Now that spring has arrived your going to need to clean your goldfish pond and get it already for the pond season. Pond maintenance is needed and you will need to clean your goldfish pond of any debris and organic matter that has decomposed over winter. If you did not cover your goldfish pond last year with a pond netting you will need to scoop up all the leaves that are decaying. This decaying matter is prime areas for when goldfish diseases and parasites occur. Remove all the sludge at the bottom of your goldfish pond to prevent diseases and parasite outbreaks.
For small ponds you can completely clean your pond rinse it out and refill it. If you have goldfish in your pond simply remove them and place them in an indoor aquarium until you finish cleaning your pond. It would be best to keep them in a fish tank for about 3-4 days before you re-introduce them to your pond. This would be a great time for you to observe your fish and look for any signs or symptoms of diseases and parasites. If you notice any sick fish treat them as needed.
For any pond plants that you have in your pond such as water lilies and other marginals, this is a great time to divide them. Simply divide and re-pot your pond plants and fertilize them as well. When you clean your pond for spring this is the ideal time for dividing your pond plants and water lilies and you can place them where you want in your garden pond.
For larger ponds which you may not be able to drain your pond and clean it completely make sure you remove as much as the sludge as possible. Do a partial water change and remove about 25% of the water.
Now that your pond is cleaned out your going to need to start up your pond for the season. Now you can hook up your pond pump and filter and get the water circulating. Be sure to add beneficial bacteria to get your biological filter working properly. Also add water conditioner to remove chlorine from the water to make it safe for your goldfish.
In spring is when people tend to have problems with algae blooms with their goldfish pond. After you have finished cleaning your pond and hooking up your pond pump and filter add a bag of barley to your pond. A bag of barley right by the pond pump will help reduce the the chance of algae. Barley works great for algae control in ponds. Simply add barley straw, barley extract or pellets in your pond at the beginning of spring and this will help your pond stay clear.
After you have cleaned your pond and started it up for spring most people want to start feeding their fish. Remember you can only start feeding your fish when it warms up to about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Some fish foods on the market today you can feed your fish at 45 degrees but general rule is about 55 degrees you can start feeding your goldfish. When you do start feeding your goldfish in your pond start feeding them a wheat germ food that fish can easily digest. Feed them once a day and then as summer approaches you can switch fish foods later. Remember goldfish in a pond don’t really need to be fed, their is plenty of food in the pond for them.
Now that your goldfish pond is all cleaned out and ready for the season you can start to enjoy it. To fully enjoy your water garden make sure you have enough pond plants, water lilies and floating aquatic plants. Having your pond about 70% full of plants will help keep your water crystal clear all summer long. Make sure you have great pond filter as well as consider buying a UV sterilizer for your pond will help keep your water quality perfect all summer. Enjoy your goldfish pond and get your pond started up for spring for another pond season
4 replies on “Goldfish Pond- Cleaning and Pond Spring Start Up Tips”
Hi
I am so glad I found this site,
I have a pond in my front yard about 500 gal more or less? I have not got a filter system at all, I couldn’t afford one but I wanted a pond so bad Me and my sons built it ourselves, I do have a small water Fall I put rocks in it and the water runs over them so pretty, i bought plastic to line the pond and rocks all round it to hold plastic in place it is not fancy at all but I like it, I put in it this year 12 small feeder goldfish well feeders is what i call them not sure the real name but they were cheap to start out with, Last year my son caught red eyes from a creek in front of my home and they lived all winter with no problems, I didn’t know they were still living til i was cleaning my pond this year getting leaves and stuff out of it, so will the fish I put in be ok and do I really have to have a fifter system? So I was thinking these large ponds like where you go pay to fish has no filters and stuff so thats what I was wondering if I have to have all that stuff to have fish and my pond, I really can’t afford alot of the stuff people talk about that they buy for their ponds, but I have wanted one for so many years so I gave it a try sometimes I get that stuff that clears the water and put in it, but I don’t want it real clear. I want it to look like a real pond but still be safe for my babies hope you can help.
Thnaks so much for this site
Hi Jamie,
What a great name! lol
Yeah you can leave your goldfish on your deck in Seattle. The only thing I suggest is make sure you keep track of the temperature of the water in your mini water garden on your deck. Once the water drops below 55 degrees stop feeding them. This you already know but that would be the only suggestion to strongly keep an eye on.
You really wouldn't need to get a pond heater as it doesn't freeze and goldfish are coldwater fish and hibernate over winter. We have harsh winter up here in Moncton, New Brunswick Canada and my fish live just fine. All I need to do is just keep a hole open in the ice during the winter to allow bad gaes to escape.
You duckweed should be fine but your water lettuce probably won't lasts.
I know your the rainy capital city of the world as everyone says but do you ever get any snow at all, ever??
Talk to you later,
Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
January 22nd 2010
Help!
We have a small concrete pond in our garden with gold fish and a few koi. After all the cold weather and snow, we noticed that the water level had suddenly dropped to about a foot! I refilled the pond with the hose to try to save the fish, and I expected it to drop again immeditately, but confusingly, it didn't ! I think it must still be dropping, but slowly. I'm assuming we must have a crack in the concrete somewhere, because I can't think of any other reason for the water disapearing. My husband had rushed out and hired an big outdoor tank from the garden centre.They said our best option, if we need to stop a leak, is to have it skimmed with fibre glass. Do you think we should empty it and try to sort out a leak now or leave it until the warmer weather ? If I put the fish in this outdoor tank, should I fill it with water from the pond rather than the hose ? Or maybe fill it with tap water and leave it to stand for a day ? Also how long would they survive for in a plastic tank without any filter?
any advice would really be appreciated. Some of my fish have lived for years and it will be so sad if this finishes them off ! Melissa silverman
How is the water level now? If there has been no change since you've refilled the pond, it's possible that a large animal ( a neighbor's Labrador Retriever, for example) thought your pond looked like a great place to go wading, and splashed a significant amount water out. We have a neighbor's dog that is a repeat offender, in this manner and that is the case with our "mysterious" water loss. We do refill and watch the water level carefully to assess whether the dog punctured the pond liner with his toenails, while he terrorized our goldfish and our water garden plants. Amazingly our comet goldfish are very stealth and survive this chronic disruption very well. Our plants, unfortunately do not.