Here at Amen Corner Ponds we clean a lot of koi ponds out every year. But one question we end up finding a lot is “how do I keep my koi pond clean in between cleanings?”. The secret that I’m about to share with you today is simply consistent maintenance.
Now, in order for your pond to stay as clean as possible, it is important that you have a proper ecosystem in place. Click here to check out our blog on an ecosystem pond. After your ecosystem pond is in place, there is simple maintenance steps that you can do to keep it looking great all year round.
1: Beneficial Bacteria
This simple but powerful liquid can you keep your koi pond water as clear as can be. This is an essential to having good clean and clear water without adding algaecide or other artificial products. If you want to go a step further and make it even easier, I would definitely add an automatic dosing system from Aquascape. These are simple and amazingly powerful systems that each day doses a small amount of beneficial bacteria and other natural ingredients to keep the pond crystal clear and beautiful all year round.
2: Clean Out Your Filters
Every proper pond should have a skimmer and bio falls. Your skimmer basket should be cleaned out once a week depending on how much debris you have in your pond. Underneath the skimmer should be a filter mat. That filter mat should be checked and cleaned once a month to every three months depending on how quickly it gets full of garbage. Your bio falls needs to be cleaned out every six months. We suggest spring and fall.
3: Skim & Trim
It is important to keep your pond plants trimmed back throughout the year. Although pond plants are important and it is very good to have a lot, they can get out of control and cause problems with water clarity, space for your fish swim and other problems with your koi pond. Skimming debris is also important if you have a lot in the fall. Having a small skim net to skim leaves off the top and bottom every once in a while is a very handy tool to keep the pond looking its best all year round. With some ponds it may only be necessary during the fall.
4: Have Your Pond Cleaned Out
Having your koi pond cleaned out each year is extremely important to its overall health. The water change, filters being cleaned, plants being trimmed back and roots being maintained can make the difference between a low maintenance water feature and a water feature that is nothing but headaches. So make sure your water feature is being cleaned out at least once a year.
I hope this has helped you understand the maintenance to keeping your koi pond looking great all year around. Please feel free to check out any of our other free resources on maintaining your water feature and reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks for reading! Have a good one.
