Spring Pond Cleaning begins in Baltimore and Harford County Maryland |Baltimore Pond Contractor | Arbor Ridge

Spring Pond Cleaning begins in Baltimore and Harford County Maryland |Baltimore, MD  Pond Contractor | Arbor Ridge

Spring is simply the most exciting time of year as things slowly awaken from their winter hibernation and spring pond cleaning begins in Baltimore and Harford County Maryland (MD).  There are some things that you can do to make sure your pond or water feature gets off to a good start this spring.

The best time to perform a spring pond clean-out in Baltimore and Harford County Maryland is before your water garden completely awakens from its winter dormancy – ideally before the water temperature in the pond creeps above 55º F. If a clean-out is performed when the water is warmer, after bacteria colonies form, the balance of the ecosystem will again be thrown off and your pond will go through another “green phase” before the bacteria colonies re-establish themselves again.

Does your Maryland water feature need a full pond clean-out this season?  If there is a layer of “crud” at the bottom of the pond, it would be a good idea to do a full clean-out.  You might want to consider hiring a Baltimore pond contractor to perform the spring cleaning if the pond is in this condition.

Plan on spending a half to a full day to complete a pond clean-out by yourself.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• A clean-out pump with approximately 25 ft. of discharge hose
• A high-pressure nozzle for your garden hose, or a power washer
• Garden shears for trimming plants
• A child’s swimming pool or a similar sized container to hold fish and any other critters you find during the clean-out
• A net or something similar to place over the fish container to keep them from jumping out
• Two five-gallon buckets to collect leaves and debris and a fish net

Drain the Pond / Pondless® Waterfall

• Place the clean-out pump in the deepest point of the pond in order to remove the water.  Drain the water into the surrounding landscape. Be sure to relocate the pipe two or three times to allow the water to seep into the ground and not flood the yard.
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• If you have fish, use some of this pond water to fill up the holding pool. The fish can be removed from the pond using a net once the water is low enough so you can easily catch them.  Don’t keep the fish in the holding pool for more than several hours. Keep them in a shady spot with a net over the top of the pool to prevent them from jumping out.

Don’t Overdo the Cleaning

• Rinse the inside of the pond. You can also use a pressure washer to help remove debris from the rocks and gravel.  Don’t try to scrub all of the algae away. Some algae on the rocks will prove beneficial in developing your ecosystem.  Use the gentle stream from a garden hose to rinse the rocks and gravel. Start at the top and work your way down to the bottom. Periodically turn the clean-out pump on to remove the dirty water. You can discontinue the periodic pumping once the water rinsing down to the bottom begins to look clear. Remove the pump and begin filling the pond.

Cleaning the Filters

• Remove any debris from the bottom of the skimmer and Snorkel™ Vault. This can be done by hand or by using the cleanout pump.  Then remove the media nets and filter pads and rinse them free of accumulated debris and put them back into place.
• Waterfall pump can be reattached in the skimmer or Snorkel™ Vault.
• Remove the media nets and filter pads from the BioFalls® Filter. Once the filters have been removed rinse them free of accumulated debris.
• The filter media and mats can be put back into place and the waterfalls pump can be reattached in the skimmer or Snorkel™ Vault.

Putting Your Fish Back into their Clean Home

• If you’re on city water, it’s imperative that you add a detoxifier product to the new pond water so it is safe for fish.

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