How We Do Fall Pond Maintenance To Make Your Pond Beautiful Again
This Is How JVI Does Koi Pond Fall Maintenance For Clients In And Around Nashville, Tennessee
Knowing what’s going on when your pond’s being maintained is a smart move. It takes the mystery out of it, which can lessen the stress!
In this post, you can find out what our 11 step process is for getting a pond ready for fall. You can also find out what those steps involve and why they’re important.
What Happens For This One?
“What happens for koi pond fall maintenance?” asks James
“Oh, I used to know this,” -Amanda snaps her fingers as she tries to remember- “but I can’t quite get there. Ugh, it’s on the tip of my tongue!”
“Why don’t we look it up then?” suggests James. “Our pond contractor has a blog, right? I think I remember that’s where you learned how to care for new ponds.”
Amanda smiles brightly. “That’s right!” She picks her phone up from the kitchen island. “We can just do a quick search on their website and see if they have anything. I’m sure if they do it’ll be their exact process.” She opens their website and starts searching. “Here!” she exclaims.
This is what the couple discovers:
JVI’s 11 Step Fall Pond Maintenance Process
- Drain your pond down until only 2 inches of water are left
- Remove and place your fish in a portable fish tank with aeration and their original pond water
- Fish wellness exam
- Power wash your pond’s boulders and gravel
- Wash filter pads inside the bio-falls, pressure filter and skimmer box
- Adjust the boulders and cover any exposed liner with gravel
- Clean and adjust any lights
- Refill your pond with municipal water and add de-chlorinator to make the water fish-friendly
- Introduce your fish back into their clean home
- Leave the water on at a trickle until the operating water level is reached and you (the client) can turn it off
- Turn off the water and plug the pump back in
Some pond owners also choose to have us install a net over their pond.
What Happens During These Steps And Why They’re Important
Drain pond. We drain the pond so we can perform a deeper clean. We want to get a good amount of the gunk, muck, and debris out of your pond.
Remove fish. We take the fish out so we can clean your pond without disturbing them too much. The tank we move them to has their original water in it so they don’t go into shock. Fish tend to react poorly to new water makeup. The aerator makes sure the water has plenty of oxygen.
Fish wellness exam. This is to make sure none of your fish are sick. We want every part of your pond to be healthy and amazing!
Power wash boulders and gravel. This step in fall pond maintenance loosens up algae, muck, and debris. We can clean it out better and more easily this way. We don’t want to remove all of the organic material because it actually helps the pond thrive. If it’s part of Mother Nature, it’s part of the ponds we build and maintain.
Wash filter pads. The filter pads inside the bio-falls, pressure filter, and skimmer box get really nasty. We clean them out so they can continue doing a great job keeping your pond clean and clear.
Adjust boulders and cover any exposed liner with gravel. We adjust the boulders so they look good and aren’t causing any problems. Covering the exposed liner makes your pond look better and more natural.
Clean and adjust any lights. If you have any lights we want them to keep helping your pond look beautiful at night.
Refill the pond. This is a very important part of koi pond fall maintenance. We use municipal water and add some de-chlorinator. This adjusts the chemical makeup of the water to be comfortable for your fish.
Reintroduce fish. We do this over the course of a few minutes so as not to scare or shock your fish.
Leave the water on. We leave it on at a trickle until the operating water level is reached. It’ll be up to you to turn it back off.
Turn off the water and plug the pump back in. Now everything is ready to start working again!
Net installation. Nets keep all the leaves and other debris that increase during fall out of your pond. It makes winterization much easier and keeps your pond looking better and being healthier.
You May Also Like To Know
“So that’s how they do fall pond care, I remember now,’ says Amanda. James nods. “Well, it’s certainly straightforward enough. I wonder what other maintenance processes and stuff they do for koi ponds.”
It’s great that you elaborated on how It is wise to be aware of what is happening when your pond is being maintained. This is something that I will keep in mind after getting a pond installed in my garden. I’ll make sure that once it gets its maintenance, I’ll watch the whole pond maintenance process.