How to Clean Backyard Fish Ponds

Fish ponds require annual cleaning.

Spring is probably the best time to tackle the annual cleanup of your backyard fish pond. The job is a challenging one, but it's the only way to ensure that your pond is a healthy environment for both fish and plants. You can hire professionals, or you can gather the basic materials you'll need and do the job yourself. For most ponds, the cleanup needed can be accomplished in about a day .

Things You'll Need

• Rubber gloves
• Boots
• Holding receptacle
• Submersible pump
• 2-inch discharge hose
• Mesh screen
• Fish net
• Cover for holding receptacle
• Garden hose
• High-pressure spray nozzle
• Shop vacuum
• 5 gallon buckets

Instructions

1. Put on boots and rubber gloves. Create a holding receptacle for your fish and other pond critters. A kid’s wading pool works just fine. Place the receptacle in a cool, shady location so the fish are protected from direct sunlight.

2. Place a submersible pump in the bottom of the pond with a mesh screen over the intake. This will prevent fish and other water creatures from being sucked into the pump. Attach a 2-inch hose to the pump and place one end of the hose in the holding receptacle. Turn the pump on and direct the water into the receptacle.

3. Fill the holding receptacle to within a foot of the top. Pump the remaining water from the pond until you have about six inches left in the bottom. Use what you pump to water your yard.

4. Catch the fish and other pond dwellers with a fish net and place them in the holding receptacle. Cover the receptacle with netting to keep the fish from escaping. Pump out as much of the remaining water from the pond as possible. Turn off the pump.

5. Remove the plants from the pond. Place fragile plants in the holding receptacle with the fish.

6. Spray the entire surface of the pond—sides, waterfalls, rocks and gravel—with a high-pressure hose nozzle. Begin at the top and work your way down. Do not use chemicals for cleaning, as the residue can be harmful to your fish and plants. Pull string algae from between rocks and discard. Wash rocks and small stones with the stream of the hose and remove debris.

7. Spray plants gently with water to remove debris. Fertilize plants with pond-plant fertilizer according to directions. Remove water and debris that has accumulated on the bottom of the pond with the pump or with a shop vacuum.

8. Clean your pond filter according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

9. Replace the plants. Begin to refill your pond. Add de-chlor to the water to remove chlorine. If you clean your pond in early spring, use a conditioner that will remove ammonia and nitrates from the water.

10. Reintroduce the fish to the clean pond when it's about half full. Dip 5-gallon buckets in the holding receptacle and fill with several inches of water. Catch the fish with the net and place them in the buckets.

11. Float the buckets in the pond water for at least 15 minutes. Begin to splash small amounts of the pond water into the buckets. Continue until the temperature in the buckets is close to the pond temperature. Carefully tip the buckets to return the fish to the fresh pond. Turn on the filtration system.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not leave the fish and other pond dwellers in the direct sun for an extended period.

References

• DreamScapes Watergardens: The Early Spring Cleanout
• Pond Doc: It’s Cleaning Time: The Professional Way to Clean a Pond