How do I go about cleaning my garden pond?

Question

I have an artificial pond in my back garden.
There are 4 frogs in it and lots of spawn.
It is littered with leaves etc.
How do I go about putting clean water in it?

Answer 1

I have 2, and I haven't cleaned them for 2 years. I won't destroy the ecosystem I have built up. What I do is cover them, in the fall, to prevent leaves. Even though I do this, I still get leaves. In the spring I just scoop out the leaves that have fallen over the winter. There are many enzymes out there that will decompose what you don't get. If you really want to clean it, pump out about 1/3 of the water. Make sure you pump from the bottom. This will get a lot of the sludge. Fill it back up and see if that works. If you're still not happy, wait another week or 2, and repeat.

Answer 2

We have often had this trouble at home. We used to get lots of algae, mosquito larvae and tadpoles in our pool when we left it for long times without putting chemicals in. There are some ways to clean it.

You could put chemicals in, it would help clean the water. However, it's a pond, so there probably isn't any circulation system installed. What we used to do is hire a hydro pump (one that you put in the water to drain out all the water) and leave that going for a few hours until all the water was drained.

My suggestion: Get a net and get rid of all the leaves floating at the top of the pool. Next, take all the frogs out (if you're very conscientious, make a nice little home for them :P). Make sure that the pond is free of big objects. Then, go to a hardware hire store and ask for an underwater vacuum pump. Chuck that in the bottom of the pond, and turn it on.

Once the pond is mostly drained, bucket out the last of the water. If the pond walls are really dirty and full of algae, get a high pressure hose (Gerni) and clean off the walls. Then, after that, just fill up the pool with a couple of hoses.

PS: If you can't be f...ed hiring a pump, and you're a very patient man/woman, try syphoning out the pond water through as many hoses as you can find. Beware though, the water won't taste good ;)

Good luck mate

Jez.

Answer 3

***********NOTE*****************
Before you go and rent a pump to empty your pond check out other ways of cleaning.

Places like below rent electric vacs for pond cleaning. You should always empty part of your pond every year or other year to add fresh water
http://www.pondmarket.com/plants.htm
http://pondmarket.com/catalog_ebook.htm
PondMarket.com E-Book Download

The Splash : Our Popular Newsletter
http://www.pondmarket.com/on-line_news_letter.htm
PS sign up for free monthly online news letter they have lots of sales and water garden tips.
.................OR ............................
You can buy one like the one below.
But shop around first....I paid$279 rather than $500...
http://www.pondsonline.com/pondovac.htm
***********Or one like this***************
................Selection of 2 choices
http://www.pondmarket.com/store/index.cfm/fuseaction/category.display/category_id/11/index.cfm

http://www.azponds.com/pondovac.html
Laguna Pond Vac provides a fast and convenient way to clean your pond. The vacuum is powered by water and does not require electricity. Simply attach it to a garden hose and the control valve allows you to adjust the water flowing through the vacuum. The kit includes a Power Vac attachment which collects dirt and debris at the bottom of the pond and a Hydro Brush attachment for scrubbing and cleaning. The kit comes complete with a filter bag and an extension pole.
Model Name Laguna Pond Vac
Application Pond Vac
Shipping FREE!
Price $34.95
.............Always use this .....................
To break down sludge and crystal clear your water................
http://www.watergarden.org/s.nl/it.A/id.197/.f?sc=2&category=5

Answer 4

Use a powerful filtration equipment, sparkling the filters out a minimum of weekly, skim the the ideal option for debri (occasion, leaves, twigs). Goldfish are grimy fish so which you would be busy cleansing each and every of the time. I even have stumbled on that draining your pond bi-weekly facilitates and keeps a relentless bypass of unpolluted to the pond!