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As long as the correct measures have
been taken regarding spring maintenance, summer should
be the time when you can sit back and enjoy your pond.
However, with some simple checks the summer months will
be trouble-free.
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As the temperature will now have
stabilised, the bacteria in the filter will be active
and so the water quality will have levelled out. This
also means that parasites and pests will be active so
fish should be monitored closely. As this is also the
spawning season, the more active the fish become, the
more likely they are to harm each others, so again,
regular checks should be carried out. Fish spawn and
frog spawn, can also encourage protein froth (see Spring-
Feeding) which is an ugly foam on the water surface.
This can be easily removed using Hozelock Cyrpio from
Away.
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It has now become peak time for insects.
If there is a lot of insect life living in your filter,
water clarity may suffer. This is because insects can
consume the waste collected in a filter. While this
may sound like a good thing, it means that your filter
cannot mechanically mature and, therefore, will not
work effectively.
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One of the most important elements
of pondkeeping during the summer months is aeration.
Pond plants do give off oxygen in the day, but this
process is reversed at night when oxygen is used up
and carbon dioxide produced. This is why Hozelock Cyprio
always recommends keeping a standby pump to be used
in the event of main pump failure. Regular water changes,
approximately 10% per month are also recommended to
help re-oxygenation, and also to remove the nitrates
produced by biological filtration. Regular sludge removal
is also necessary as the waste that gathers on the bottom
of a pond can also produce carbon dioxide.
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When fry have hatched, they
will be at risk from predators such as Danselfly and Dragonfly
as well as harm from the pump. A cage such as the Hozelock
Cyprio Super Strainer can reduce the risk from a pump,
but if you wish to ensure the safety of the fry, they
should be removed from the pond and held in a separate
tank that should also be covered by a net or lid. |
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The most common job for
any pondkeeper in summer is filter maintenance. During
the summer more waste is produced by the fish and the
higher levels of algae mean more work for the filter,
which means more work for you. The filter should only
be cleaned when necessary and, while every pond is different,
this should mean a regime of one clean every 2-4 weeks. |
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All of these measures will ensure a healthy and happy
summer for your pond's inhabitants and an enjoyable
and rewarding summer for you the pondkeeper.
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