Stylendesigns
There’s a lot more to having a pond than just walking out and enjoying the view. You want it to thrive and be a healthy ecosystem that supports and sustains diverse lifeforms. Unlike a stream or a river, which are open ended systems that can renew themselves, a pond is a completely closed system that prevents materials and organisms from moving in or out on their own. That’s why your input is crucial to maintaining a healthy pond. Here are a few things to know if you want to have a thriving system.
1. Plant Life
Plants give freshwater offer shelter, nesting sites and food for animals living in your pond. Submersible plants like hornwort can help oxygenate your pond, while floating plants like water lilies attract beneficial insects like dragonflies. Shoreline plants like cattails and rushes help to stabilize the perimeter of your pond. They prevent bank erosion and are the biggest providers of food and shelter in a pond. As necessary and beautiful as plant life in your pond can be, you may need something providing a one-stop solution for milfoil problems. This non-native and invasive plant species is unsightly and can even cause structural damage to your pump and filtration systems.
2. Infrastructure
It is necessary for you to keep your pond’s infrastructure in working order. This includes pumps, filtration systems, water lines, and fountains. If you have a smaller pond, you may not have these components, but if you do, they cannot be ignored. Pumps and filters can get clogged, and motors may need repairs after hours and hours of running. Lines and fountains can be plagued by limescale and algae bloom and you may need to apply chemical treatments or algaecides to remedy the problem. Just be sure that the treatments you use are safe for the plants, animals and microorganisms that work together to create your pond’s ecosystem.
3. Regular Cleaning
Cleaning a pond can sound like quite the chore, but it is necessary to keeping a healthy aquatic environment. The size of your pond will determine how often you need to clean it. The larger the pond, the less frequent the cleanings. Manually cleaning a pond involves removing the water and carefully relocating animals and plants before clearing out the sludge and debris. After that you will need to thoroughly scrub the pond liner clean. Once you get past the hard part, add a little of the sludge back into the pond with all of its microorganisms, followed by the water and aquatic life. Be careful not to overfeed your fish, because this can speed up the need for cleaning. And also provide a measure of shading for the pond, because sun exposure causes things to grow and muck things up.
Keeping your pond in excellent condition will not only improve the look of your landscape, but also create a healthy environment for the plants and animals that thrive there. Keeping a close eye on the health of the plants and the animals will help you stay on top of your pond maintenance. The wildlife will let you know when your ecosystem is happy.
