Preventative Maintenance for Ponds Lakes Fountains
Monitoring Pools, Hot Tubs, Ponds & Fountains
Maintain Healthy Conditions for Indoor and Outdoor Bodies of Water
Few things in life make us as happy as a refreshing swim, a soak in a hot tub, or a relaxing few minutes in a personal sauna or steam room. And it's hard to deny the peacefulness you feel when lounging next to a koi pond or a fountain. To get the most out of the experience, you want to monitor and maintain water conditions like temperature and humidity. In the case of swimming pools, hot tubs, fountains, and man-made ponds, it may also help to watch out for leaks, so you can fix a small problem before it becomes a big one. Your best bet is to equip yourself with tools designed to keep tabs on important conditions.
Tips for Pond Maintenance, Lake & Fountain Conditions
- During winter, transport garden fountains indoors if possible to prevent cracking and damage.
- For lakes and ponds in areas that may freeze in the winter, bring items like floating piers in to shore to prevent damage.
- Be diligent about pond maintenance, such as removing dead leaves from your pond in the fall, as these can change the acidity in your pond ecosystem. Just as important, decaying leaves can produce ammonia. Steps can include regularly removing fallen leaves – both from the surface, and the bottom. It is also possible to installing netting above the water to help catch leaves.
- If you have a koi pond on your property, educate yourself on temperature and how it affects the health of your pond. This can include what and how much you feed the fish, bacteria treatments, aeration, winterization, etc.
- If your koi pond freezes in the winter, make sure to take steps to protect your fish. These can include using a pond de-icer or pond heater, aerating, clearing snow from atop the ice, and having an action plan in place should you experience a power outage and your de-icer and aerator stop working. This can include using a backup generator and/or manually de-icing a portion of the pond using boiling water.
- Perform a thorough cleaning of your pond ecosystem in the fall and spring.
Pond, Lake & Fountain Problems
Seasonal Changes Impact Water Care and Pond Maintenance: How you care for your lake, pond or fountain (and the fish inside) will change as seasons changes. This can include feeding, bacteria treatments, aeration, preparation for winter, etc. Without knowing the water temperature, however, you can be flying blind and not effectively caring for the environment as well as you could.
You Don't Have A Way to Monitor Environmental Conditions: Knowing water temperatures can let you know when it's the perfect time for a swim, or perhaps when the fish are biting. Walking out on your lakefront property, or to your pond to dip your toe in the water is ok in a pinch, but checking conditions from inside your home would be much more practical and convenient.
You Want to Be Alerted to Pond Leaks: Leaks in your pond can be disastrous for the fish and plant life. These can occur either in the liner or the plumbing (like pipes connected to devices like skimmers and filters). Having a device that helps you identify when leaking is occurring could alert you to take early action, or determine that the problem is really just evaporation.
Pond, Lake & Fountain Solutions
Monitor Conditions with a Liquid Temperature Sensor: A pond thermometer can, at-a-glance, show you pond temperature conditions. An AcuRite Monitor with Liquid Temperature Sensor wirelessly transmits readings from the pond or lake to an indoor display. This will let you view conditions from anywhere in the house, and even receive a programmable alert when conditions meet or exceed your preset levels.
Check for Leaks with a Water Leak Detector: Strategically-placed leak detectors can be highly useful in identifying leaks early, transmitting a warning to an indoor display, giving you instant notification that unwanted water is present.
AcuRite Solutions & Tips
- Monitor Air Temperature and Humidity: Position an AcuRite Monitor nearby the pond or fountain to measure ambient temperature and humidity conditions.
- Monitor Pond, Lake or Fountain Water Temperature: Insert the tip of the Liquid Temperature Sensor into the pond, lake or fountain to measure water temperature.
- Monitor for Water Leaks: Place leak detectors around your pond or fountain plumbing. You can also place detectors along the base of the pond to monitor for leaks in the liner.
- Use a Home Environment Display for convenient viewing of conditions measured by multiple Monitors and Sensors in and around your home. Place display in your kitchen, office, living room, etc.
- Track the Weather Forecast on the display. Keep tabs on the outdoor environment, helping you know when to take action or what the weather is going to be like for your afternoon beach party.
- Set Alarms:The alarm function on the Home Environment Display can be programmed to alert you of conditions. These can include:
- The lake or pond is at your desired temperature
- Undesirably high or low temperatures
- Freezing conditions
- Freezing water
Further Reading
Here are some of our favorite resources for information on maintaining a healthy conditions in your pool, spa, pond and more:
- Jacuzzi offers helpful guidelines on hot tub water temperature
- AquaCal, maker of hot tub/pool heaters, offers these recommended settings
- Livestrong provides a variety of resources pertaining to steam/sauna rooms
