How to Maintain a Pond in Hot Weather

You can maintain a pond in hot weather

As the summer heats up, so does the water temperature of a pond. Heat will affect both fish and plants, and it will spur the growth of algae, so it is important to keep up with maintenance to keep your pond healthy and beautiful. Regular maintenance will avoid the major work of dealing with big problems. Here are some tips on how to maintain a pond in hot weather.

Instructions

1. The first step to keeping a pond healthy in hot summer weather is to make maintenance into a daily habit. Check the pipes, plants, fish and water level regularly. Look at leaf traps and make sure filters don't clog. A daily check means if something should go wrong, like a filter clogs or a pump burns out, your fish will become ill. Catch problems early before they compound.

2. Keep about 75 percent of the water surface shaded by plants if your pond is exposed to hot, bright sunshine. Plants will help cool the water, shade fish and reduce algae growth. Keep algae, especially string algae, removed. String algae can grow quickly and clog up a pond very fast in summer heat.

3. Feed fish lightly in the morning. Sufficient food is usually delivered naturally into the water by Mother Nature, so any feeding you do for your fish is supplemental. You are more likely to cause damage from overfeeding than from underfeeding. Uneaten food can pollute water and it will decay faster in warm water than in cool. For this same reason it is important to remove dying leaves and spent flowers before they rot in the water.

4. Oxygen is vital for good fish health and adequate aeration will keep water better oxygenated, especially when temperatures rise. You may need to add a pond aeration fountain or bubbler if your water lies too quietly in hot weather.

5. Regularly inspect your pond to help identify problems early. This will keep your pond tended and aerated. Making sure the water stays clean is the best way to maintain a pond in hot weather.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish