Bare Root Roses Owners Guide' visit MacArthur Water Gardens , Sowing an Annual Flower Border today!

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Keeping the Balance of Nature: Pond Water Maintenance

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