In one previous Article we explained how to build, step by step, a water point in your garden to attract biodiversity. This new article aims to tell you how to maintain and clean the pool created. Indeed, without maintenance, and even more so if its size is reasonable, your pool has a good chance of becoming clogged and gradually transforming into a stagnant water point attracting mosquitoes. What to do to avoid this?

Why maintain your garden pond?

As we just mentioned above, maintaining a garden water point is essential so that it retains its appeal. Over time, plants will colonize it. Some in larger quantities than others which can lead to disparities. Plant debris will accumulate (dead leaves, twigs, branches), in large quantities they risk harming water quality.

If your pond is equipped with a pump, lack of maintenance can lead to clogged pipes. This will initially reduce the efficiency of the pump, over time it can also contribute to damage your equipment. However, when the water is no longer moving, certain pests (such as mosquito larvae) tend to develop in too large quantities. On the other hand, if you have ornamental fish, they may not appreciate the lack of oxygen from stagnant water.

For all these reasons, it is essential to clean your water point as well as its surroundings regularly. Let's see together how to go about putting some order into all of this!

What are the points to check?

Before talking about the maintenance of the pool itself, let's start by talking about the maintenance of its surroundings. In fact it is recommended:

• De mow or mow the grass around the pond regularly, taking care not to drop plant debris into it.
  • This will allow you, as well as its inhabitants, to be able to access it easily
  • It may be interesting to maintain tall vegetation on one of its surroundings so that the wild fauna of the basin can take shelter there.
• De collect branches and dead leaves which are located near the basin
• De prune trees and shrubs to prevent them from losing dead branches near water

By practicing these simple actions regularly, you will avoid having to remove too large quantities of plant debris from the water. Likewise, as we will see next, it may be interesting to choose the plants that you will install around your pond to prevent nature from colonizing the space with nettles and weeds much less aesthetic.

If, despite everything, debris falls into the pool, removing it regularly will keep the water clear and oxygenated for aquatic life. It will also be necessary to think about contain plants that grow too quickly or whose roots take up too much space in the pond. For this, there are submerged baskets in which to install them. So, when it comes time for maintenance, it will be quite simple to remove the basket from the water to check if the plant or root system requires pruning. To maintain a good balance between vegetation and biodiversity, it is necessary prevent plants from covering more than half of the aquatic surface. Conversely, plants that are struggling to establish themselves will need to be moved or replaced by species better suited to the conditions of your water point.

For small ponds, it may be necessary to renew part of the water once a year (about 1/4 of the total quantity). The water removed from the pond can then be used for watering the garden. In larger ponds, water renewal occurs naturally throughout the seasons. Finally, if your pond serves as a shelter for ornamental fish it is also useful to count them every year to check that their population does not exceed the carrying capacity of your water point. If this is the case, it will then be necessary to move some of the fish to another tank. Some points of sale sometimes agree to collect young fish to put them back on sale, but this is not always the case. And needless to say, it is prohibited (and strongly discouraged) from releasing them into the wild. Indeed, as native species, they risk destabilizing ecosystems. The ideal therefore remains to think of a reception solution before installing these little multicolored guests in your pool.

The video below shows the different stages of maintaining a small pond:

Plants, quality allies in your pond!

When plant debris, or even the excrement of your fish decomposes in the water, it occurs a release of nitrites, then nitrates. In large quantities, these nitrates pollute water and are harmful to aquatic life. Good news though: aquatic plants absorb nitrates which contribute to their growth ! Thus, a planted pond will be more balanced and less subject to harmful peaks of these elements. This is for example the case of Elodea (Elodea Densa). It is a relatively easy plant to plant, and which will actively participate in the oxygenation of the water point. If you live in a region with harsh winters, it may be preferable to choose Canadian Elodea (Elodea Canadensis) which can withstand temperatures down to -10°. Be careful, however, this plant tends to take up more and more space over the years and you will need to maintain it regularly to prevent it from colonizing your entire pond. The removed plant parts can be used as fertilizer in the garden., but should not be placed near natural water points because its development could harm other plants present there.

Vegetation also brings an aesthetic touch to a pond. Two well-known plants then probably come to mind:

• • The water iris
    • There are several types, which can give blooms of varied colors
    • It is a plant that will thrive near the bank.
    • If your pool is equipped with a lagoon (part designed to naturally filter the water in the pool), they will fit in perfectly
    • They easily resist frost in winter, but it is advisable to prune them in the fall to prevent their foliage from decomposing in water.

• • The water lily
    • There are again several species that can give white, yellow, pink or even red blooms.
    • This time it is a plant which can be placed in the center of your pond
    • The root and the rhizome will then be located at the bottom of the water, while the leaves and flowers float on the surface
    • Water lilies thrive in the sun, they have the advantage of providing shade in your pool, which will be appreciated by its occupants

There are many other varieties of plants that can decorate your ponds. It's up to you to compose the mixture that will make your water point unique. However, a few points should be taken into account:

• • Maintaining the cleanliness and efficiency of your period swimwear is essential. Whether you choose to take into account the recommended depths for each type of plant installed
    • If you have created your levels correctly, your pool has several zones of varying depths
    • Be sure to install each plant at the depth and light exposure that will allow it to grow best.
  • Consider finding out about plants that best match your climate
    • Some aquatic plants are resistant to cold or frost, others to drought
    • Using the right plants depending on your location will save you from having to replant them every year
    • An exception: water lettuce (Pistia Stratiotes). This little floating plant can't stand the cold
      but grows quickly and can therefore be replanted each year
    • In addition, it is used in aquariums, and if you have a good-sized aquarium (100L minimum) you can install it there.
      to have some on hand every spring

• Finally, be sure to install different types of aquatic plants to benefit from their properties:
  • Personalized oxygenating plants : which are often aquatic even if some can have an emerged part
  • Personalized floating plants which will provide shade and filter the water on the surface
  • Personalized bank plants which will provide shelter for the wildlife in your watering hole
  • Personalized filter plants which could allow the establishment of a lagoon
  • Don't forget the surroundings of the pool either., better a carpet of semi-aquatic plants than a border of weeds to maintain

Installation and maintenance of mechanical filtering

Despite diligent manual maintenance, and the help of plants, it is possible that your pool will become clogged despite everything. This is all the more true when it hosts a colony of fish. Filtration is then necessary, this can be of two types:

• Mechanics
• Organic

Mechanical filtration consists of recover waste from water passing it through brushes and foams of different sizes. For its part, biological filtration consists of allow colonies of bacteria to develop in the filter. These will then be responsible for recover and transform certain harmful elements present in the pond water. To grow, bacteria need support. There are several such as:

• La pozzolan, a porous volcanic rock in which bacteria grow well
• Le Japanese rug, a hard blue foam
• La ceramic, in the form of small hollow cylindrical blocks
• The clay balls (which must be contained, otherwise they float)

To bring the water to the filter, one or more pumps (depending on the size of the pool), are placed in the water. It is generally advisable not to place the pumps at the very bottom of the pool, but rather to raise them slightly. This method allows to prevent it from emptying completely in the event of pump failure, which can be vital for the population of your water point. The pump is connected to the filter by pipes, which lead the water there. The principle is to push the water through the different materials present in the filter to rid it of its impurities.

There are many types of filters and pumps presenting different flow rates. The choice of a model must be made according to the specificities of your installation. Generally speaking, it is common to say that effective filtration must be capable of filter the entire volume of water present in the pool every hour. On the other hand, if the latter accommodates fish, it is recommended to double the filtration capacity value of the system used. In fact, the values ​​given by manufacturers often apply to a pool without occupants. If you wish to install Koi carp, you will need to be even more attentive to this data, because these fish cause more significant pollution than other species.

The purchase, installation and maintenance of a filter can represent a more or less significant cost that will have to be taken into account in your budget when installing the pool. However, some modular solutions can be completed over time. They can be an interesting choice if you plan to increase the size of your pool in the future, or if you want to test a filtration capacity which can then be increased according to your needs. Finally, if you are a DIYer, another interesting solution is to carry out the manufacturing and installation of the filter yourself. There are many tutorials on the internet that can serve as a basis for your project. This solution also has the advantage of allowing you to adapt all the specificities of filtration to your situation.

Special case of the UV filter : if the water in your pool has a “green” color, you may have already been offered the installation of a UV filter. On some commercial filtration solutions, it is sometimes integrated directly into the system. It is in fact a small device, which uses UV to eradicate algae suspended in water. These green algae being responsible for the coloring of the pool, the installation of such a filter allows you to obtain transparent water. However, another look can also be taken at these small green algae, and we wanted to offer you this video which offers a completely different perspective:

For further…

You will have understood this through reading our article, maintenance is an essential point in the life of your water point.

Here are some final tips for making it:

• Carry it out regularly: the more regularly the pool, plants and filters are cleaned and maintained, the quicker the operation will be completed.
• Always rinse or clean the various elements with water from your pool, it is important for maintaining a good balance
• If possible, do not clean all parts of the filter at the same time. That allows bacteria to reorganize more easily after cleaning
• Finally, also take time to observe the life of your pool: cleaning it is good, then being able to enjoy its presence is even better!
• For any questions, do not hesitate to visit our forum some water