Early spring preventive pond care can set the tone for your entire pond season. The early bird gets the worm, or at least a nice pond. The point to preventive care is to start before problems arise. The good news is that preventive maintenance is one of the easiest steps in the pond care process.
There are two main products that fall under the title of preventive pond care: Pond Dye and Pond Bacteria.
The early application of pond dye will help tint the water and create an environment unconducive for excessive growth. Sanco has a variety of colors to choose from: Crystal Blue, Ocean Blue, and Black Out. Pond dye is easy to apply. Simply pour the dye along the edge of the pond in several spots. Pour slowly and close to the waters surface to prevent splattering and staining of hands and clothing. If dye gets on hands wash with a 50/50 bleach/water mix. Dosing is easy too; 1 gallon of pond dye treats 1 acre with an average depth of 4-6 feet deep. If you have a ½ acre with an average depth of 4-6 feet, use ½ the gallon.
Pond bacteria is often the hardest product for pond owners to apply because they can’t see the bacteria going to work. However, pond bacteria products like Natural Pond Cleaner are an extremely important part of every preventive pond care plan. Adding bacteria to your pond on a regular basis will ensure organic debris like leaves, fish waste, dead weeds and algae remain in check. Left untouched, this material will build up making water depths shallower, provide a constant food source for future weeds and algae, and make the pond unpleasant to use for recreation activities. Natural Pond Cleaner and pond dye are applied at the same rate and in the same way. In fact, we encourage pond owners to apply these two products at the same time. The pond dye will act as a visual indicator that is time to reapply both.
Both pond dye and pond bacteria will need to be applied monthly depending on rainfall and runoff. For more information on preventive pond care, contact the experts at Sanco.