Maintaining a healthy ecosystemis imperative for your fish health. A dirty pond can make your fish ill and even die. You would never want to experience such a situation. The quality of your water is a crucial aspect of your pond, and there are ways you can keep it clean.
Websites like Helpusfish help the pond owners with valuable tips and advice to keep their fish healthy. Likewise, you can follow these simple steps to keep your fish pond clean and spotless.
Maintain a fish population
If you have ten inches of fish for every 100 gallons of water, your pond is probably overstocked. It results in excessive fish waste, which can further affect the water’s clarity and quality. So, if you feel you have more fishes in your tank, consider shifting them to a new abode. You can check resources like Helpusfish to guide you on the ideal fish population for your pond.
Don’t Overfeed
Feed your fish whatever they can consume within five minutes over a day. If you feed them more than what they need, it will ultimately add to the pond’s organic load, increasing unwanted nutrients and algae. It will not only affect the pond’s water quality but risk your fishes contracting infections.
Add More Live Plants
Ideally, your pond’s 50 percent of the surface area should be covered with plants. Plants provide shade and act as a breeding spot for the fishes. Besides, they provide oxygen and absorb the nitratesfrom the fish waste. This way, live plants help control the amount of nitrate in your pond.
Select A Water Pump
To maintain an adequate flow of water and aeration in your pond, you require a water pump. Choosing the right size of pump depending upon your pond’s size is essential to maintain your pond’s water quality. You can find many water pumps that are safe to use in ponds with fishes. The pond’s water should circulate every two hours. So, if you have a 1,500-gallon pond, you should go for a pump with at least 750 GPH of flow.
Regularly Clean Up Debris
Decaying debris combined with uneaten fish food, fish waste, and plant matter not only causes clarity but quality issues. The decaying material can increase the ammonia levels in the tank, which is harmful to your fishes. So, make sure you do regular cleaning of your pond.
Choose Proper Filtration
Your pond’s filter should match your pond’s size and the fish load. Most manufacturers rate their filtration systems for optimal use. Experts recommend upsizing your filtration system. So, for a pond of 2,500 gallons of water, you should use a filter rated for 5,000 gallons. But if your pond is in direct sunlight, reduce the capacity by 75 percent.
Following the above-mentioned steps will ensure you have a clean pond. Additionally, you can add beneficial bacteria manually or buy an auto-doser according to your pool’s size. You can also help them thrive by adding biofilters/biofalls. These bacteria consume the excess nitrate and prevent the algae from growing.
You can keep your pond clean by adding aquatic creatures like snails, Amano shrimps, and Siamese algae eaters into it.
