Spring Care for Your Pond-Backyard Pond/Essential Cleaning
Springtime care for your backyard pond is the first step to rejuvenate your pond after the winter months. Things are starting to warm up in the spring and the plants and all your pond creatures are all going to start coming to life. You want to create the proper setting for an overall healthy well-balanced growing season. This is when you should be spending some time in getting everything ready for the new season. 
Spring Pond Cleaning Is Your Starting Point for a Healthy Season
Once the temperature has increased enough that you do not have to worry about anymore freezing, you want to first clean off and take away your pond de-icer. Take a look over all your electrical equipment this would include the wiring which could have become brittle and cracked during the winter.
You want to check your fountain pump to make sure that no visible damage has occurred. This is a good time to also check over any mechanics of your pond including the liner, GFI outlets or anything else that is used to operate your pond.
Start by cleaning out any dead leaves that you find in and around your pond or any other rotting organic material that you may have noticed that has accumulated in the bottom of your pond. Because your plants have not started to grow and your pond ecosystem is out of balance you may find that the algae will start an accelerated growth before your plants start to take off.
Once everything starts to grow the algae should start to disappear and everything should balance out. If the algae level does not go away then you might want to consider some pond treatment kits that can help you with algae control.
Tips on Taking Care of Parts of Your Pond in spring
Submerged Plants, Floating Plants and Marginals
All pond plants have a specific role in creating a healthy and well-balanced ecosystem for your pond and you want to get them ready for a new growing season. By following a few tips you can help revitalize the plant life in your pond, and even freshen the appearance with a new design.
- De-Weeding and Mulching Plants: This is the best time for you to walk around and start pulling any small weeds that you see as this is the easiest time to get rid of them because they are small and easy to pull. By doing this you will have less problems during the summer season. Pulling your weeds out now you will help stop any of the weeds producing seeds and taking over your pond. It's recommended that you use a hard mulch where your weeds are more susceptible to help keep them at bay. You should NOT use any type of weed and feed around your pond as it will harm any fish that you have in your water feature.
- Reposition Your Pond Plants/for the Season: If you have any plants that you kept indoors for the winter, now is the best time to bring them out and get them used to their new environment. If you have moved plants from your marginal areas to deeper water for the winter season you will want to relocate them back to their shelves along the edge or any risers that you have built into place. Before you start moving plants or putting plants you have indoors into the pond make sure that the water temperature reaches 40°F. You should also begin the plant feeding schedule that uses the special fertilizer pellets that are specifically designed for underwater plants.
- Add New Submerged/Floating/Marginal Pond Plants: This is the best time for you to try and experiment with new colors and species of plants. By adding a new variety of plants you will help to balance the ecosystem of your pond. Spring is the best time to add new plants to your pond as it gives them a chance to establish a good root system that will be able to thrive when the air temperature starts to rise and the pond temperature increases.
Koi, Goldfish, and Orfes
Fish can help bring new energy and add beauty to your water garden. Tropical fish tend to have more tolerance with temperature changes and also when they are introduced to reduced oxygen levels typically what you can find in small water gardens.
The fish do not only bring beauty and life to your water feature they also help with mosquito control by eating larvae. Overall they also help to help keep a good well-balanced water ecosystem.
- Start Feeding Your Pond Fish: This is the time to season when you want to start to feed your fish. As the water starts to warm up they will quickly start to continue the activity that they were doing last year. Take temperature readings of your water and when it has reached 50°F, you will want to begin feeding. It is recommended that you start feeding them small amounts keeping it to a minimal at the beginning to get them used to their new diet you also want to make sure that they are eating high carbohydrate foods.
- Testing Water Chemical Levels: The water chemical level will change once the fish become more active you will want to check the nitrite levels on a weekly basis. If you find that the levels of the nitrite are high then you will want to lower how much you are feeding the fish and allow the biofilter to help balance out the levels.
Pond Equipment, Pumps, Filters, Pond Lights
You will want to make sure that everything is in operational order so that you can start your water feature for the new season. If you have put away some of the equipment into storage this is the time you want to collect all of it and bring it back out and hook everything back up. This may include your water pump, tubing, water fountain and any other mechanical device you may be using for your pond.
- Install and Reconnect Pond Pump/Filter: When you've taken your pump out of storage (which is recommended for the colder temperatures protection) you will want to clean them thoroughly if you did not do it prior to storing them from last season. If you have kept your pond pump in the pond for the winter season you will want to pull it out and clean the filter out. If you have a UV clarifier it is recommended that you replace the bulb so that you have a fresh start on your pond season.
- Water Garden Lights/Clean Them: You want to make sure that you are going to provide the beautiful glow of color to your pond and you want to make sure that you use a soft cloth to clean off the lenses of the lights. This is the best time for you to check to make sure that the garden pond lights work properly and to replace any burned-out bulbs that you may have.
- Time to Start Your Pond Biological Filter: Make sure that you have a clean or a new biological filter for the pond. When the water temperature starts to rise and gets to about 50°C you will want to prime the (adding nitrifying bacteria) filter and get it ready for the season.
Seasonal Garden Pond Maintenance Tips:
Backyard ponds will provide years of enjoyment
Springtime is the best starting point for your pond. You want to be able to give it a good and healthy start so that it will give you months and months of a beautiful water feature for your backyard decor. By sticking with a regular maintenance for your pond you will be able to keep the ecosystem healthy and thriving.
Building a Backyard Garden Pond-Proper Plan for Size/Design
Adding a beautiful backyard garden pond to your yard will allow you to create a focal/interest point for your garden decor. Water will bring another level of design to your garden theme. Adding a water feature will also help you to utilize other garden accents such as bridges, paths and lighting.
Garden Pond Directory-Reviews, Comparisons, Tips
Having a beautiful Backyard Pond is one of the best ways to blend nature into your extended living area. Garden ponds, waterfalls and stream cascades provide you with a stirring sense of motion from the sound of the water to the wildlife that you will attract to your pond oasis. Find links to resources and articles to help you with Building a backyard pond, garden pond maintenance, pond cleaning, rigid pond liners, flexible pond liners, water pump selection.
