The PondScape Learning Center gathers our practical guides for pond owners in one place. Each article answers a common pond question with steps you can act on, written around the products and care guidance behind PondScape.
Pond Water Quality & Algae
How to Control Pond Algae in a Fish Pond — Identifies the three common kinds of pond algae and matches each to the right next action, with steps for protecting your fish during treatment.
Why Is My Pond Water Cloudy (and How to Fix It) — Explains the most common causes of cloudy pond water and the steps that clear it, from filtration checks to flocculant and beneficial bacteria.
UV Clarifiers for Green Pond Water: What They Address and What They Do Not — Explains why UV clarifiers address green water, while the PondScape Pulse Ionizer is intended for string, hair, and stringy algae.
Autumn Algae Control for Koi Ponds: Clear Your Water Before Winter — Why algae can rebound in early fall and how to clear string algae and green water before winter sets in.
Beneficial Bacteria and Sludge Reducers — How beneficial bacteria and sludge reducers support water quality in a lake or natural pond over time.
How Does City Water Affect a Pond?
When Should You Test Pond Water?
Can Roof Runoff Safely Refill a Fish Pond?
Why Is My Pond Water Brown or Tea-Colored?
Can Well Water Be Used in a Fish Pond?
Pond Plants
Why Are Plants Important in a Fish Pond? — Explains what pond plants do for a fish pond, from shade and shelter to nutrient competition, and where their help ends.
How to Choose Pond Plants for Your Water Garden — Matches plants to your pond by role, from edge and marginals to floating and flowering focal plants, with hardiness and local-rule checks.
How to Plant a Waterlily in a Pond (and Mistakes to Avoid) — Growing conditions, planter size, media, and fertilizer guidance for waterlilies.
How to Protect Pond Plants from Koi — Practical ways to reduce koi damage to pond plants.
How to Prepare Pond Plants for Fall and Winter — Seasonal steps for caring for pond plants as temperatures drop.
Managing Vegetation — How to keep aquatic and shoreline plant growth in a natural pond from crowding out water flow and oxygen.
What Do Floating Plants Do for a Pond? — What floating plants contribute to a pond, from shade to nutrient uptake.
Choosing Aquatic Plants for a Mini Pond — How to pick aquatic plants that suit a small container or mini pond.
Pond Plants That Can Spread: What to Check Before Planting — What to check before adding pond plants that can spread aggressively.
How to Thin Out Overgrown Pond Plants
Which Plants Work in an Indoor Pond?
Choosing Pond Plants for Shade and Sun
How to Keep Floating Pond Plants Away from a Skimmer
How to Care for Marginal Plants at the Pond Edge
Should You Plant a Waterlily in a Pot or the Pond Bottom?
What Should You Check Before Planting Next to a Pond?
Should You Plant Lotus in a Container?
What Role Do Submerged Plants Play in a Pond?
Pumps, Filtration & Aeration
Does Your Pond Need a Koi Pond Aeration System? — Covers the signs your koi pond may need aeration, what a system can and can't do, and how to keep one working.
How to Keep Pond Fish Out of a Skimmer — Ways to reduce the chance of fish entering a pond skimmer.
Lake Aeration — How aeration helps restore declining water quality in a lake, from circulation to oxygen and nutrient balance.
Diffused Aeration for Lakes and Large Natural Ponds: Cleaner Water from the Bottom Up — How bottom-diffused aeration supports circulation and oxygen distribution in large ponds, plus how a professionally matched faux-rock system fits the site.
How to Check Whether a Pond Pump Ran Dry — Signs a pond pump may have run dry and what to check next.
What Flow Rate Does a Waterfall Need?
What Electrical Safety Does a Pond Pump Need?
Why Won’t My Pond Smart Control Device Connect?
Can You Put a Pond Pump on a Timer?
How to Maintain a Pond Skimmer Without Blocking Flow
Intake Bay or Pond Skimmer: Which Fits Your Pond?
Does Your Pond Need a Wetland Filter or a Waterfall Filter?
What Is Pond Pump Cavitation, and What Should You Check?
External vs. Submersible Pond Pumps: What Should You Consider?
Pondless Waterfalls & Fountains
Pondless Waterfalls - A Beautiful and Low-Maintenance Water Feature — What a pondless waterfall is and when it makes a good low-maintenance water feature.
Benefits of Fountains — How a floating fountain supports a natural pond's health, water movement, and appearance.
How Big Should a Pondless Waterfall Basin Be?
Does a Pondless Waterfall Need Filtration?
Why Is My Pondless Waterfall Flow Low?
Can I Use Chlorine or Bleach in a Pondless Waterfall?
What If Soap Gets Into a Pondless Waterfall or Fountain?
Fish Health & Care
The Allure of Koi Fish: A Comprehensive Guide to Cultivating Pond Serenity — An introduction to koi, their history and appeal, and what to know before adding them to a pond.
Keeping Koi and Pond Fish — How much and when to feed koi and pond fish, choose pellet size, and store food.
Keeping Healthy Koi — Preventative measures that keep koi healthy through the year, starting with water quality.
How Many Fish Can I Have? — How stocking levels affect water quality and how to choose the right number and size of fish.
Buying Healthy Pond Fish — What to look for in a retailer and its tanks when buying pond fish.
Koi Anatomy: What Pond Owners Can Observe — A guide to identifying the parts of a koi and noticing changes.
Pond Fish Beyond Koi: Goldfish, Shubunkins, Sarasa and Orfe — Compare other fish people keep in ponds.
What Makes a Butterfly Koi Different? — Learn what distinguishes long-finned butterfly koi.
How to Recognize a Chagoi Koi — An introduction to the Chagoi variety.
How to Recognize a Hariwake Koi — An introduction to the Hariwake variety.
Are My Koi Fighting or Spawning? — What to observe when koi chase one another.
How to Deter Predators — How to protect pond fish from raccoons, herons, and other common predators.
How to Recognize a Kohaku Koi — An introduction to the Kohaku variety.
How to Tell Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa Koi Apart — How to distinguish three of the most popular koi varieties.
What Are Common Signs of Illness in Pond Fish?
How Do I Transport, Net, and Move Pond Fish Safely?
Does a Pond Need to Be Five Feet Deep for Fish?
Should You Bring Pond Fish Indoors for Winter?
Why Are My Pond Fish Hiding in the Rocks?
What Happens to Koi Eggs and Fry After Spawning?
Seasonal Care
How to Open Your Pond in Spring — A spring startup guide for cleaning gently, restarting equipment, checking water conditions, and easing into fish care as temperatures rise.
Beat the Summer Heat — Summer fish feeding, water quality, filtration, and food storage in hot weather.
Tips For the Summer Heat — Five quick tips for keeping a pond and its fish healthy through the hottest weeks.
Tips for a Healthy Ecosystem — Late-summer pond care that keeps the ecosystem balanced heading into winter.
Fall Pond Cleanup: Managing Leaves and Debris — When and how to net, skim, and clear leaves and debris before winter.
Tips for Winterizing Your Pond — Simple steps to put the pond to bed for winter, from netting to fish care.
Winter Fish Care — Temperature-based feeding guidance as pond water cools toward winter.
Maintain a Running Water Feature in the Winter — How to keep a pond and waterfall running safely through freezing weather.
More Tips for Winter — Winter upkeep for ponds and waterfalls left running, from ice dams to ongoing checks.
How Do I Winterize a Pondless Waterfall?
How Should You Store a Pond Pump for Winter?
Getting Started with a Pond
So Your New Home Has a Pond...Now What? — A step-by-step guide to taking over and caring for a pond that came with a new home.
Beginner Pond Mistakes you can easily avoid — Common early pitfalls in pond ownership and how to sidestep them.
The Ultimate Guide to Essential Koi Pond "Must Haves" for Beginners — A rundown of the essential supplies a new koi pond owner needs.
Creating an Ecosystem Pond — The components a true ecosystem pond needs to work with nature and stay low maintenance.
Building a Wildlife Friendly Pond — How to design a koi pond that welcomes birds, frogs, insects, and other native wildlife.
Can Insects Damage an EPDM Pond Liner? — Whether insects pose a risk to EPDM pond liners and what to watch for.
Is My Pond Losing Water to Evaporation or a Leak?
What Do I Do About Water Under a Pond Liner?
How to Check a Low Pond Liner Edge for Leaks
How to Spot a Cracked Pond Pipe Before Repairing It
Why Use Pond-Liner Underlayment Instead of Old Carpet or Cardboard?
Can an Old Pond Liner Be Reused During a Rebuild?
When Is a Full Pond Cleanout Worth Considering?
What Should You Consider Before Adding Ducks to a Pond?
Can You Keep Turtles in a Pond?
Advanced Pond Care