Cleaning a fish pond is the least enjoyable, but most important aspect of owning of these creations.  Often a dreaded part of Pond ownership, Routine Maintenance is an inevitability and absolute necessity.  Although thorough and sometime very expensive filtration devices are employed to maintain water quality, ornamental fish ponds are infrequently the balance ecosystem we envision.  There are generally too many fish, and too few plants to create a balance, and it is this imbalance that necessitates our intervention. 

Water exchanges are the most needed, and can be very labor intensive.  They however are imperative to proper function, and the old fish keeper’s adage has never been more accurate; The Solution to Pollution is indeed Dilution.  When not removed, the organic waste that is created in or falls into the Koi Pond will begin to decompose.  It is this decomposition that will create a problem if left unchecked.  Water exchanges will prevent the slow buildup of toxins to levels that will become stressful or even deadly to the pond’s inhabitants. 

In what has become a technologically advanced world, automation in the Koi Pond World is becoming more and more prevalent.  By carefully constructing Fish Ponds with cleaning and maintenance in mind, water exchanges can be a simple, even automatic process.  Automatic top-off features are being incorporated more than ever, and it is this feature that will allow water exchanges to become as simple as feeding the fish, as opposed to the all-day affair they once were.  By employing a similar device to the ones that refill your toilet when it is flushed, an automatic top-off device will keep your pond filled to its maximum level.  It will prevent evaporation loss, and will refill your fish Pond for you when water is being exchanged. 

As external filtration is becoming commonplace, some simple design additions can assist in Koi Pond Draining.  Water is pumped from the pond through the filter and back into the pond.  At or around the filter, the pipe can be split or diverted with individual shut-off valves.  One will continue on rout to the pond, while the other should flow away from the pond, preferable piped to a suitable waste-water location.  By adding this simple device, a water exchange can be performed by merely switching these valves on and off.  The automatic top-off will refill your pond, and you didn’t even have to get wet!  To take it a step further, the valve can actually be automated with a timer switch, most commonly used for automated lawn sprinklers.  The valve will then begin water exchanges on its own.           

As with all facets of Koi Pond ownership, nothing is maintenance-free.  If chlorinated water is used, a dechorinator must be used whenever top-off water is added.  Valves may eventually wear down or leak and consideration should be given to future replacement of these parts.  Even with consistent water exchanges, the filtration will need to be kept clean, and algae and detritus may need to be removed before the exchanges for maximum efficiency.  With some sound thought before the system is in place, there is no reason to fear maintenance.