 10 Springtime Start-Up Tips for
Your Water Garden
With the onset of warm weather, now
is the time to get outside and begin enjoying the water gardening season.
Your pond has been dormant all winter and needs a little care to make
it beautiful. Follow these ten simple steps to prepare your water garden
for success. 1. Inspect your pond. Check
to see what affect the winter weather has had on the pond liner, skimmer
or biological filter. Make repairs as needed.
2. Make a water change and clean-up
winter waste build-up. Remove dead leaves and debris that have accumulated
in the bottom of the pond. Pond
Logic Oxy-Lift Defense works great for lifting debris off rocks and
bringing debris to the surface for easy removal. Water changes are also
helpful in eliminating dissolved organics that have built up over the
winter. You should make a 15 to 25 percent water change over several consecutive
days to reduce stress to your fish.
3. Condition your tap water.
When doing a spring start-up water change, don’t forget that
you need to eliminate chorine and chloramines found in municipal water.
Even small traces of chlorine will irritate fish and damage their gill tissue,
and large amounts can be lethal. There are several products that are capable
of removing these toxins such as: PondCare
Chlorine and Heavy Metal Remover, Stress
Coat or Pond Logic
Activated Carbon.
4. Start the biological filter.
Clean or replace filter
pads, seed them with Filter
Pad Gel and begin adding Pond
Logic’s Seasonal Defense Natural Bacteria to boost biological
activity.
5. Test pond water. It is not
possible to know the condition of your pond water without testing. Test
Kits offer a quick and accurate way to evaluate pond water quality
and stop problems before they occur.
6. Inspect your fish. If you
see torn fins, blood streaks and/or ulcers, Tetra
Pond Fish Treatment is a great all-in-one product for both koi and
goldfish treating bacterial infections and parasites.
7. Feed your fish a low-protein
food. As the temperature of your pond water approaches 42° F (6°C),
your fish will start looking for food. Pond
Logic Spring & Fall Fish Food is recommended as a good low protein,
high carbohydrate, vitamin-enriched diet, specially formulated for all
pond fish when water temperatures are between 42° F and 70°F.
8. Provide your fish with essential
electrolytes. Pond Logic Pond
Salt provides all the essential electrolytes fish need to stay healthy
and vibrant. Pond Salt can also help to reduce algae blooms.
9. Care for pond plants. Root
bound plants should be divided and re-potted. Fertilize plants with Lily
Tabs to provide the essential nutrients for strong growth and early
spring blooms. Adding floating plants such as water hyacinths, water lettuce
and elodea will provide your pond with shade and remove excess nutrients
reducing algae growth. It is also a great time to add pond snails to begin
consuming algae keeping your pond clean. Don’t
have any plants yet? Consider one of our complete plant packages.
10. Keep your pond clean, clear and
healthy all season. Digest sludge, reduce dissolved organics and keep
you pond filter working its best with the all-in-one awarding winning
package, the Pond Logic
DefensePAC.
For all your pond questions call
the experts at The Pond Guy® toll free 888-766-3520
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