General Pond Cleaning

Ponds are best cleaned in autumn when the fish and other life in them are less active. The first thing you should do is to prepare another tank for the fish using pond water before beginning to drain the pond. The pond can be drained using a hire pump, removing both plants and fish and other large animals as they become accessible when the water level falls. Unwanted plant material from the pond can be placed on the border and kept moist so that small pond animals that can’t be removed individually can return to the new pond once re-filled. Unfortunately, now the really dirty work begins with the lifting off of all the silt that has accumulated on the bottom of the pond. Some of the silt can be kept on the border with the other material to allow re-population of the new pond with organisms that live in the decaying matter. The liner should then be cleaned with clean water, brushing off dirt as necessary. At this point, re-filling of the pond can begin. Replace first the saved decayed matter to the new pond as it fills, followed by the fish and other plants.