Pond owners need to start preparing their ponds in autumn for the coming winter. Only by doing this can you be sure that your pond will continue to bring you pleasure next year and that your fish will be healthy.
Falling leaves mean a dramatic increase in organic substances burdening the pond water. Many algae and plants die off slowly at this time too. As this happens, all the bound nutrients accumulated during the season, get released into the water again. This creates an ideal basis for the following year’s algae growth. Autumn is, therefore, the ideal time to remove algae-promoting nutrients, such as phosphate, from the water of your garden pond. This is the only season when these substances are floating freely in the water and are not bound inside the algae.
Our tip: Use protective pond netting to minimize the access of leaves into the pond. Leaves which have already fallen into the water can be removed by a landing net.
How do you remove nutrients quickly and easily? There are so-called absorbers and liquid nutrient binding products especially for this purpose. The filter media JBL PhosEX Pond Filter is integrated inside the filter circuit and withdraws the nutrients like a sponge out of the water. Alternatively you can use the liquid nutrient binder JBL PhosEx Pond Direct , which is directly added to the water.
It’s also time to take care of your fish, so that they are also ready for the winter season. This way you will avoid losses in spring which often result from insufficient conditioning for winter. In this phase your fish need to receive a hearty, varied diet, especially adapted for low temperatures ( JBL PondEnergil JBL Koi Energil midi or X JBL Koi Energil maxi ) . It increases their resistance and provides them with high reserves of strength for the winter break. Adding vitamins to the food ( JBL Atvitol ) every two days noticeably strengthens the immune system of the fish.
In the next blog post of the series “Pond care tips for every season” we will tell you more about oxygen supply in winter, technical equipment for the winter and how to position the pumps during a period of frost. It’s all you need for you and your pond to be ready for the winter.
