Buying house with established pond - advice needed

[lukasmisko1]

Hi all,

My partner and I have purchased a new home in Crete, IL with an established pond. Before our closing, I want to be as proactive as possible and learn as much as I can about pond maintenance and care as this is the first time we will ever be taking care of a pond. The sellers have told us that they add a gallon of algaecide to the pond each month and put the pump in each spring. Since this was very general advice, I am hoping to get more specifics from this group.

My questions to the group are: what is your normal routine for maintaining your pond? Are there specific products you use? What do you do differently during the change in seasons?

I appreciate any and all feedback. Thank you!

Lukas

 

[Jhn]

Pics of the pond would help, type of filtration, size of pond, type of fish and how many in the pond.

Do not dump any algaecides in the pond. chemicals are just a bandaid and don’t fix the source of the problem excess nutrients. Proper circulation and having plants that grow quickly be it their roots or the plant itself will help balance out the pond and starve out any algae in the pond. I don’t use any products in my pond.

Most here have a routine of feeding the fish and watching the wildlife around the pond. I don’t really do much during the change of seasons other than cleaning out the dead plant growth in the spring, turn the water off to the bog in the late fall early winter. Stop feeding fish once they stop wanting to eat in the winter.

 

[bagsmom]

Excess nutrients will cause algae. This is usually because of an overload of fish. Resist the urge to add to your fish "herd" if you already have a bunch. One thing to be aware of, even ponds without too many fish often go through a spring algae bloom. Don't be alarmed if this happens! It doesn't hurt the fish and once your pond plants start growing (oh wait - do you have plants?) they will quickly begin to absorb the excess nutrients and the algae will disappear! Be patient with this. The sunny days can get the algae growing and the plants take a little while to catch up.

 

[j.w]

@lukasmisko1

 

[bagsmom]

My routine is pretty simple. I put a net on in the Fall to catch the falling leaves. In the winter, I cut back the plants that are starting to look sad and yucky. I remove the net after all the leaves are down and cleaned up. In the warmer months, I clean the skimmer basket and hose out the filter pad in the skimmer about once every week or two. Once a year - in the spring, I stick aquatic plant fertilizer spikes down in the planting pots. That is pretty much it. It's very low maintenance!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group of pond lovers!

I add nothing to my pond, filter only with pea gravel and plants, turn all off in the winter, turn all back on in the spring.

Like said above post what kind of fish, how big is the pond, about how many fish, do you have plants, what kind of filter. It will help us a lot to help you.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome to the GPF! I'm in IL as well... a bit to your north.

As others have said, don't assume that you need to continue the algaecide routine just because the previous owners used it. Many pond owners will tell you not to touch the stuff for some of the reasons already stated.

Give us some more details about your new pond and we can talk you through what would look like a good maintenance routine. I can tell you that my goal as a pond owner is to do AS LITTLE WORK AS POSSIBLE! haha! Your pond should be a source of relaxation and enjoyment - not a series of chores for the weekly list.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Welcome to the forum! One thing I would do is interview the previous owner to get as much historical information as possible. Document what they share with you. Specifically ask the age of the pond, who installed it, age of the fish and most importantly, their 'lessons learned' while having the pond. For example, why they continued to add the algaecide monthly. Also, ask who supplied their fish. Great to have you as a member!