Tips for autumn 

Fog and rain, slippery roads
Add to this a cold, wet wind
Hundreds of thousands of leaves are falling
When autumn a is beginning again.

Maintenance
Autumn is the time to subject your pond thoroughly to maintenance. In this way you will prevent difficulties in winter whereas you will facilitate proper development in spring. You will find a survey of the activities involved in Velda’s pond planning in phases for spring time.

Hardness of water
Inspect your pond water using a test set and increase the joint hardness with Mineral Plus or GH Plus. It is important to make the JH value range between 8 and 12 °GH when winter starts. The chance that the water will acidify will be minimum then.

Removal of sludge
Bottom sludge in a pond is a nutrient source for algae in spring. Remove the sludge with Bio-Oxydator. It contains micro-organisms, which will decompose the sludge. The pH grains will prevent acidification of the soil and natural lime will take care of the proper hardness of the pond water.

Removal of leaves
Remove as many died off plants, as well as sprigs and leaves that have been blown into the pond water, from the pond, using the Duo Pond Tool or a scoop net. Clean the pond side using the special Pond Brush. The fewer nutrients, the smaller the chance of algae in spring.

Clean water surface
In autumn the pond water surface will often get dirty and turbid, due to leaves, sprigs and dust. This organic material contains nutrients for algae. The Pond Skimmer is a floating surface exhauster which will keep pond water clear.

Applying a cover net
You should prevent any excess feed from forming in the pond water by using a Cover Net. This cover net will prevent leaves and sprigs from being blown into the pond water. These nets are available in various sizes so that for each pond there is a suitable cover net.

Feeding fish
At a water temperature of 10 °C or less you may pass on to winter feed. A  special fish feed is involved here, which has low energetic value, is easily digestible and rich in vitamins. Thus you help your fish through the winter in good condition.

Scare away herons
During autumn the supply of feed for herons is limited and because your fish are moving less quickly in cold water, they are an easy prey. Protect your pond fish against herons by putting a Pond Guard local to your pond.

Aerating your pond water
When using a Silenta aerating set you add supplementary oxygen, whereas carbon dioxide (CO2) will be removed by the stream of air bubbles. In this way you will prevent death of fish in winter and spring owing to lack of oxygen or accumulation of carbon dioxide.