How to Solve Common Pond Problems

You might have had dreams and hopes of raising fishes successfully in your pond when you were setting up your pond. But when it find them not as perfect as you expected them to be, it may be quite disappointing. It is important to understand the common problems and the ways to tackle them.

Pond Leakage
Sometimes you may find the level of water reducing and may mistake it to be due to evaporation. It is more likely that the pond may be having a leak. You may have to drain the pond if the leak is towards the bottom of the tank and use sheep’s foot roller to fill up bentonite clay into the leak. Bentonite when inserted into the leak, efficiently swells up to 15 times larger than its original size thereby creating a leak proof seal. It allows the transfer of nutrients between the sediments of the pond. Though this is the best way to repair a leak, the bentoite clay is quite expensive.

Some times the leak may be from plumbing. You may check the hoses for leaks when the pump is running so that the problem can be fixed by replacing the area of the hose where the leak is. If the water loss is due to water seepage through the liner edge, first the spot has to be found by moving rocks and other barriers. Once you locate the low spot in the liner edge, you could stop the leak by readjusting it.

Pond pH Level
pH level determines the acidity of the water and frequent pH testing has to be done using a pH test kit. If the pH reading is 7 it is neutral and if they are higher than 7, water is alkaline and if it is lower than 7 then the water is acidic.

The ideal pH level for the pond is between 7 and 7.5. If the pH level goes above 8 or below 6.8 the biological filtration is prevented and causes the fish to be stressed. If the pH level is higher, the plants may not be able to survive as well along with the fishes. Change in pH level is caused due to soil run off, acid rain and also excessive fish waste. There are equipments available to bring the pH level to desired value. pH level should be checked constantly to keep the fishes alive.

Pond Algae
Algae should be available in small quantity since it is a positive sign proving that the pond is rich in nutrients and provides vitality to support life. However when algae overgrows, it poses lot of problems such as water gets clouded up and also steals the nutrients provided for fishes and pond plants. Plants and algae needs the same nutrients, but since the plants takes up more nutrients, the algae are deprived of nutrients and do not survive. Since presence of plants in the pond minimizes the growth of algae it is a wise idea to add plants to your pond.

Over feeding the fishes is also a common reason for excessive algae growth since they eat the excess food and decaying food. Hence it is important to ensure that the fishes are not over fed. Another method to avoid algae is by installing an ultraviolet sterilization and mechanical filter. They do not affect the plant life or fishes in the water since they work from outside the pond and they are very easy to install as well. Changing the water regularly will control the growth of algae considerably.

         

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