Adding Water to Your Pond
Once the pond is installed, you are ready to fill it with water. The pond water will need to be conditioned properly before adding fish and plants. Some people say, "I don't need to add water conditioners to my natural pond. Why add chemicals?"
The short answer is that tap water is NOT pond water and the usual backyard pond isn't a "natural" pond. Municipal water is treated with chlorine or chloramine, to make it safe for human drinking water; these are chemicals that are dangerous to fish and can harm plants. Adding PondCare® brand water conditioners to tap water neutralizes these chemicals. These substances need to be removed from tap water every time you add water to your pond.
A natural pond has a constant supply of fresh water, such as a stream or spring, and the "dirty" water exits the pond, taking fish wastes and other toxins with it. This just isn't true for a backyard pond. For fish in a natural pond there are thousands of gallons of water for each fish. How many fish are in the average 500-gallon ornamental pond? Most likely too many! In short, a backyard water garden is a closed system. You and Mother Nature both need a little help to keep the pond water safe for fish. This is why the proper addition of selected PondCare® water conditioners turns tap water into pond water and helps maintain a more natural environment for the plants and fish.
All municipal water contains chlorine or chloramine; both of which are toxic to fish. Even small traces of chlorine or chloramine will irritate the fish and damage gill tissue. Chloramine is a combination of chlorine and ammonia that is used to treat tap water in many municipalities. Use PondCare Ammo-Lock® 2 to instantly neutralize these compounds, making tap water safe for the pond.
Heavy metals from both municipal and well water sources can accumulate in ponds over time, posing a health risk to pond life. PondCare® Chlorine and Heavy Metal Neutralizer will effectively detoxify heavy metals as well as remove chlorine from your tap water. It is advisable to always treat your tap water with either Chlorine and Heavy Metal Neutralizer or Ammo-Lock-2 whenever you add water to your pond.
When adding fish, it is important to use PondCare Stress Coat® to maintain the fish's protective slime coating. Stress Coat contains Aloe Vera, which replaces the slime coating and promotes healing of abrasions that occur during handling, spawning and other time of stress. Fish also need electrolytes such as potassium, sodium, magnesium, chloride and calcium to maintain the proper chemical balance within their bodies. PondCare Pond Salt provides these essential electrolytes that fish and all living creatures in your pond need to survive.
The Pond Filter
Biological, Mechanical, and Chemical
The filter is of key importance in keeping your pond water crystal-clear and free of chemical pollutants. Mechanical filtration refers to the physical removal of debris from the water by filtration materials, such as foam pads, that trap suspended particles. These pads are your first line of defense in removing debris from your pond.
Chemical filtration removes pesticides, colors, odors, organic waste, excess nutrients, and other harmful chemicals from your pond. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Filter Carbon, Activated Carbon Coated Pads, Phosphate Remover, and Ammo-Chips can be used in the filter for chemical filtration. They increase the efficiency of your filter, providing better water quality and improving fish health.
The biological compartment of your pond filter provides a place for beneficial bacteria to grow on special media. Known as the "biological filter" these beneficial bacteria convert poisonous compounds (ammonia and nitrite) into less toxic nitrate. The end by-product, nitrate, is used as a food source by aquatic plants. This continuous process is called the nitrogen cycle. PondCare Ammo-Rocks, which is 100% all-natural zeolite, provides an excellent medium for growing bacteria, meanwhile removing ammonia from the water before it reaches harmful levels. Ammo-Rocks should be placed in your filter for peak performance.
New ponds have no active biological filtration. When fish are first added to a pond, they immediately begin releasing toxic ammonia as a waste product Uneaten fish foods and decaying plant materials lead to an increase in ammonia and build-up of organic waste. These conditions inhibit the development of the biological filter, thus prolonging stressful conditions in your pond.
PondCare BioFilter Booster™ speeds the development of the biological filter by removing these inhibitory substances. BioFilter Booster is a highly concentrated, very stable liquid solution of specifically selected bacteria, which will accelerate the development of the biological filter. Regular use of BioFilter Booster will reduce organic sludge and other pollutants, creating ideal conditions for the pond's beneficial bacteria.
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