Your new pond will be a thriving ecosystem and virtually self sustaining in no time. A few things you should know as your pond matures:
Your pond will lose water…and this is normal. Due to splash from moving water, evaporation, going in and out of the pond, and plant consumption you can expect the water to go down daily by 1% to 5% of the total volume in the pond depending on how large the body of water and waterfalls are. This means you could lose up to 50 gallons of water on a hot windy day with a 1000 gallon pond.
You will get algae. This is again completely normal as some algae is par for the course in setting up the ecosystem. So long as you have crystal clear water with a bit of algae on rocks you are in good shape.
Your rocks will discolour. Due to the natural tannins in some water, harder water sources, and biofilm (a green to brown film that will form on and coat rocks) your rocks that are in contact with the water will age and discolour over time. Biofilm is 100% natural and wanted as it helps stabilize your water quality, competes with algae blooms, and can be a source of nutrition for fish.
You should not shut your pond off as the constant motion of water is essential for oxygenation and overall water quality.
You should be manually adding treatment in the form of beneficial bacteria as per the package instructions if you do not have an automatic dosing system installed on your pond.
Ponds can take care of themselves but there are some best practices to keep yours looking its best. For in-season maintenance be sure to:
Clear leaves and debris from the skimmer/intake bay/pump vault area and from the water surface with a pond net.
Make sure your water treatments are being added or that your dosing system has not run empty.
Add water to your system when it gets low via hose or your autofill line if installed.
Perform annual spring cleanouts to remove over winter debris and set the ecosystem up for yearly success.
Cut back perennial aquatic plants in either the fall or spring if applicable.
Download the Aquascape Smart Control App to monitor and control any of your smart water feature elements. This app can be downloaded from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
For Winter shutdown preparations be sure to:
Undo the dual union check valve at the pump, and remove the pumps from the water feature. Make sure to store pumps in a warm location.
Remove the top control unit and treatment bag from the dosing system. Make sure to store this unit in a warm place.
Open all ball valves to fountainscape and waterfall feeds if applicable (these will be white ball valves in a green valve box).
Open all drainage garden taps to drain water from system lines if applicable (these will be in a green valve box).
Perform fall blowout if Peregrine foreman instructs you to do so.
You can also check out our Maintenance Page for options on how we can help take care of your water feature for you.
Artificial Turf Knowledge
