June and July Pond Care

June is here and the evenings are ideal for relaxing and enjoying your pond (even with a cheeky drink in a lovely warm weather!). Though before you get too relaxed, we have outlined a few things you should check to keep your pond healthy.

Preventative
• With the warmer temperatures and long exposure to sunlight, the conditions for algae growth are ideal unfortunately. Make sure that your UV bulb is working; to check this, have a look at the UV bulb through your filters viewing window. It’s best to do this at night, as you are looking for a faint blue glow. If you can see the blue glow, excellent. If not, you will need to try replacing the bulb. UV bulbs should be replaced after 6 months of continuous use.
• It’s important to remember that warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen, which may increase the work of your pump and filter. Try adding an aerator to the pond or reducing the temperature of the pond by increasing the amount of shade.

Maintenance
• Your pump and filter system will be working harder now that the fish are more active and producing more waste. You should test your water with either the Tetra Pond Test 6-in-1 or the Blagdon Pond Health Test Kit to check the water quality.
• After the increase in temperature from the winter, your fish will be quite hungry and may produce more waste. To keep your pond healthy during this, you should try to increase the number of healthy bacteria in the pond with either the PondXpert Gel Balls or the Evolution Aqua Pure Pond Balls.
• To maintain your ponds health, you should certainly investigate getting a mechanical air pump. The increase in temperature and sunlight will decrease the amount of oxygen in your pond; adding a mechanical air pump will help to keep your pond clean, clear, and balanced as it increases the number of healthy bacteria in your pond. Please see our 5 Benefits of a mechanical Air Pump blog post for more information.
• Consider purchasing a pond vacuum; these are very useful at removing dirt and debris at the bottom of your pond.
• Keep checking your pond for signs of Common Pond Discolouration Problems.
* You may see your pond start to turn green from algae; this is commonly treated with Green Water Beaters or Nishikoi Goodbye Green Water. You should also check the status of your UV bulb, as mentioned above.
* Cloudy water is often caused by sludge; so treat with either Blagdon Clear Pond or PondXpert Anti-Cloudy Water.
* If you see foam on the surface of your pond, this is often due to excess protein in your pond. So remove any sludge and try to avoid feeding your fish as often.
* Black water can be a cause for concern. It is either down to a damaged liner, a severe lack of aeration or a chemical imbalance. So test your water immediantly. 
* If you are suffering from blanketweed, manually remove as much as possible and then use a treatment. The PondXpert Swap Net and the PondXpert Blanketweed Eliminator often work well at making blanketweed removal very easy!
• Continually keep an eye on the level of the pond; your pond may lose water due to evaporation or a leak. It's always best to keep the pond topped up with either rain water or tap water that has been dechlorinated. 
• Use a pond vacuum to keep the pond sludge to a minimum.

Fish
• Pay close attention to any Goldfish in your pond when the temperature is above 15 degrees C; you may see the male goldfish chasing after the female fish to start their mating season. If you see any signs of ailments, please use our Diagnosing Your Fish blog post to diagnose the problem and identify a resolution.
• Feed your fish in smaller amounts, but more often. Your fish will soon learn to associate you with food, but the more frequently you can reinforce the link between people = food the more friendly your pond pets will be. Feeding in smaller amounts will also help to reduce excessive feeding; this can often lead to food decaying in the pond and harming the balance of the pond.
• Don’t leave fish sitting in plastic bags full of water when you purchase them - get them in to the pond as soon as possible so that they have a sufficient supply of oxygen. Float the bags in the pond for ten minutes equalise the water temperatures.

Plants
• Deepwater plants (like lilies) will be growing strongly; adding solid fertiliser (like the Laguna Fertiliser Sticks or the PondXpert Pondbloom Fertilisers) to their planting baskets will boost flowering.
• Keep an eye on well-planted ponds for signs of an oxygen shortage in the morning. If you have too many plants in the pond, this can lead to a shortage of oxygen as plants will take in oxygen throughout the night. You may need to spray a small amount of water from a hose onto the surface of the pond or try removing some of your plants. We always recommend aiming for at least 50% pond coverage; anything more and this could harm your pond throughout the night.
• Remove dead foliage and blooms from waterlilies and other aquatic plants.
• Cut back any marginal plants that are getting out of hand.

You may also find the below blogs useful:
• Pond Calendar
• Summer Pond Care
• Pond Plants Blogs
• Aeration Blogs
• Why is my Pond losing water?
• Why do chemicals in the Pond fluctuate?
• Pond Problems

If you need any further assistance, please email us on info@pondkeeper.co.uk.