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With the arrival of spring, it's time for spring pond care. Fish are swimming around, our plants are poking green shoots above the water, our waterfalls have come back to life and we are relaxing out of doors in our wonderful spring weather.

Temperatures still fluctuate during the spring. Just because you have a 70-degree day does not mean that you can start feeding koi. They must not be fed until the pond water temperatures are stable at 55 degrees Fahrenheit at night. Remember, if you have a balanced pond and no koi, you never feed your fish.

Things to check
Check your filter. It is clean? Even if it looks clean, it probably is not. So give it a good cleaning. If you have a biofilter, give it a kick start with a bacteria/enzyme product like Microbe-Lift PL to ensure a good bacteria colony starts to grow in your biofilter.

Check your pump. Clean it up. Check all your hoses for leaks or cracks. Nothing is worse than coming home from work and finding out a hose leaked and your pond is nearly dry.

Make sure you have a dechlorinator on hand. You will need it. I know you think you won’t, but you will. Here’s what happens. You decide to top off the pump. The phone rings. Then you realize you need to get to the bank before it closes, so you dash out. While you are out, you decide to take care of a few more errands. You return home a couple of hours later. Oops!! Your yard is flooded and your fish are lying motionless at the bottom of the pond. Add dechlorinator immediately. Start the pump if it was not already running. Most of the time, you can save your fish.