Hoe maak je de bodem van de vijver schoon?

Er zijn twee manieren om de bodem van je vijver schoon te maken: 1. Pomp heel je vijver leeg, waarbij je eerst eventueel aanwezige vissen een veilig tijdelijk heenkomen biedt en vijverplanten in emmers met vijverplanten plaatst. Is de vijver leeg, verwijder dan de sliblaag van de bodem en spoel de korrels vijversubstraat. Gebruik geen zeep of andere chemische middelen. Plaatst vervolgens alle vijveronderdelen weer stap voor stap terug op hun plek. Lees hoe je dat kunt doen. 2. Een andere, minder intense manier is de bodem schoonmaken met een vijverstofzuiger. Deze werkt zo, dat vijverdieren niet verstoord worden. Let er wel op dat de zuigmond smal genoeg is zodat korrels vijversubstraat er niet in verdwijnen. Meer informatie over je vijver schoonmaken lees je hier.

Wat moet op de bodem van een vijver

Simon adviseert al zijn klanten om in zowel grote als kleine vijvers een laag vijversubstraat aan te brengen. De poreuze stenen korrels vormen een ideale plek voor bacteriën die helpen het vijverwater kristalhelder te houden. Ook kun je vijverplanten (met of zonder mand) stevig neerzetten tussen het substraat.

Welke maand vijver schoonmaken?

Maart of april is een goed moment om je vijver schoon te maken. Wij raden aan om maximaal twee keer per jaar je vijver een grote(re) schoonmaakbeurt te geven, omdat je anders het onderwaterleven en biologische evenwicht teveel verstoort. Een tweede keer schoonmaken kun je in het najaar doen, bijvoorbeeld in oktober. Lees meer tips voor vijveronderhoud per seizoen.

Hoe bladeren uit vijver verwijderen?

Afgevallen blad, takken en andere plantdelen die op het water drijven, kun je het beste verwijderen uit de vijver. Dit doe je handig met een telescopisch schepnet, ofwel een schepnet met uitschuifbare steel. Daarmee kun je vanaf de oever tot ver op het vijveroppervlak bladeren vangen en uit je vijver vissen. Je kunt ook voorkomen dat er natuurlijk afval in de vijver terechtkomt; span hiervoor in het najaar – vóór de bomen hun bladeren verliezen – een fijnmazig net over je vijver. Dat vangt alles op en zodra de bomen kaal zijn, verwijder je het net mét bladeren weer. Simon raadt aan natuurlijk afval zo snel mogelijk uit de vijver te verwijderen, omdat het anders naar de bodem zal zinken waar het vergaat en een sliblaag vormt. Je vijver zal dan veel sneller een grote schoonmaakbeurt nodig hebben.

All about maintaining your pond year round

Maintaining your pond is an important part if you want to continue to enjoy a clear and beautiful pond for a long time. Read our tips and you can ensure yourself that the water quality becomes and remains optimal again.

Pond maintenance annual plan

Pond Bacteria

Pond water testing

Pond cleaning

Van der Velde Aquatic Plants organic pond

Water parameters pond

Water hardness

Request our free e-book.

Especially for you the most important do's and don'ts for maintaining your pond, in a handy e-book.

Request our free e-book.

Especially for you the most important do's and don'ts for maintaining your pond, in a handy e-book.

- 5 tips from Simon for maintaining the pond -

1. Pond plants against algae growth

To keep your pond maintenance to a minimum, we recommend not skimping on pond plants. This is because these plants help you keep the water clear, reducing the chance of algae growth. During the warmer months of the year, the water heats up mostly at the surface, an ideal situation for algae. Unless you have a nice mix of pond plants in place, in which case water lilies can certainly serve you. The beautiful bloomers grow on the surface of the water, keeping the heat and the chance of algae at bay.

2. Here's how to get flowering aquatic plants

Do you have an aquatic plant that should show a beautiful flower but doesn't? Annoying, but there is something you can do about it. It has to do with the plant's nutrition. Right now, your pond plant can't get enough nutrition from the current soil. To remedy this, Simon recommends repotting the plant in fresh pond soil to which you add special pond plant food. If you then also re-pot the plant in a slightly shallower spot, your pond plant will have enough energy and sunlight to do bloom.

3. No pond without pond bacteria

We cannot say it often enough; pond bacteria are indispensable for any pond. The small organisms know how to convert pollutants such as nitrite or nitrate into CO2. The CO2 that they excrete into the pond water forms nutrients for the oxygen plants (which are abundantly present). Thus they help each other and together - especially if you also have a low pond substrate - they ensure that algae have virtually no chance to grow in the pond.

4. Tip for clear water

External influences such as precipitation or leaf fall also have their effect on your pond. A heavy rainfall adds water to your pond, and many pond stores then advise to start working with water measurements and remedies. Not necessary, according to Simon, provided your pond meets some important conditions: pond substrate, sufficient and varied pond plants and the addition of pond bacteria. The latter you add twice a year to your existing pond, which helps your pond to maintain its biological balance despite the weather.

5. Pruning is also done in the pond

You give the plants in your garden a pruning every now and then. This is also what you do best with your water plants. In a healthy pond they continue to grow nicely, but you want to prevent the whole pond from growing full of them or that they get so big that they start to pollute your pond. That's why you trim them once a year in the fall. This applies to oxygen plants that grow underwater, but just as well to marsh plants and other species that grow above the water surface. For example, parts of the water lily die off at the end of the season. To prevent them from sinking to the bottom and rotting, remove the dead leaves and flowers from the pond as soon as possible.

Pond maintenance tips

Read everything you need to know about maintaining a pond

Waterstofzuigers, vijverstofzuigers | Reinigers van de vijverbodem

Vijvers zijn een prachtige toevoeging aan elke tuin, maar jouw...

Maintaining a pond

Micro-organismen | Het belang van bacteriën in de vijver

Micro-organismen, ook wel microben genoemd, zijn organismen die te klein...

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Pruning pond plants | Everything you need to know about aquatic plants and pruning them

To keep your aquatic plants beautiful, healthy and strong, it is...

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Major pond maintenance | The most important tips, tricks and facts

A pond that is several years old has...

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Pond water testing | A pond water test is unnecessary if the pond is set up correctly

Water testing, many pond owners think that once every...

Maintaining a pond

PH value | Measuring the PH is a must, or is this not true?

PH value, you've probably heard of these...

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KH value | The value that should be tested or is this not necessary?

Water values and KH, the terms that every pond owner is...

Maintaining a pond

GH value | Measuring water values is necessary, isn't it?

Water values is a subject that many pond owners sooner or...

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Water Hardness | What exactly is hard water and why pond water testing is unnecessary

Water hardness, it is often talked about by pond owners and...

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5 x tips to keep your pond healthy year-round

Maintaining your pond 4 times a year,...

Maintaining a pond

Water values pond | Advice on pH value, gH value, kH value pond.

Measuring water values is not necessary if you supply your pond with...

Maintaining a pond

Cleaning ponds | When to clean a pond and how to clean a pond bottom?

Despite regular maintenance and shoveling leaves out of your...

Maintaining a pond

Pond care | Tips for pond maintenance in spring, summer, fall and winter

Pond maintenance is important to keep the pond clean, healthy and clear...

Maintaining a pond

Frequently asked questions about pond maintenance

How do you clean the bottom of the pond?

There are two ways to clean the bottom of your pond:

Pump out the entire pond, first providing a safe temporary shelter for any fish present, and placing pond plants in buckets with pond plants. Once the pond is empty, remove the silt layer from the bottom and rinse the pellets of pond substrate. Do not use soap or other chemicals. Then, step by step, place all pond parts back into place. Read how to do that.
Another, less intense way is to clean the bottom with a pond vacuum cleaner. This works in such a way that pond animals are not disturbed. Make sure that the suction mouth is narrow enough so that grains of pond substrate do not disappear into it. You can read more about cleaning your pond here.

What should be at the bottom of a pond?

Simon advises all his customers to add a layer of pond substrate in both large and small ponds. The porous stone grains are an ideal place for bacteria that help keep the pond water crystal clear. You can also place pond plants (with or without a basket) firmly between the substrate.

What month pond cleaning?

March or April is a good time to clean your pond. We recommend cleaning your pond twice a year maximum, because otherwise you disturb the underwater life and biological balance too much. A second cleaning can be done in the autumn, for example in October. Read more pond maintenance tips per season.

How to remove leaves from pond?

Fallen leaves, branches and other plant parts floating on the water are best removed from the pond. This is conveniently done with a telescopic scoop net, or a scoop net with an extendable handle. This allows you to catch and fish out leaves from the bank to far on the pond surface. You can also prevent natural waste from ending up in the pond; stretch a fine mesh net over your pond in the fall - before the trees lose their leaves. This catches everything, and once the trees are bare you can remove the net and leaves. Simon recommends removing natural waste from the pond as soon as possible, otherwise it will sink to the bottom where it decomposes and forms a layer of silt. Your pond will then need a major cleaning much more quickly.