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Autumn is the ideal time to clean your pond as the fish are still in prime condition from summer, but the slightly cooler water temperature of early autumn will reduce their stress levels, making them less prone to disease and infection.
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It is recommended that you do not feed your fish for a couple of days before, and a couple of days after cleaning as this will reduce the quantity of excess waste and floor detritus, and will allow the pond and fish to settle after cleaning. It is good practice to monitor your water quality regularly at this time of year, using a suitable Water Testing Kit, as the pH value of your pond water may vary. If you are registering excess Nitrates (50ppm +), you should perform a series of small water changes over a period of a few weeks to dilute this pollutant. After each water change, it is good practice to introduce a dose of Starter Bacteria into the water. This will assist in regenerating aerobic bacteria within the pond and settlement on the pond filter media. |
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Falling leaves can be prevented from entering the pond by installing a Pond Cover Net across the entire surface area of your pond, or prevented from being able to settle by operating a floating Pond Skimmer to collect the leaves from the surface of the pond, before they have a chance to sink to the bottom. Anything that does make it to the bottom of the pond must be removed before it has time to start degrading. This can be done with the use of a Pond Vacuum Cleaner. |
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At this time of year, your marginal plants may start to die off. These dying plants must be pruned and removed as soon as this process begins, as if left unattended, they will sink to the pond floor and begin to decompose.
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Pruning and removal of dead and dying plantlife can be completed easily with the use of a Pond Maintenance Set, containing pond scissors, pond pliers and a pond net. Living marginal and pondside plants should be covered with polythene, or an insulating horticultural fleece to offer some protection from the potentially harsh winter ahead. Telescopic Pond Skimming Nets and Pond Waders will also prove useful in accessing hard to reach areas within the pond. If falling debris is a continuous issue, use a Pond Cover Net to limit leaf fall entering the pond. |
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The cooler water temperatures mean that fish will require a less protein based feed, as they will by now have stored enough energy from their protein rich summer diet, to allow them to survive the winter on these reserves.
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Your water temperature can be monitored using a Pond Thermometer. When the water temperature is consistently registering at under 14ºc, it is time to introduce a more fibre-based diet. The reason for this is that with lower water temperature, fish do not require a protein rich diet, as their metabolism will begin to slow down and the fish will have built up a fat reserve to get them through the winter. An Automatic Fish Feeder will prove beneficial at this time, as it will allow you to automatically regulate the amount of feed entering the pond. |
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It is important that you do not allow the water surface of your pond to completely freeze over, as this will prevent oxygen from entering the pond through diffusion, and will also prevent harmful toxic gases from escaping.
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In order for vital Oxygen to enter the water, and harmful gasses to escape, access to surface water is essential. Pond Heater or a Pond Aerator can be installed in this situation to keep an area of the pond surface free of ice to enable these vital processes to occur. The floating Pond Heater will keep a localised area free of ice and is very simple to install. A Pond Aerator will also keep a small surface area free of ice, due to the rising column of air bubbles created. |
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When the water temperature drops consistently under 10ºc, you can start to think about switching off your Ultraviolet Clarifier. At low water temperatures, single celled algae growth ('green' water) is dramatically slowed.
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When you switch off your Ultraviolet Clarifier, you should remove it from the pond filter unit and store it indoors somewhere. This will prevent any water that may be trapped inside from freezing and damaging the unit. If the UV Unit is to be left on over the colder months, it is recommended to keep the filter pump running so that the glass sleeve will not be damaged by the potential of expanding ice formation. |
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At this point, some pond owners choose to wind down filtration altogether for the winter months and restart the system in spring. Alternatively, the Oase Aquamax Eco 12000 and Aquamax ECO 16000 filter pumps have a built-in 'Seasonal Flow Control' facility that will detect when the water temperature has dropped and will automatically reduce the pumped flow rate accordingly. This is advantageous as the bacteria living within the filter media will have a head start come the spring (not having to completely regenerate after the winter) and the constant circulation will also prevent the surface of the pond from completely freezing over.
Furthermore, the SFC (Seasonal Flow Control) technology within the Aquamax ECO 12000 & ECO 16000 pumps will also reduce power consumption accordingly; ideal over these less demanding months.
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In the winter, the warmest water in the pond is at the bottom, and the fish will often rest in this area. It is good practice to raise your filter pump up of the bottom of the pond during the colder months, as the area beneath becomes a warmer channel that fish will congregate in.
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A Pond Pump Stand is perfect for this task, as the pump can be raised up on three telescopic poles, leaving the area beneath open, creating a warmer area for fish to hold up. The Pond Pump Stand can be adjusted to compensate for uneven pond floor surfaces, making this ideal for all types of pond, filter and fountain pumps up to 6kg in weight. |
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Please click on any of the listed problems below for advice and solutions.
