Chapter 4 

Maintenance, of course is a necessary part of being a pond owner.  One helpful thing to consider is

Installing automatic water refill valves, which attaches to an outside faucet or irrigation system and runs underground to the skimmer filter? 

It would be a wise choice to locate a mechanical filter to capture 85-90% surface debris in the net and vertical mats held in the filter chamber. In conventional pond filters the water flow slowly diminishes as the filter mats get dirty, and there is no indicator alerting the pond owner that the mats need to be cleaned.  In the correct filter, on the other hand, the water in the pump chamber drops below the water line in the filter chamber, and the dirtier the mats, the greater the water level change. This indicator functions long before the water flow from the pump slows.  The filter mats should be cleaned when the difference between the front and rear chambers reaches about 2 inches. Be aware that as the filter mat becomes dirty, the rate at which the water level changes will increase more rapidly.

A weekly addition of a bacteria culture is recommended, and this is quite inexpensive.  This bacteria culture jump-starts the pond's natural biological filters, and will keep your pond water clear and healthy by converting animal waster to harmless materials in the nitrogen cycle. 

Another thing to remember about bacteria is that is not necessary to use it year after year. It is most crucial the first year, possible into the second and third year. But in due course the natural bacteria will produce enough antibiotics to control the green waters.

As for changing pond water, it is not necessary. Here is the reason; Nature takes out of the pond an average of 3-5 inches of water through evaporation every week, especially during the hot weather.  Therefore, water doe need to be added every week at this time.  This is fresh water. So what about the waste material that does not evaporate?  That waster will go to the bottom and the nitrogen cycle will take care of it. 

If you feel evaporation is unusually high, make sure there are no waterfall or stream leaks from someone stepping too hard on the edge of the liner and creating a trickle water loss.  Inspect the liner edges and look for any wet area adjacent to the pond or stream. 

Some healthy, threadlike algae will grow on the rocks, and create a natural appearance.  Longer stranded algae may grow on the waterfall and will benefit from an occasional trimming.  Green or tan algae that cloud the water should not be present in properly filtered pond.