How to Keep Water in a Fish Pond Clean

Keep your pond clear and attractive.

Fish ponds can be lovely additions to any yard and garden space. They are prized in Japanese gardens for their peaceful and reflective use of water to heighten awareness and induce calm. Maintaining a clear and clean pond, however, can prove time-intensive. If you take a natural and moderate approach from the beginning, maintaining the pond's clarity and cleanliness requires only a few minutes of weekly maintenance along with some seasonal treatments to keep it healthy and beautiful.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber liner
• Butyl liner
• Dechlorinator
• Algae control enzymes
• Water lilies
• Calcium sulphate
• Filter pump (optional)
• Skimmer

Instructions

1. Line the bottom of your pond area with a rubber liner at least 1 mm thick, recommends Ash Girdler, a freshwater ecologist, to the "Telegraph." Place a butyl liner over the rubber liner and use some pebbles or small rocks to hold them down. The rubber liner helps maintain the integrity of the bottom of the pond and keeps silt and dirt from penetrating a punctured butyl liner.

2. Add water but include a dechlorinator if you're using municipal water sources, as the chlorine in the water will burn the gills of the fish. As the pond fills, add some algae control enzymes as directed by the manufacturer to prevent the worst of green algae growth that clouds and colors most ponds. Add the fish once the pond is full.

3. Protect the pond and fish with water lilies. They will partially shade the pond from sun exposure, which heats the pond and fosters algae growth. The lilies also provide some protection for fish from predators such as birds, raccoons and opossums.

4. Add calcium sulphate to a bigger pond in the springtime to keep it from becoming murky and smelly. Follow the manufacturer's directions for application and dilution.

5. Top off the pond weekly and continue to monitor the water lilies, algae levels and liner integrity, correcting as needed.

6. Remove debris from the surface of the pond every few days with a skimmer. This keeps debris from building up and providing extra nutrients for algae and other clouding microorganisms.

Tips & Warnings

• If the pond becomes algae infested, use a long stick or pole and twist the algae around one end to remove it before adding some algae control enzymes.

• Some people use filter pumps to assist in keeping a pond clear in addition to the more natural approaches listed above.

• Some people also use aerators, which can help in addition to the methods listed.

References

• Pond Doc: The Professional Way to Clean a Pond
• Telegraph.co.uk: Ponds--how to keep your water clear

Resources

• Clean Garden Ponds