Maintain Garden Ponds

Tips on Keeping the Water Clear and Weed-Free in Your Garden Pond

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Once the pond has settled down and there is a balance between aquatic insect life, plants, and oxygen levels, the water should become clear and clean. If it doesn’t, try immersing barley straw into the water, which should clear the water after about six weeks and help keep it free of algae for the rest of the summer. You can buy sachets of barley straw that will give some idea of the quantity you need; alternatively for a pool 10 feet in diameter and 24 inches deep, an old pair of tights packed with straw will be adequate and entertaining. Introducing water snails and oxygenating plants such as Ceratophyllum demersum (6-9) or Lagarosiphon major (8-10) will also help. Water lilies and other leafy aquatics provide shade and reduce the risk of green water.

Thick strands of dark green blanket weed are best removed by hand or with a net, or by twisting them around a brush shaft. Never use a rake, fork or other sharp tool in the pond; the liner is tough but not immune to being punctured.
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Oxygenating plants quickly form a mass of foliage. In summer, this carpet should be thinned to prevent it choking the pond. In autumn remove dying foliage before it sinks to the bottom as the gases that are released when it rots may be harmful to fish and other pond life

Any weeds, plants, debris, or bottom mud that is removed from the should be left beside the pond overnight to give insects a chance to return to the water, before it is dumped or put on the compost heap.