The Best Starting Your Pond

Ponds can really create a relaxing mood in your home. If you can successfully start your pond, it will not end there. We still have to think about the pond maintenance. The secret to make your pond a little bit maintenance-free is to develop a healthy, balanced ecosystem that can almost take care of all the living organisms in it.

Ponds, like aquarium needs a little nudge to get started. The good thing about a pond is that it is easier to develop a care-free ecosystem in a larger volume of water than in small tanks in our house. We can easily develop this ecosystem if we are more familiar with the Nitrogen Cycle in our ponds and what are the factors that can affect it.

Let's us start with water. Sometimes filling our ponds with water can introduce some dangerous chemicals into the pond. The most common chemicals found in our water are Chlorine and Chloramine. These chemicals are very toxic to fish and to the plants in our ponds. Some water may even contain heavy metals that are highly toxic to fish. So we must be informed about treating the water with some toxin-neutralizing products.

Now that we have clean, toxin-free water, we need to start thinking about the beneficial bacterial growing in the pond and in the filter. Anaerobic bacteria will consume the organic waste products in the pond, turning them into nitrates and fertilizers for the plants.

You have to consider pond supplies. Just think about pond filters, too. Bacteria cling to the things in your pond and to your filter media. They need a large surface area where the water can pass. You should clean the pre-filter pad frequently as it traps large particulates and debris. The filter also contain other materials on which bacteria grow, so it's not advisable to always clean it because you won't have enough bacteria if you'll clean them.

If you have established the good bacteria in your pond already, you can add your fish and your plants now so the bacteria can have something to decompose. You may notice that the water may seem cloudy. It's all natural, no need to change the water. It's all because of the already-present bacteria and the particulates. You can easily solve this by adding water clarifiers that will clump the cloudy molecules together and allow them to sink to the bottom of your pond, or get trapped in your pre-filter. The beneficial bacteria will do the rest of the work by feeding on the decomposing molecules of the cloudy water.

You will also need to test the pond's water quality frequently. Avoid having too much ammonia in your pond because it can be very toxic to your fish. You should also be wary of the pH level of the water. There are many readily available water treatments in case your pond will have high ammonia level or unstable pH level. The pH level should be 7.

Electrolytes are also needed by fish, especially when they are stressed. So you should add pond salt to the water to give the fish the electrolytes that they need. If you manage to do these things, the pond can now take care of itself. As long as you don't over feed the fish or as long as the water is not polluted with dry leaves and other debris, the pond can now support its own ecosystem.