Holmes on Homes Podcast on “Pondscaping” I have a large pond on my property, and it was lovely when I first arrived, but over the years, it became overgrown, and...
Mike Holmes Podcast on Pond Cleanup
By Mike Holmes
Mike’s Advice / Design & Renovation Inspiration
Wednesday, March 19th, 2025 @ 2:50pm
Holmes on Homes Podcast on “Pondscaping”
I have a large pond on my property, and it was lovely when I first arrived, but over the years, it became overgrown, and I started to notice that there were no more fish, and I didn’t hear all the frogs or see the abundance of birds and snakes that I used to. Even though I thought I was doing an excellent job of maintaining my pond, I discovered I could do a better job. As a result, my pond wasn’t contributing to a healthy ecosystem.
However, with the help of a pondscaping company – NOT a landscaping company- I learnt how excessive weeds and algae harm the wildlife and plant life in my pond.
Ponds get overgrown and clogged with leaves, weeds and runoff. If it’s not maintained, they will die and not support surrounding foliage or wildlife. I didn’t realize what needed to be done for my pond to be vibrant and healthy, and you know me, I’m all about maintenance to help things last a long time.
Maintaining A Healthy Pond
Many people think that cleaning up a pond is disturbing mother nature. In some cases, pondscaping can interfere with the wildlife habitat. However, in most cases, when a pond gets to the stage my pond was in – it’s dying you need expert help to get it back in shape. I had a pondscaping company come in with a harvesting machine that gave my pond a much-needed haircut, disrupting some of the ecosystems.
A healthy pond needs fish, plants, rocks, filtration and circulation; when it lacks oxygen, filtration and circulation, it slowly dies. It gets overloaded with nutrients and weeds, which harms the surrounding wildlife and plant life and can’t correctly support an ecosystem.
Deep Layer Of Muck
A natural source feeds my pond, so I get a lot of water runoff from neighbouring fields and farms that use fertilizers and manure for their crops with high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus – this further adds to the over nutrients. These over-nutrients act like a “miracle grow” for the weeds and take over the pond.
This resulted in about two to three feet of muck on the bottom and not much water. When a deep layer of muck forms, like in my pond, I learnt this is called eutrophication. This is when the water receives an excessive nutrient load, mostly from phosphorus and nitrogen, which results in the overgrowth of algae. As the algae dies and decomposes, oxygen is depleted from the water, which causes aquatic life, like fish, to die.
Holmes on Homes Podcast on Pond Maintenance
Making The Pond Healthier Without Cheminals
The pondscaping process helps clean the water and makes the water healthier and more oxygenated. The process also includes adding beneficial bacteria enzymes – not chemicals. These enzymes serve as catalysts and break down the muck at the bottom of the pond faster, which means cleaner and clearer pond water. Fish and other amphibians, like frogs and snakes, will thrive in a healthier pond. As these enzymes eat the muck, insects feed on these enzymes; the fish will feed on the insect, encouraging and creating a healthy ecosystem.
Depending on the amount of growth, a pond needs to be maintained once or twice a year, keeping an eye on the muck levels and weed regrowth. The best time to do pond maintenance is mid-summer or early fall. The important thing is to ensure minimal disturbance to the local wildlife and fish populations, so make sure you or the company you hire research the area before you start.
A Healthy Pond
Water circulation and flow are the other important components of a healthy pond. I put in a windmill to help aerate the pond, but it wasn’t enough, so my pondscaper installed a continuous laminar flow aeration system, which continuously pumps oxygen into the pond. Anaerobic bacteria are eliminated, and the naturally beneficial enzymes become organisms again. Each system enhances water quality, fish health, and growth while lowering nutrients, non-living organic muck, and smells.
Maintaining your pond isn’t just about keeping your pond looking healthy and beautiful but maintaining the whole ecosystem. Natural feeding ponds are a type of filtration system, but when they get over nutrients, they can only filter so much, and the runoffs get fed into our lakes and rivers.
Nutrient water is significantly affecting our lakes with blue-green algae, which is toxic to the ecosystems. Remember, when you’d go up to the cottage, and they’d have a sign that says water is not safe for swimming, this is why. If everyone maintains their ponds, we can help this process and decrease the toxins that go back into our lakes and rivers.
I loved my pond, but I love it even more now. I can’t wait to watch the ecosystem that it supports come back to life – the fish, the birds, the frog. My pond will once again be my happy place.
About The Holmes On Homes Podcast
Mike Holmes joins forces with his children, Michael and Sherry, as they continue his legacy – helping homeowners in need. From renovations gone wrong by crooked contractors to bad DIY, the Holmes family continues the work that made Mike a household name. They go behind the walls and above code to focus on safe, functional, efficient, and healthy homes. They do this while promoting a career in the skilled trades. Each project is more than just a renovation, it’s an opportunity to help make people’s lives better.
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