No doubt your pond gives you hours of pleasure. It’s very relaxing and tranquil to sit next to, listening to the sound of a water feature splashing, or watching your brightly coloured Koi as they flit about. Or maybe you just like to watch the sunlight sparkling off the water’s surface.

Ponds definitely add character and interest to a garden, and bring joy to their owners. But they also require maintenance to keep them at their best, and to ensure any plant or fish life stays healthy.

Over time, most ponds accumulate a layer of bottom sludge. This is made up of fish waste and decomposed bio materials – definitely not something you want in your pond. Nitrates, fungus, bacteria and protozoas grow in the sludge, and it needs to be removed before these nasties – the nitrates in particular – pose a danger to your fish.

The thought of cleaning your pond is probably making you shudder. Removing the fish, clambering around in the dirty water, maybe even draining the entire pond….Relax. With a pond vacuum cleaner, you don’t have to do any of those things.

Many of you might not even have known prior to reading this that there was even such a thing as a pond vacuum cleaner. Fortunately for pond owners, there are actually several makes, models and sizes to choose from, so you can make sure the one you get is perfect for cleaning your pond.

A pond vacuum is a real time and effort saver – especially if your pond is large, deep or both. They are easy to use, and there’s no need to disturb either your plant life, or your fish. They work in exactly the same way as domestic vacuum cleaners, but instead of suction being created by airflow, a pump pulls water up through the hose, bringing the sludge and debris with it. The cleaned water goes back into the pond via a discharge hose, while the sludge stays trapped inside the machine. You can later use it as a fertiliser for your garden – it’s full of nitrogen-based compounds and your plants will love it!

Just remember when cleaning your pond to keep your vacuuming sessions quite short – you don’t want to remove more than 10% of the pond water at a time, as replacing more than that amount with cold tap water could stress your fish unnecessarily.

At Pool Spa and Filtration Supplies, we stock a range of pond vacuum cleaners in different sizes, and also keep spares in stock. Some can even double as wet cleaners for inside your home! Take a look at the range, or come and chat to us about which one is best for your pond.