Small Pond Cleaning Equipment

With proper maintenance, a backyard pond can beautify your landscape.

With proper maintenance, a backyard pond can beautify your landscape.

The soothing beauty of a small pond or water garden makes a relaxing, scenic addition to your backyard landscape. A pond can attract wildlife like birds, butterflies, fish and frogs, but it can also attract dirty water and unsightly algae blooms if not cleaned regularly. With proper attention and the right equipment, you can keep your pond clean, clear and healthy for years to come.

Filters and Aerators

If your pond has a moderate number of plants and a small number of fish, it might not need filtration. But if you want a larger number of fish in your pond, or if the pond's water quality has deteriorated, you may want to add aeration and filtration. Examples of mechanical filters, which will remove or trap particles of dirt and organic matter, include sand beds, foam or cartridge filters and settling basins. You can also use a bacterial bio-filter that contains a layer of gravel, coarse sand, corrugated plastic sheets, mesh or foam. Many filters contain aerators, but if yours doesn't, you may need a separate aerator that adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide by stirring the surface of the water with air diffusers or bubblers.


A sterilizer is a special type of filtration system that uses ultraviolet light, or UV, to remove up to 99 percent of algae, parasites, bacteria and many other types of harmful microorganisms. The units come in a variety of sizes and shapes that range from whimsical, such as a frog figure, to those designed to be hidden. You can use a pond sterilizer continuously or as needed, but it's most effective when used regularly and in conjunction with a standard filter. It's recommended you use 8 to10 watts of UV light per 1,000 gallons, although to reduce high bacterial levels, you can go as high as 30 watts.

Skimmers and Nets

A skimmer filter can combine mechanical and biological filtration in one unit but is only effective if your pond is 5,000 gallons or less. It removes floating leaves and other debris and often contains a submersible pump and drain fitting that is easy to hose down and clean. A much simpler way to skim leaves is to use a handheld net, with just 10 to 15 minutes a week making a big difference in clean water quality. If your pond is located under trees that shed leaves, place a net over the entire pond to catch falling leaves during the autumn and winter months.

Plant Removal Tools

For nuisance plants, sometimes the best method is to pull them out by hand. Many plants, however, have underground roots that are difficult to remove. Stores that specialize in aquatic supplies offer handheld devices for cutting or pulling plants, with a thick, serrated, double-edged blade that allows for a sawing action to be used on the invasive weeds. A pond vacuum, similar to a vacuum you'd use in your home, can easily remove plants, wastes and muck from the bottom of your pond.

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