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In this Pond Maintenance 101 Blog Series we are going to discuss what it takes to successfully maintain your pond.

Pond owners often treat their pond problems in one of two ways. They will either lump all pond problems together or they will separate every problem independent of each other. I know what you are thinking…what other option is there? We are suggesting that pond owners think of pond problems as a cause and effect. Is there one problem in the pond that is causing another problem?

I had an excellent question from a customer the other day that was the inspiration for this blog post. This pond owner had just acquired a property with a pond. His question was “Where do I start on the step-by-step pond maintenance guide? I already have algae and weeds…so do I treat the algae and weeds first or do I start at step 1 and add pond dye?...

A common complaint from pond owners is the clarity of their water. This is a huge question because there are so many different variables that can affect the clarity of your pond water. In today’s blog, we are discussing one possibility, soil type.

Fish habitat is important to consider when building a pond. One huge mistake that fishermen make is allowing submerged weed growth to provide habitat for fish in the pond. This ultimately gives weeds a foothold, the fisherman gets busy and the pond care gets neglected. Boom! Weeds everywhere! Wife unhappy! Don’t fall into that trap.

Pond access is an often-overlooked component of a pond --and is often one of the biggest annoyances once it goes bad! Getting to the pond and utilizing it as a great fishing, boating and swimming pond is extremely important. Not to mention easy access to keep the maintenance of the pond attainable.

Last time, I discussed how a steep slope is important in limiting weed and algae growth. The shoreline (above water area) should not be steep along the edge of the pond. Shoreline emergent weeds can be easily controlled by either mechanical means or chemical means. To keep a nice neat shoreline, it is much easier to keep the area relatively flat going into the pond. This allows you to operate lawn equipment and sprayer equipment efficiently around the shoreline of the pond.

After considering depth, you will need to address the steepness of the pond’s slope. Generally, the faster the drop off, the better the pond weed control and algae control will be. There is a trade-off, though. The steeper the bank, the more likely severe erosion could occur. We’ll tackle the erosion issue next and concentrate on the slope issue in this article.

Water depth is an important characteristic to consider when building a pond. Generally, the deeper the pond and the steeper the grade, the better.

Soil types are very important to consider when digging a pond. There are three basic soil types; namely, sand, silt and clay. Soil can be made up of one of these or a mixture of all three.