Spring Cleaning

Spring certainly has sprung. Daffodils have all bloomed, tulips are right behind them. The longer evenings beckon me to get out into the gardens to rake a little. Easter Sunday was so nice, I went out and trimmed all my bushes and cut off all the ornamental grasses. Got a half inch of rain last night with more to come. The ponds and fish are looking great. Thanks to Harry cleaning out some of the algae. There was little or no sludge on the bottom, but his efforts have left the water crystal clear now. Because our ponds are nearly under a huge walnut tree, Spring cleaning is essential for us. As much as we work at keeping them clean in the fall, there is always a few stray walnuts or leaves that get in usually turning the water a very bad coffee color. Last year there were little or no walnuts on the tree however (seems to always be an every other year cycle) so the ponds came out of winter looking pretty good. Regardless, every Spring Harry completely drains the pond, sweeps down the sides and refills it. The fish are netted out and put in a tank. This year Harry said he only had them out for about 4 hours while he cleaned, flushed the lines and got enough water back in the pond to cover the fish. So, Spring cleaning is complete, the pond waterfalls are up and running, filters are all working, and life is good if you're a fish. Water temps still only hover in the upper 50's, but the fish are already eating the Spring blend of fish food. Hopefully I can get the fish in the basement out by the end of the month. The pictures above shows the empty stream and one of the two submersed jets that help to move water down and out of the stream. The second pic shows Harry vacuuming up all the leftover rinse water. You can also see my 4 bottom drains and attached aerators. Good job, done. Now all that's left is enjoying the fish. At least till Spring Spawn ruins all my good water quality!