The Secret(s) to Keep Your Pond Crystal Clear | The Barefooted Gardener

*The rule regarding gallons of water per fish can be fudged with a little bit, besides I rebuilt this pond in 2019, so the fish got a much bigger home…

Have you ever wondered what makes a pond crystal clear (or not) then stay tuned for an in depth look at how YOUR garden pond functions, and the critical elements to keep it running smooth.

I forgot to mention: Have a mesh bag of lava rock above the filter pads in your Biofalls!

Build Natural Waterfalls:

Install This for Easier Pond Maintenance:

The SECRET(S) to Designing Ponds like a PRO!

[AtlantisWaterGardens]

Great information and I love the video! Nice Job! 💪

[mikesbikes]

My Japanese Bonsai Teacher had 3 ponds before he passed away, he kept them crystal clear all the time. Here in California, one important thing he mentioned is installing a shade net (at least 70% shade) over the pond. This will help to prevent green algae. Black algae is the key to keeping it clear. Nice pond.

[marjoriejohnson]

When I was the major feeder of my fish thru the years the fish came up to eat but not when other people came to pond. Taught decorative watergardening 25 years ago, called the class " pond therapy" Started learning about koi 50 years ago and got started with plants from Lily Ponds and then Koi Unlimited in Maryland. They were the only game in town, a 6 hour drive for me. You are doing a great job young man, not one thing wrong... you get an A+. Keep up spreading the good word.

[martymaloney]

Love the pond and the plants around it! Thirty years ago my brother in law hand dug a pool sized pond on the Oregon coast. He had it finished like a pool, included a stream and had a good sized homemade filtration system. He had pea gravel in the bottom to displace some of the water because the fish were hanging out in the deep end (5-6’) too much. He did not have rock around the edge or in the stream bed and he fought constantly to keep the water clear. He did have a few water Lillie’s but refused the suggestion of a Japanese Maple to give filtered light. His Koi did get quite large (12-16”) but it would have been so much nicer if he’d included plantings around the pond and deck that projected over it. He’s gone now as are the fish but those are nice memories of visiting him/his family and getting to feed the fish.

RIP Woodie

[morganolfursson]

Hi, i just stumbled upon your video. I was watching it with a friend from Japan who is a traditional garden designer and because he doesn't write english too well he asked me to tell you two things.
- First of all, you are very talented and this pond is quite beautiful with a real sense of aesthetic and modern design.
- You have way too many Koi in it, for a pond this size you should have 3 Koi maximum. Besides Koi prefer calm and quiet water and this water has quite a strong current which is good for oxygenation but bad for Koi. This is why they are swimming all over the place and are a bit too shaky. I really don't know much about ponds and koi so i am really just translating, but my friend who is an elderly gardener who has worked for some of the best Gardens in Kyoto, is a tad worried for the Koi and their well being.

[scrapsathome]

Thank you for making this video! I'm buying a new home that has a water feature like this with a koi pond and waterfalls. So, this is exactly the kind of info someone like me needs as a raw beginner trying to understand how to maintain all this.

[manuelamarinello]

Great informative video! I’m new to the pond world. I make one myself and I just used some logic. First I put just a few tadpoles, but the water was starting getting a bit foggy and I was noticing more mosquitos larvae. So I decide to put a few goldfish. I was pleased to see the took care of the larvae and I was also extremely surprised so see they took care also of the water quality. Now it’s crystal clear!

[sweetkoiyo]

Almost two years later, and still find this video helpful. Great information for the beginner. I have had a pond for years now, and got to say, your tips and advice is spot on. I hope if someone decides to build a pond, they find your video first.

[denarisnoctem]

I love that your pond is well planted all the way around and that you have the proper slime on the stones in the pond. It looks wonderful. So many of the other ponds on youtube look sterile, even after they are 'planted'.

[victoriapetroni]

I am currently rebuilding our pond and have been watching a lot of these videos. You are a fantastic teacher! By far one of the best videos out there! So, thank you! BTW, your pond is amazing!

[Blonde_jawn]

Thanks for explaining the scientific terms of nitrate and nitrite and etc. I’ve been trying to keep my natural spring pond running, without any idea what I am doing- but no matter how much I clean my pond the muck just never ends. I didn’t build mine someone else did back in the day and I assume the natural spring means I don’t need a filter but I will add hostas and plants around. Thanks I learned a lot and I am very impressed you did that yourself.

[tiffanysickler]

I don’t know where to start. I just bought a house that has a pond in the back with nine (or more) fish and also apparently a giant bullfrog. I’m afraid to use the water vacuum, and I have to fish out and clean the pump and bag almost on the daily. There has got to be a better way 😱 thanks for posting the video. He got me thinking on different kinds of plants to incorporate.

[deangray]

Beautiful pond and fish, thanks for the great video! I've kept koi for over 20 years now. Early on I ran into a problem caused by the gravel on the bottom and the lack of a bottom drain. I tried vacuuming the accumulated sludge, fish waste, from the gravel which resulted in black cloudy water. After this attempt half my fish died. My current pond which has been in operation for almost 20 years is 2500 gallons with epdm liner. I have chosen not to have gravel on the bottom. I have a bottom drain and a skimmer which gravity drain to a 1000 gallon vortex filter which gravity drains to a 37 watt UV light, through a basket filter and is then pumped up to 1000 gallon Skippy biofilter which flows through a rock filled stream back to the pond. I have 7 large koi 18" to 24". My water is very clear most of the time.

[MsWatchdog]

Those gorgeous fish looks so happy there!

[muse]

Love your water feature. I wish you could have done an install of your design It's one of the nicest I have seen here on youtube.

[gspa]

Awesome pond. Everything is hidden. A video on installation of skimmer & waterfall would be awesome.

[greenthumbgardeningtwba]

We have 20 gold fish to 350 litres, that is 4 gallons per fishy, we have 4 separate filters and do a 25% twice a week which I water our garden, we have to monitor the ammonia levels, but over all the water is crystal clear and the fish are growing quickly,
Thanks for the great video, thoroughly enjoyed
Scotty

[camillemalm]

I’m on this side of YouTube again and honestly it helps me sleep at night

[jerrymcewen]

Thanks for getting back with some of the plants you have around your pond.

[SheilahJudd]

you have the most beautiful pond and the happiest fish I've ever seen