“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…” There are some things we think you should do for your pond in summertime.
Number one is to provide as much aeration as possible. Think about adding an aerator or if you already have one running less than all day, leave it run 24/7 this time of year. They are relative-ly inexpensive and cheap to operate.
Second, provide shade by ei-ther plenty of plants or something external like a sun shade or um-brella. I’ve seen lots of cantile-vered umbrellas that would work great to arch out over your pond and many allow you to swivel them for the moving Sun. Lilies may be the best shade producing plant for your pond as they spread and have large leaves.
Third, good circulation is paramount to keep the water moving and allow the most oxygen transfer to occur. If you have an area that normally doesn’t circulate well, consider a small pump that will just push the water the way you want it to go.
Fourth, filtration is one of the keys to good pond health and never is it more important than during the Summer. As fish become more active they produce more waste and that waste brings on the algae. The mechanical filtration can get stopped up very quickly if you’re not careful and cause the pump to suffer. You’ll be upset if you let a pump burn up because you didn’t clean your filters.
And that leads us to the fifth thing we think is important this time of year...bacteria. Both in your filtration system and in the pond, beneficial bacteria can do you the most good in water temps above 78 degrees. Make sure the biological media in your filtration system is getting plenty of oxygenated, nutrient filled water so they can do their job. Even if your pond has plenty of bacteria and appears balanced, you should add bacteria if you have any muck in the bottom. That bacteria is especially helpful now in reducing muck and you should have two or three months to really take down the load going in to Winter. We treat twice as often this time of year. You certainly don’t want to leave the muck in there all Winter as you’ll have a tough Spring before you can get back in and clean.
Always be humble and kind
~~~Mike
TIPS and TRICKS
It’s nice to be able to get out and enjoy your pond in the evenings or early mornings. Re-member, the dissolved oxygen in the water is at its lowest early in the day and at its highest late in the evening. If you treat with an algaecide, do it later in the day as it will begin to kill algae and the algae will remove oxygen as it dies. Also make certain that you are feeding less than usual so the waste buildup won’t be as great and tax your filtration system. As leaves wilt and die, remove them as quickly as possible to keep them from sinking to the bottom.
Classes SPRING/SUMMER 2019 SCHEDULE
Check the schedule for start times. All classes are free and open to the public. No advance registration required. More classes added each month. One Pond Dollar awarded for each class. Attendees receive a 10% discount on all purchases that day. We train rain or shine in the only indoor pond training facility in the U.S.
July 13, 2019
10:00 am
Managing AlgaeEvery pond has algae. If it’s more than you can handle, come to this class to learn how to manage it better. We’ll go over the reasons you have it and what to do about it so you’ll go home with the tools you need.
August 10, 2019
10:00 am
Waterfalls and StreamsPlanning a waterfall? This is a classroom class all about waterfalls, streams, design, construction, sounds, tricks and tips you need to make a natural looking feature. Whether you are thinking of adding a waterfall to your pond or building one from scratch we’ll talk you through the big issues.
Sept 7, 2019
10:00 am
Pond BuildIn our indoor training area, we’ll start at 10am, go step-by-step and show you how a pond can be built. At noon, we’ll turn on the water and let it flow. All your questions will be an-swered if not, we’ll stay longer.
There is no advanced registration required and we do not charge for our classes. We will have 12 classes each year, 4 pond builds, 4 pondless waterfall classes and 4 that are general in nature and cover everything from startup to shut down, plants fish and algae, your worst enemy, next to a blue heron.
