Like the garden area, you also need to maintain your garden pond and clean it regularly to ensure that animals and plants thrive healthily. If you don't have a pump or filter system installed, you'll need to keep the water clean yourself through proper pond care in the summer. Beautiful sunshine is mostly pleasant for humans, but can be a real challenge for fish and pond plants due to the heat. Additionally, garden ponds need a bit more care during heat waves to ensure the health of the plant and animal life that is attracted there. If the water temperature remains above 26 degrees during the summer, it is important to take the right measures. Here is some advice and information to help you with summer pond care.
How you should care for a garden pond at high temperatures
All ponds green up a little as the water warms, but if the balance is right this clears up quickly. Removing seed heads, for example, can help reduce weeds and thinning in the future. Avoid maintenance workin spring, if you could accidentally remove tadpoles and other aquatic larvae and eggs from the pond.
It is also worth leaving the removed vegetation next to the pond for a few hours so that invertebrates hidden in it can return to the water. Check the leaves for eggs and return any you find to the pond. During long summer days or extreme heat waves, depending on where in the world you live, a garden pond is susceptible to an increase in photosynthesis. This causes rapid water evaporation and faster growth of algae or filamentous algae.
That being said, there is the inevitable warmer water temperature, which is more dangerous than many people realize. As the water temperature rises, it loses its ability to hold oxygen, making it harder for the fish to breathe. However, as dramatic as this may sound, there is no need to panic. There are some quick and easy changes you can make to ensure you maintain your garden pond as effectively as possible over the summer. This will keep your fish fit, healthy, happy and well during the hot months. So discover some useful tips for pond care in summer below.
Fill the pond regularly with water in the summer
Fill your garden pond with water using a plastic container or bucket. Add more water as it evaporates in summer and the level drops. Ideally, use rainwater from a tonne about once a week or as needed. If you only have tap water available, let it sit for 24 hours before adding it to the pond. This means that all harmful chemicals such as chlorine can evaporate.
You may think this seems like a strange suggestion, but as temperatures rise, this means water evaporation is rapidly increasing. For example, if there has been very little rainfall for a few weeks, your pond may be leaking. In addition, keeping the pond full is absolutely important for the health and life of the pond fish.
Observe the behavior of the pond fish
Keep an eye on your fish population when maintaining your garden pond. Do your finned friends seem stressed, gasping for air near the surface of the water, or especially near a fountain or waterfall? Warm water has a low oxygen holding capacity, while cooler water can hold very large amounts of oxygen. Additionally, warm pond water and increased fish activity go hand in hand. This increased activity means that your fish need more oxygen. This creates a vicious cycle whereby stressed fish often begin to develop illnesses and soon a domino effect occurs.
So if you haven't already, add oxygen to your pond by installing an aerator or pump. You can also use these in winter by having a hole in the ice. You can even have onesolar powered fountainInstall with pump if your pond does not have a waterfall or stream. Make sure all areas of the pond are drained and the water is circulated. Additionally, remember that waterfalls, streams, and even water fountains play a large role in oxygenating the water in your pond.
Remove algae and rotting vegetation and eliminate pests
Remove rotting vegetation, including old lily pads, which can increase nitrogen levels and turn the water green, while a layer of sediment forms at the bottom, which can cause an odor. Also, do not leave dead or dying leaves in the garden pond.
String algae, which can spread quickly and suffocate a pond, also needs to be removed during the summer. Do it by hand or use a tube by twisting it around and then remove the smaller pieces with a net. Duckweed can also overgrow in a pond and should be removed by hand.
Some beetles can attack water lilies in summer. The larvae of these beetles attack the leaves from the inside, causing the leaves to turn brown and die quickly. The only solution is to regularly prune and remove the affected leaves. The sooner and more consistently you do this, the fewer pest problems you will have. In summer, a lot of pollen and other dust is also blown into your pond. Therefore, you should keep the water surface clear using a special tool. Make sure that the KH value or carbonate hardness remains high enough during this time. This keeps the water crystal clear and prevents algae growth. The KH value determines the acid neutralization capacity, which is important for the growth of oxygen plants. This value can be determined using special tests.
Remove excess aquatic plants and weeds
Reduce the volume of pond plants such as hornwort if they fill more than a third of the pond. These are essential to ponds and keep the water clean, but they must be prevented from taking over. Weed between edge plants, such as weeds, as you would in the garden. Be sure to remove unwanted seedlings while maintaining your garden pond. Sometimes it's easier to remove the pot they're growing in, then split the edge and replant before putting it back in the water.
Defy the heat in late summer and care for your garden pond
There are some preventative measures you can take to prevent your pond from turning into a warm, unhealthy puddle at the end of summer. It all starts with a well-designed water feature. Water depth, plant cover, shade and circulation should therefore be taken into account when designing and building a garden pond. A minimum depth of 0.5 meters is recommended so that the pond bottom stays cooler.
You should have yoursFill the pond with lots of plantsto provide shade for the fish. A good rule of thumb is a plant cover of about 1/3 to 1/2 of the water surface. Consider adding floating plants like water lettuce and water hyacinth, although you don't necessarily have to pot or plant them. Circulation is also important, and you should place a biological filter and a mechanical filter opposite each other to give your pond optimal circulation. Last but not least, you can use these tips to help your pond function optimally in the final months of summer:
- Feed fish in the morning and pay attention to the amount of food. Leftover food breaks down more quickly in warmer water and can pollute the pond.
- Be sure to remove dying leaves and flowers before they can rot in the warmer water.
- The bottom line is that you still need to keep an eye on your pond and let your fish and plants do the talking. If you have a balanced ecosystem, you will have a much easier time maintaining the health of your pond, fish and plants. Not to mention, it will help you make a healthy transition into the fall season.
