Springtime and Your Pond
If you live in some of the more northern climates of North America, your pond will most likely freeze through the winter season. But of course, you've prepared your pond by winterizing it. Now that spring is coming along, here are a couple of pointers to help get your pond back in top-notch condition for the spring and summer months.
Although you may start getting antsy about it, whatever you do - don't break the ice. This will cause stress in the fish. The ice on the pond will melt quickly, if you just let the warmer weather do the work for you.
Remove any debris that might be on the pond. If you've used a net over your pond to protect it from debris throughout the winter months, this should be relatively easy, however the net may not have caught all of it. It is important to remove the debris from the water, as decomposing leaves and whatnot can release noxious gasses into the pond that could be lethal to your fish.
Your pump and other filtration material should have been cleaned in the fall when you were winterizing your pond. Check to make sure the pump works by placing it in your bathtub or laundry tub, filling the tub with water and then turning the pump on. (Be careful, as you may get a bit wet from this!) When you are convinced that your pump works, you can install your pump and filtration material into your pond.
Over the first few days that you have the pond open for the spring, change some of the water. You should be changing approximately 15%-25% of the water. Also add a pond conditioner, like New Pond, to help remove any chlorine from the water. Don't forget to test the pH levels in your water.
At this point in time, you can bring your plants back into your pond.