What Should I Know About My Pond?

What should I know about my pond? How much do you really know about your water feature? Do you feel confident that if you reach out to an expert with a water feature problem you will be able to give them any information they might need to help solve your problem? Often when a customer comes in and asks a question about water features and we ask them for more information the customer just doesn’t have the answers we need. So, I thought I would put together a quick list of things you should know about your water feature. There are the obvious questions like do you have fish, plants, or rock? Do you use water treatments? How old is it?

Here are a few facts you should make note of:

First, you should know how big your feature is. You want to measure the width, length, and depth of the pond, as well as the stream if applicable. If you know the size then it is not strictly necessary but you may also want to calculate your volume of water. To do this the equation is length x Width x Depth x 7.48 = volume.
How is your pond built? Does it have a liner, or is it pre-form plastic, or maybe concrete?
What kind of pump do you have? It is important to make note of the make and model. If you can’t identify these, then at least try to find out the GPH (gallons per hour) rating. This is usually printed on a sticker on the pump itself.
How old is your pump? Often pumps come with limited warranties. So, you should keep record of when it was installed.
What size plumbing is in your feature? It will save time and money to make sure you, or the professionals installing your pump, have all the right accessories to install your new pump with the existing plumbing.
What kind of aeration do you have? Do you have a waterfall? Do you have an aeration system? If so, what size is it? These are all things one must know to figure out if the water has enough dissolved oxygen to keep it healthy.

What kind of filtration does your pond have?

Do you have a biofalls at the mouth or your waterfall or stream, or does your water pour straight from a pipe or spillway?
Is there a skimmer box to catch debris and house your pump, or does you pump sit directly in your pond?
Do you have any external filtration systems, UV lights, automatic dosing systems, or Ionizers?

So What should I know about my pond? When it comes down to it, you can never really know enough about your water feature. Even if you don’t have a problem now, the more you know the healthier your water will be. . These are all things that any water feature owner should keep track of just in case. I would recommend even putting together a file with these things written down so it is all there when you need it. As always don’t hesitate to come to us with your water feature questions.

Catch you downstream.