We recommend doing a full clean-out every one to three years. Whether you’re an annual cleaner or a once-every-three-years type of person depends on how much debris you let into your pond.

If you meticulously remove every leaf as soon as it drops into the pond, you can probably get away with only doing a clean-out every three years.

The average pond owner, however, can benefit from a clean-out every spring.

Even if you keep up with regular maintenance, wintertime is rough on your pond. Fall leaves blow around and inevitably find a way into the water. If you winterize your pond – i.e. turn off the skimmer – you’ll have even more gunk sitting on the bottom.

Does your pond look kind of gross right now, or has it been more than three years since your last cleaning? If so, then you probably need a clean-out.

An annual clean-out helps your pond start the season fresh and healthy. And early spring – ideally before the water temperatures creep above 55 degrees – is the best time to make it happen.

Your pond is a natural living ecosystem, full of beneficial bacteria and other organisms that help keep water clear and fish happy and healthy. Spring is the best time to clean a pond because these organisms haven’t quite woken up yet for the season – meaning you take less risk of disrupting the ecosystem if you do your clean-out early.

Your pond technicians will be careful to leave as much biofilm (beneficial organic material) as possible. This biofilm is a natural, normal and expected part of a happy ecosystem. Leaving the biofilm in place will help your ecosystem get reestablished and in-balance quickly so your fish are happy and healthy.

Spring clean-outs also help remove all the muck that builds up in your pond over the fall and winter. In nature, heavy spring rains and melting snow clean out rivers and streams. Manmade ponds, though, are closed ecosystems that need extra help from us to flush out excess muck and debris. Without a clean-out, all that excess debris has nowhere to go and could potentially create problems in your pond.

While we can do pond cleaning at other times of the year, the vast majority of our customers choose to have theirs done in early spring for the reasons above.

We provide pond maintenance, design and repair services around southcentral Pennsylvania and northern Maryland.

Our PA service area includes York, Emigsville, Manchester, Red Lion, Dallastown, Shrewsbury, Glen Rock, Hanover, Littlestown, New Oxford, Dover, Hellam, Wrightsville, Columbia, Mountville, Millersville, Willow Street, Strasburg, Quarryville, East Petersburg, Mt. Joy, Elizabethtown, Middletown, Hummelstown, Harrisburg, Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg. Dillsburg, Carlisle and surrounding areas.

Our MD service area includes Parkton, Monkton, Sparks, Jarrettsville, Hunt Valley,  Lutherville, Timonium, Westminster, Cockeysville and surrounding areas.  Please call (717-751-2108) for a referral for a professional contractor in other areas.