Download Care Sheet-Pond Cleaning

S P R I N G DA L E W AT E R G A R D E N S
Cleaning Your Water Garden
Equipment Needed
Holding tank for fish
and snails
Pump or siphon
Dip net for fish
Debris buckets
Garden hose & nozzle
Nylon bristle brush
Cloth or newspaper, and
plastic to protect plants
from drying
Pots, soil, gravel
Fertilizer
Beneficial bacteria
It’s as easy as
1-2-3

Set up a holding tank

Clean pond and
falls at the same time!

Trim and repot plants

Refill with water

Put plants back into pond

Restock fish and snails
Springdale Water Gardens
340 Old Quarry Lane
PO Box 546
Greenville, VA 24440
Directions and Information at:
800-420-5459
Benefits of Cleaning Your Water Garden
Annual or biennial cleaning reduces silt and debris that is on the bottom
of the pond. Excessive organic debris decomposes, using oxygen while
releasing potentially harmful gasses. Large accumulations of leaves are
removed, preventing an abundance of algae producing nutrients. Periodic
cleaning eliminates much of the green water in Spring.
Best Time to Clean
Clean your pond when the water is cool. Handling fish while the water is
cool is better since it has more oxygen and maintains a better slime coat
on the fish. A cool, cloudy day is best for pond cleaning. On warm days,
take extra care to protect fish from heat and your plants from drying.
Steps for Cleaning

Set up holding tank for fish in shade with one-third dechlorinated tap
water. Place tank where it remains in shade throughout the day.

Provide cover screen or net to prevent fish from jumping out.

Pump clear water from pond into holding tank.

Once clear water is saved in holding tank, start pumping water out of
the pond. Water your flower beds with the dirty pond water.

While the water is pumping out, pull out potted plants and place them in
the shade. Cover all plants that have floating or submerged leaves.

Keep plants wet at all times!

After all potted plants are out, continue pumping water until only 2-3
inches remain.

Occasionally spray water onto the sides of the pond and waterfall to
keep beneficial bacteria alive and wet.

Pick up all snails that you can find.

Using the dip net, gently scoop the fish out of the shallow water and
place them into the holding tank. Keep as much of the silt out of the
holding tank as possible.

It is important to avoid chasing the fish with the net. Bruising and injury
of the fish may result!

Once all fish and snails have been retrieved, pump remaining water out.

Sweep or brush debris to one place and scoop out with a dustpan or
feed scoop.

If pond bottom is covered with stones, remove rock from lowest place
and rinse debris to this area. Scoop out and discard debris and dirty
water. Note: when using a pressure washer, don’t wash away all of the
algae. You are washing away the beneficial bacteria also.
www.springdalewatergardens.com
Clean your waterfall at the same time as the pond (see reverse).
Springdale Water Gardens
Cleaning Your Waterfall
While the pond is draining, begin rinsing the waterfall filter or waterfall box.
Make sure the skimmer and all filter pads have been cleaned.
Start at the top with your garden hose and spray nozzle; rinse between rocks and through the
streambed, washing silt and algae downstream where it will be pumped out of pond below.
Trim excessive growth of plants from streambed. Open up the flow in the stream by trimming
roots and stems from plant growth.
Pull blanketweed (string algae) out by hand if needed.
Reposition rocks if necessary.
Once the stream has been rinsed from top to bottom, replenish fresh gravel as needed to cover
exposed liner.
Replant cuttings of small plants if needed to reestablish growth along the streambed.
Refill and Restock Your Pond
Figure the pond volume using the following formula:
Average length in feet x Average width in feet x Average depth in feet x 7.5 = gallons of water
Refill pond using tap water. You’ll also use water from the holding tank as described below.
Treat water with recommended amount of dechlorinator or protectant (for unchlorinated water).
Acclimate the fish to the freshly cleaned pond. If water temperature is noticeably different, pump
half of the water out of the holding tank and into the pond. Refill with dechlorinated tap water.
Do this again, as needed, until the water in holding tank and pond are nearly the same temperature. Pump the rest of the water from the holding tank into the pond, catching the fish the same
way as before, using the dip net, once the water is shallow.
Put all water from the holding tank into the pond to replenish the beneficial bacteria.
Use care handling the fish, they have been disturbed and need gentle handling.
Put cleaned and repotted plants back in the ponds. Lower them slowly into the pond to minimize
silting of the water.
Scatter your snails around the pond.
Fish should not be fed until the next day or so after cleaning. It’s not likely they will eat much at
first, so be careful not to let food float.
Too Many Fish?
 When you restock fish into your pond it’s a good time to look at the number and quality of what
you put back. Looking over the fish gives you a chance to inspect for injuries, sickness and
general health of your fish collection.
 Thin the population if you have more than one inch of fish for every two to three gallons of water.
 Select fish with longest tails, best color or other qualities you like and put them back.
 Give the fish away that you don’t want to another pond owner, or school aquarium.
 You could even build another pond for the extra fish!
Do not release fish or snails into streams, rivers or lakes.