How To Maintain Water Gardens
July 29, 2008
Home landscaping has seen the installation of small water gardens or ponds become popular over the years, however all homeowners are not conversant with the fact that to maintain water gardens, one has to do more than fill a tub and toss a few fish in. Garden ponds are prone to excess algae, to prevent which one has to control nutrients, the most common being nitrogen compounds and phosphorus, the main ingredients in lawn fertilizer. The following pond care tips and how to maintain water gardens should help.
Ornamental garden ponds should be installed in such a way that lawn run-off does not drain in to them. As well, use plastic pond liners to prevent nutrients from soaking into the pond from surrounding soil. Planting a buffer strip of plants around the pond will also help to soak up these nutrients.
Introducing fish into a pond often leads to an increase in algae, as fish produce ammonia as a waste product. While, ammonia gets quickly diluted in lakes and rives, however in small ponds, its levels quickly build up and can kill all the fish. As luck would have it, all ponds contain bacteria with the ability to break down ammonia, but the compounds ammonia is broken down into i.e. nitrates proves to be more fertilizer for promoting algae growth.
Algae can be counteracted by introducing rooted plants to absorb the nutrients that otherwise feed algae. These plants cover the water surface preventing algae from growing out of control. Seventy to eighty percent of the water surface should be covered to control algae growth, which means if there are fish in the pond; one won’t be able to see much of them.
Homeowners who want a very low maintenance pond should use floating leaf plants, including adding a water to turn the surface black. This will prevent light and temperature from encouraging algae growth.
Installing a filter system is also recommended, along with water plants to absorb nutrients, as well as, some fish to prevent insect problems. Wherever there are fish, there won’t be mosquitoes, as they can’t co-exist with each other.
It is also important that the pond liner be cleaned out at least once a summer to eliminate waste and other material from building up on the bottom. The water should be changed about 10% per week or 40% every month. If, you use municipal water, remember it is chlorinated and chlorine kills the useful bacteria that help break down ammonia and other compounds. De-chlorinate the water or aerate it before adding it.
In case of an outbreak of algae, remove as much as possible, unclog the filter, and then get professional help. Leaving algae in a pond system will see it competing for oxygen with other plants and fish, and eventually the fish will die. Install a water fountains as they are useful in adding oxygen to the water.
Don’t add wildlife such as snails or fish that feed by filtering food along the bottom, as whatever algae the snails eat will probably offset the amount of waste they produce. As well, filter-feeding fish are extremely difficult to sustain in a man-made environment.
Change 20 to 40% of the water every two to four weeks and filter the pond so that few problems develop. With the onset of winter, drain smaller ponds and leave them clean and empty till spring.
Recent Articles
Kitchen remodeling
A few decisions are involved when one is planning remodeling the design of the kitchen so cooking can be more comfortable in future
Kitchen decorating ideas
Kitchen forms one of the most important rooms of any house. This is the place where we often spend our time with the family and this
Designer Kitchen
The ultimate designer kitchen can mean something different to so many people. It all depends on who you ask on what the definition
Tips For Cleaning Blankets
We always inclined to what other people say. Forget about the myths that we can not clean our blankets. We are scared that home cleaning
How Good Is To Keep Your Child In Boarding School
As life is moving so fast and so is our family changing from house wife to office wife. Working parents have really tough time when it’s about taking care of children
