Pond Cleaning

A pond owner just contacted us about a “Problem Pond”.  After seeing some pictures I understood what they were talking about.  The pond was in desperate need of some major cleaning.  However, these problems didn’t happen overnight and won’t be fixed overnight. 

The pond in question had several large patches of dead cattails and a submerged weed that was saturating the pond.  Because of the time of year all of the vegetation looked dead because it was brown, however, the pond owner said as the weather warms it will all turn green again.  At this point the pond cleaning process couldn’t even be started until the water temperatures increased and the pond plants started to get green. 

Our recommendation to kick off this particular pond cleaning was to apply Crystal Blue pond dye and a double dose of the Natural Pond Cleaner immediately.  These two products will help hinder the rampant growth that occurs when temperatures suddenly increase. 

The second phase of pond cleaning is treating growth.  Identify the growth and start treating it as soon as your water temperatures reach 50°F so it doesn’t take over.  

A pond cleaning process like this isn't a one time and done situation.  A pond like this will take the entire season of diligent treating to turn it around.  Applications of Crystal Blue and Natural Pond Cleaner should be done approximately once a month.  Treating for weeds and algae will probably need to be done every month at first and as temperatures increase so will the algaecide and herbicide applications.  Treating for algae and weeds in midsummer often needs to be done every other week.

Once the growth is under control we recommend the use of our concentrated beneficial bacteria, Muck Doctor to help clean up all the dead weeds and algae on the pond floor.  If this nutrient rich material is left on the pond floor it will only feed the next round of growth. 

For more information on pond cleaning tips contact the helpful staff at Sanco.