The benefits of having a pond in South Africa are endless. However, in order to keep it thriving in this ever-changing weather, it does require some TLC—but the maintenance is well worth the effort.
The changing of the seasons has a lot to do with your pond. Factors such as daylight hours and water temperatures play a significant role in the vitality of your plants, fish and wildlife.
In this article, we’re going to reveal how you can focus on getting your pond summer-ready as well as how to maintain it in the cooler months of the South African season.
Keeping your pond healthy and fresh in winter
One advantage about being a pond owner in South Africa is that you don’t need to worry about them freezing solid during the winter.
As you know, winter goes hand in hand with less activity. Although, that doesn’t mean your pond comes to a standstill—it just starts to slow down. During cooler temperatures, your pond’s whole biological ecosystem will start to decompose.
This means that you’ll need to get rid of all the ‘dead weight’ (such as the leaves, plants and insects) in order to keep your oxygen levels stable and your fish healthy and breathing.
It’s therefore important to keep an eye on the pH levels and regularly check the water chemistry of the pond. This is especially true as the temperatures start to rise and the natural beauty and ecosystems start coming back to life.
You can check your pH levels by either using a pH meter, or by simply buying some Litmus paper. The pH reading runs anywhere between 1 and 14. For a healthy group of guppies, you’ll want it to read around 6.5 and 9.5. Anywhere above or below that is cause for concern, and you might want to clean out any gunk that could be causing the chemistry levels to go haywire.
Making your pond summer-ready
As the seasons start to change and get warmer, ammonia and nitrate levels in the water begin to rise. In order to control these spikes, and kick start your pond’s biological filter, you need the Mature Live Filter Bacteria for Ponds.
This adds bacteria (seven species to be exact) back into the pond and supports its overall health and activity. Use it weekly to help with the maintenance of natural, unfiltered ponds as well as filtered ones too. If you find that the ammonia levels in the pond are higher than they should be, then it’s best to treat your fin-children’s home with the NT Labs Ammonia Remover Pond Booster.
It contains natural rock that absorbs the ammonia as well as zeolite-based media with a small particle size to prevent the formation of nitrite and nitrate. It’s a super product to control waste, promote healthy bacteria growth and improve the water quality as well.
Tip: Remember that an increase in temperature results in an increase of your fishes’ metabolism, so be sure to cater to their needs as well.
Nurturing a crystal-clear pond year-round
You’ll often find that sludge begins to form at the bottom of the pond. It’s important to treat this sooner rather than later. Green sludge provides the perfect breeding environment for all kinds of disease and creepy crawlies to hide. It also greatly reduces the risk of potential fish disease, such as bacterial infections or mouth and fin rot.
The NT Labs Sludge Remover is a FIN-tastic product to add to your pond. Not only will it make this water feature easy on the eye, but it also boasts a combination of enzymes and bacteria that digests organic material. This leads to a cleaner, healthier pond.
Another important factor to consider is rainfall and tap water. Without knowing the potential effects, many people fill their ponds with tap water—and naturally, the seasonal rainfall does too. Both of these contain a lower amount of minerals (or hardness), which can cause fluctuations in the pH that are potentially harmful to your pond.
If you’re looking to treat that, a super bene-fish-ial product to use is the NT Labs Tap Water Chlorine Remover Aquasure Pond Treatment.
It removes chlorine, chloramines, halogens and various heavy metals that are toxic to fish. It’s also great for transporting your fish as well as reducing any shock during the process.
Does your pond have a filter?
Filter maintenance and cleaning is extremely important. If not treated, the sponges within the filter lose efficiency and provide the perfect surface for unwanted, harmful bacteria. You need to clean the sponges manually to remove dirt but take extra care not to kill off the bacteria inside.
Tip: The sponges need to be cleaned in the actual pond water, not in tap water, for the reasons discussed above.
What do you do if your pond is green?
Now, let’s talk all things green and gross.
The warm summer sunshine brings a few slimy friends along with it, which, in turn, affects the pond water. To help clear things up, make use of the NT Labs Green & Cloudy Water Magiclear Pond Treatment.
It isn’t called Magiclear for nothing. All you need to do is add the treatment to the water and watch the magic happen. It causes the small bits of algae and dirt to clump together and sink to the bottom of the pond, making it easier to be removed by the filter.
If you don’t have a filter, the Sludge Remover will be just as effective.
Now, what happens when you’ve tried a treatment and nothing happens? Well, what you’re treating might not even be algae—it might actually be a weed, known as Duckweed. It’s easy to mistake this type of plant for common algae found in ponds, such as Blanketweed.
Both share common features—that being they both thrive in still, nutrient dense water. However, it’s important to spot the difference so you can buy the correct treatment. So, how do these two invasive plants differ? Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Blanketweed is a filamentous algae, which is commonly found in freshwater. It has a string-like consistency and often clumps together. It can either be found floating or submerged within the pond itself, attaching itself to the pond walls. The algae’s perfect environment is the shadier and lower light areas.
- Duckweed, on the other hand, is free-floating and made up of numerous species of little plants—and boy does this weed love the sunshine! It’s able to spread across the pond surface very quickly, forming a thick green layer that floats on the surface. If it’s not controlled, it can be considered a real nuisance.
How do you treat invasive pond plants?
Is your pond resembling one of those fancy, pea mint soups? If so, stop the algae in its tracks with NT Labs Blanketweed & Algae Control Aquaclear Pond Treatment.
This product uses a long-lasting blue dye that helps by blocking the light, reducing the formation of these green gremlins. Best part is, it’s 100% harmless to all living organisms that call your pond home.
A great addition to this treatment, particularly for when your pond begins with Blanketweed growth, is NT Labs Blanketweed Balance for Ponds.
The perfect treatment to wave goodbye to Duckweed is the NT Labs Duckweed Control Cristalclear Pond Treatment.
It’s incredibly easy to use and reduces the spread of these little green goblins. What’s more, it’s 100% safe for your fish-children and plants. And, it will leave your pond looking flawless.
For more info, questions or queries, please get in touch with our Customer Care Team. We would love to hear from you.
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