Managing Your Water Feature & Aquatic Plants

August 20, 2017

August, 2017

Lake
Pond
Plants

Aquatic plants can add beauty to any water feature. Although they can also invade your water feature and overwhelm the ecosystem if not managed correctly. Often neglected due to beauty, plants in your water feature should be maintained like any lawn or water garden.

Invasive Water Garden Plants & Pond Maintenance

Plants are classified as “invasive species” when they exceed their normal parameters and begin expanding over additional territory often resulting in damage of the ecology of an environment. Various types of aggressive aquatic plants exist including submerged plants – which grow under water, emergent plants – which typically grow along shallow ends of the water/ near the shore, and floating plants – which typically float along the surface of the water attaching to the sediment or other ground-source. All should be noted and managed on a regular basis.

Hi, I am considered a “highly invasive water plant” and must be maintained or else I can take over your entire ecosystem!

Once They Take-Over It’s Too Late!

Once the nuisance plant takes over your water feature it begins to deplete your ecosystem of its natural defensive barriers and ultimately succumbs to the new dominate plant in your pond or lake. Many commercial and residential properties with water features both large and small can suffer from the effects of such aquatic plants and should be maintained by a professional aquatic service who understands what to look for when servicing your water feature.

“It Pays to Build Your Pond or Lake With Invasive Plants in Mind, Better the Filtration the Better Your Chances for Deterring This”

Invasive Plant Migration

You’d never expect it, but often these invasive plants are spread naturally via birds, wind, water, and more. For the same reason we don’t take in fish from third-parties to offer our clients, we never know what each ecosystem is comprised of and what could potentially spread to the new pond or lake the fish is relocated to. Adding such equipment as a UV-Light to your pond will help reduce your liability for invasive bacteria or pathogens, but often UV-lights do not kill seeds or plant life which does not make it through the light. For example, if your water feature has heavy algae and a seed from an invasive plant is picked up by the wind from a neighboring lake or pond and dropped onto that algae, the seed can sustain itself and begin to grow immediately. The reason we also encourage your pond to constructed with larger-returns = better flow for filtration to eliminate this risk in conjunction with your UV light.

Established 1976

Adding Plants to Your Pond or Lake

Always know what type of plants you are adding, how they grow, and the best way to maintain the vegetation. 75% of the time our clients call us for maintenance or repairs, their pond or lake is in distress, koi fish are stressing, pumps and filtration is seized, is due to plant overgrowth. Regardless of how well your water feature is built, when adding plants – make sure you know before you grow or else your entire water feature ecosystem can be at stake. Cities such as Orange County, Los Angeles, and Riverside are notorious for over-growth in their ponds due to the warmer climates and lack of finances committed to the pond filtration.

Effective Plant Removal & Maintenance

Hiring a company who understands your area, water features, and ecosystems is a must for any City, private HOA, or residential property regardless of budget, all water features beyond a fish-tank should be contracted with a professional water feature management company. With potentially thousands of dollars of equipment at stake, lake of proper maintenance specifically related to your water feature can be detrimental to your equipment ultimately costing you even-more money than compared to hiring an experience aquatic management company.

Need to Speak to Someone About Your Water Feature?