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Going Beyond a Filter: How to Thoroughly Clean Your Garden Pond

Northern Virginia Garden Tips

Cleaning your Northern Virginia garden pond not only keeps it beautiful, but ensures it stays healthy. Stagnant water and pond scum is never pleasant to look at, and it's the one of the quickest ways to kill any fish or water plants living in your pond. Filtration systems are a popular method of keeping your garden pond healthy by ridding your water of debris, fish waste and rotting plant material that can become toxic. However, emptying your pond and giving it a complete overall clean - which includes removing all plants, water and fish - is often an essential part of effective garden pond maintenance. It also provides a chance to inspect the integrity of your pond and make sure there are no cracks or tears in its structure.

Most pond owners choose to clean out their garden ponds in mid to late fall, after the majority of leaves have fallen. Dredging your pond in the fall allows you to rid the pond of any toxins that have built up over the summer that can possibly multiply to critical levels if the pond ices over. Gather the following materials before cleaning out your pond:

• Large bucket
• Milk crates
• Fish net
• Trash bags
• Plastic bags
• Solids handling pump with attached long hose
• Wet/dry vacuum cleaner
• Boots or waders and old clothes

First, transfer some pond water into the bucket; if your pond has a sump, small fountain, or other accessory, remove it and place it in a milk crate. Plug in your pond's pump using a ground fault interrupt (GFI) plug or extension to protect yourself against shocks. Make sure you keep the ends of the cords out of the pond water. As the water is pumped out, remove the plants and clean off any dead plant matter or debris. Temporarily place the plants you wish to keep in the milk crate.

Now comes the exciting part - netting your fish! Place them in the bucket containing some of the original pond water. Now, wet vacuum the bottom of the pond, rinse it with your hose, and then wet vacuum again until the water is clear. If you don't own a wet vacuum, or choose not to use own, scrub the pond with a soft sponge or brush, taking special care not to tear any flexible liners. Make sure you also clean off the sides of the pond and then remove the debris, fish excrement, and pond scum into the empty milk crate, which will allow the dirty water to drain out before you dispose of the debris. Feel free to use the debris as compost material, or simply put it in trash bags and throw away.

Once the debris and scum is out of the pond, place the clean plants back in the pond, run new water into the pond, and insert the dechlorinator. When the pond is half full with new water, place your fish in plastic bags, tie the tops closed, and float the bags in the water, allowing the old water temperature and new water temperature to equalize. Carefully release the fish into the new water in no more than 15 minutes after placing them in the plastic bags and continue to fill the pond with new water until full. Once the pond is full, re-plug any waterfalls or accessories. Voila, your annual cleaning is done, and you now have a clean, healthy pond!

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Green Acres Landscaping is a full service landscape design company, serving both residential and commercial clients in the Northern Virginia area since 1992. Our experienced team is ready to help you with any landscaping project, large or small.

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