Open Letter to the New Pond Owner

We hope you are enjoying your water feature as much as we enjoyed building it for you. While your pond is maintained by its own ecosystem, it must remain balanced to function properly in order to keep your maintenance efforts low so that your time can be spent enjoying your pond instead of worrying about it.

Let’s begin with the proper amount of Fish. A healthy water garden has approximately one inch of fish for every 10 gallons of pond water (120 inches = 1200 gallons); assume your fish's maximum size when calculating. The gallon equation is L x D x W x 7.48. Therefore, an 11’x16’ pond that is 2’ deep has approximately 2600 gallons of water and should therefore have 26 ten inch fish.

When we installed your pond, we helped you get started with some aquatic plants. While there is not a formula for pond plants, I like to recommend one plant for every two fish. Although it depends on the size of the plants, thirteen is a good number for our 11’x16’ example. If you are having excess algae, you may not have enough plants – or fish!!

Do Not Over-feed your Fish. This will throw off your pond’s nitrogen cycle by spiking the ammonia nitrate levels. Goldfish DO NOT need to be fed; Koi should only be fed every two or three days and will be fine without being fed if you go on vacation.

Here is a list of common problems, or natural occurrences you may be experiencing, or may experience at some point in the future, and a corresponding list of products to solve your ecosystems’ woes and put it back on the right track.

Dry Aerobic Bacteria or Aqua Clearer Healthy water. To assist breaking down fish waste and should be added approximately once a month once your pond is established and you have exhausted the container we gave you.

Eco-Blast or Algae-Fix Usually because you got off to a late start with your fish, do not have enough fish/plants, or is in constant sunlight in a summer month.

Eco-Foam Away Proteins that get into the pond from soils after heavy rains or after planting etc. cause foam. Eco-Foam Away will handle it.

Eco-Carbon Removes water discoloration from tannins (tea color), reduces odors, organics and is an effective method to remove trace amounts of chlorine and chloramines.

Pond Salt Protects for Parasites. I like to use it, but never overdo it. 1 ½ cups per 100 gallons is sufficient and does not get added again unless the pond is drained from a clean out. Put it in your skimmer, or just in front of it, and allow it to dissolve. Never place Salt directly on plants or too close.

EcoFloc is excellent for clearing cloudy pond water.

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals puts out test kits that check the PH Level, Nitrites, Nitrates, Chloramines, Ammonia.

All this and more can be purchased at Connie's Pond & Koi.

For additional information please see our blog and keep visiting www.jeffersonlandscape.com.