Water Gardening: Pond Questions., 1 by Carolyn22

Carolyn22 wrote:
Joy

how deep is your pond? How many gallons? We too vacuum both spring and fall. We don't have a pond vac such as a wet vac, however it is more a leaf vacuum type thing that attaches to the hose. This has worked well for us over the years. We don't have the bottom drain, however we do have a skimmer.

If your fish and plants are healthy, then everything should be ok. Not sure if you are getting the tea colored water from the barley or from something else. Seems to me I read somewhere that the tea colored water could/can be from the barley. Is your water clear even though it may be tea colored? Could there be leaves in the pond? That too would give off a tea color and the release of tanins inthe water.

We use the pond bacterias and enzymes. The enzymes eat the sludge and crud from the fish. Is this something that you have been using as well? We use the Pondzyme and buy our products in September for the following year. Everything is at a cut price in September.

As far as your waterlilies are concerned - do you fertilize them regularly? Waterlilies are heavy feeders. Also your water has to be at least 60 degrees F for the waterlilies to flower - do you have an idea as to what your water temps are generally in the summer? Also, how often do you divide your waterlilies? I don't divide every year, but probably should. I know I did not get as many flowers this past year as in previous years, but I also have not divided in the previous 2 years - this year I will definitely be dividing them up.