Emptying and cleaning garden fish ponds

Let's say you have a crack or leak in a pond and you have to empty it to make repairs then it is important to plan ahead. Some people will arrange for their fish to be kept in someone else's pond but this can be bad for both parties and should be avoided if at all possible.

Here's what you need to consider ....

1. Stop feeding fish one week before time to empty pond

2. Get as large a temporary pond on site (above ground kiddies' vinyl swimming pools could be a possibility) as you can.

3. Clean out the pond using pond water.

4. Arrange to buy, borrow or hire as large an air pump as you can with a mechanism for distributing the air such as air stones.

4. On the day you plan to empty the pond pump pond water into the temporary pond and start pumping air into the water.

5. Do not overfill the pond since fish when stressed tend to jump and you do not want them jumping out of the pond

6. If the fish are to remain in this new home for a while then make sure about 50% of the water is replaced every day with fresh water .... 2 changes of 25% are better than a single change of 50%.

Remember there is no biofilter so toxic ammonia or nitrites if present will build up. This is why you stopped feeding to minimise chances of toxic build up.

7. Keep a close watch on the fish ... any signs of unusual behaviour then change portion of water immediately and make sure air pump is working

8. People with serious koi collections may well decide to have an ammonia remover like Amquel available ... just in case.

9. On refilling the main pond it would be a good idea to add a chlorine removing agent to the fresh tap water and in any case rather spray the water into the pond .. this will help the chlorine to evaporate

10. Take advantage when refilling the pond to measure your pond volume ... see below QUICK TIPS