8 Spring Pond Tips for Carlisle, Mechanicsburg and Hershey.

​Spring is here and it’s time to get a little maintenance done on your pond. These maintenance tips take little time and effort and can help prevent future problems from arising throughout the pond season. Some pond enthusiasts enjoy performing their own maintenance but always know that you have the option to get in contact with a Certified Aquascape Contractor to give you a hand! Gordon’s Pond Utopia is a Certified Aquascape Contractor.

​1. Clean out your pond, whether that means a full clean-out or just picking up a bit and rinsing things off. More about giving your pond a spring cleaning >> CLICK HERE

 2. Check your pump to make sure that it’s clean and functioning correctly. Your pump is the heart of your water feature and needs to be in tip-top shape at all times. Learn more about water feature pump maintenance >> CLICK HERE 

 3. Fix any leaks in your water feature. Constantly adding tap water to make up for a loss of pond water means the constant addition of nutrients which will eventually promote algae growth.

4. Remove algae, leaves and other debris left over from the season before. This is crucial because an excess of decaying debris will add to the nutrient levels and the algae in the pond.

 
 5. Start adding beneficial bacteria treatments and continue to do so regularly throughout the season. It competes with the algae for available nutrients, starving the algae of its food source.  Use Aquascape’s Automatic Dosing System to avoid the hassle of consistently adding and choosing the correct water treatments for your water feature.

 
 6. Add plants to control algae. Since plants directly compete with algae for nutrients, they are the most important addition to the pond. Using a wide variety of plants will not only add to the natural look of the pond, but will reduce algae growth as well.

 7. DO NOT overfeed your fish. Fish food that is not eaten will add more nutrients to the pond, helping feed the algae. See our 5 Tips for Feeding Fish article for more information. 

​8. Last but not least, have fun with your water feature! Spruce it up with new landscaping, add a fountain within your feature, add lighting or just change up some of the rockwork! Get creative because after all, your water feature is your masterpiece to enjoy and show off to others.
 
Need more information on getting your water feature ready for the season? Check out this short video 

5 Tips For Feeding fish

1. Be Consistent
The key is to be consistent, try to feed at the same time each day, and from the same spot. After a few weeks in your pond, they will be conditioned to you feeding them and the response will be considerably different. After a complete season, you will have them eating out of your hand.
 
2. Serve High Quality Food
Since everything you put into the pond is going to be broken down and removed by the filter, it is important to remember to only feed them high quality food, such as Aquascape Premium Fish Food, that is specifically designed for the fish in your pond. Feeding them anything other than high quality fish food could lead to many water quality issues like green water, string algae, and poor water conditions.
 
3. Variety is the Spice of Life
Many pond owners also choose to offer their fish a treat now and again. If you want to spice things up a bit, try a little fresh watermelon and watch your fish go crazy. Most fruits and vegetables will be fine as well, just keep in mind that the natural ecosystem has to deal with every bit we feed them or that is left in the pond.
 
You can also give your fish the Aquascape Pond Fish Vitamin Treat. Each depression of the pump top bottle creates a small worm-like looking treat for your pond fish. Aquascape Pond Fish Vitamin Treat increases appetite and vitality, enhances natural colors of the fish, and stimulates breeding.
 
4. The Five Minute Rule
A good rule of thumb is to only offer what your fish can eat in four or five minutes. The decision to feed your fish is up to you. Many pond owners never throw a single piece of food into their pond. Your pond will produce food for your fish to eat and also help create a balance between plants and fish. Remember, however, that larger fish need more food than small ones, so they may take a look at your plants for a snack. Not to mention the fact that if you are not feeding your fish, you are missing out on another whole level of fun that your pond has to offer.
 
5. Choosing the Best Food
Studies have been done comparing the digestion of protein from various sources in fish, and found that fish proteins were the best digested and assimilated by fish. Fish eat fish.
 
Fish are adapted to the consumption of others in their food chain, so fish proteins are the best for fish. When you look at a bag of food and the first ingredient is wheat, is that the best choice for your fish? No, wheat protein is not equal to fish protein so keep looking. You should look for fish or other aquaculture proteins as the first ingredient in a decent diet for your koi and goldfish.