Your Beautifully Clean Koi Pond Is Only 11 Steps Away

The amazing part about ecosystem koi ponds is they are basically self-cleaning. Outside of a few minutes of weekly maintenance, they don’t really need much oversight.

But no matter how awesome they may be, koi ponds of all types wear down and get dirty. Whether it’s the first cleaning you’ve done or it’s part of your routine maintenance, occasional full koi pond cleanings can be very beneficial:

  • Consistently clean and clear water
  • Clear, fully functioning filters
  • The chance to look for any issues
  • Plants trimmed and divided for a neat look
  • Realize your pond’s full potential again

Let’s dive into the 11 steps to getting your koi pond clean and beautiful.

You can also learn the 9 steps for building a koi pond >>

Beautiful koi pond with clean and clear water

Tools For Cleaning Your Koi Pond

  • 200+ gallon tub for any fish
  • Planting supplies
    • Pot
    • Plant fertilizer
    • Dirt
    • 1-3″ gravel
  • Sump pump
  • Pressure washer
  • Hose and spigot

1. Drain Your Koi Pond

Draining allows for a more in-depth clean you can’t get any other way. If done properly, this method of koi pond cleaning can have it looking amazing without hurting the ecosystem.

To drain your koi pond, start by using the sump pump to drain the water down to about 1′. Then, carefully move any fish to the tub. This is a great chance to look for any issues:

  • Overgrown plants
  • Broken materials
  • Liner damage
  • Non-organic debris
  • Shifted rocks

Keeping the fish in the same water is better for their health.

2. Clean The Pond Shelves And Walls

You can reuse the sump pump and pond water to clean the shelves and walls. It’s better for the environment and usually more convenient than using another source. This is also the first step to removing the debris from your koi pond.

3. Pressure Wash The Pond Shelves And Walls

This step removes the pond filth and debris stuck deep in between rocks and gravel. It operates best if you hold it about 6-8″ away from the surface.

Don’t get too close with the pressure washer or you may end up putting a hole in the liner.

4. Divide Aquatic Plants If Necessary

Aquatic plants can sometimes outgrow their pots. In this case, dividing them into different pots can keep them healthier and more beautiful. To divide your plants:

  1. First, put plant fertilizer into a plant pot
  2. Next, put in a few inches of dirt
  3. Then, cut a bulb from the existing plant
    • it should be the diameter of a cantaloupe and trimmed at the top
  4. Plant the bulb
  5. Cover the bulb with a thin layer of dirt
    • gently pack the dirt so it isn’t loose
  6. Finish it off with a thin layer of gravel
Purple tropical lily with yellow center

5. Clean Your Biofalls (biological waterfall filter)

The waterfall should also double as a biological filter (aka biofalls). It helps keep your water clean by housing the beneficial bacteria that eat nutrients algae feed off of. It’s made of 3 parts:

  • Rack
  • Filter mats
  • Bioballs

They need individual cleaning using either the hose & spigot or the sump pump pond water. For best results, keep going until only the black plastic is showing.

Try to avoid using the pressure washer as this could destroy the filter mats.

6. Reassemble Your Biofalls

You’ll want to put them back in the correct order:

  1. Rack
  2. Filter pads
  3. Bioballs

You can put a few small rocks on the bioballs to keep them from floating away.

7. Clean Your Skimmer (mechanical filter)

As this is a full koi pond cleaning, the entire skimmer will be involved. In order to clean your pond skimmer:

  1. Take out the basket
  2. Pull out the rack it sits on
  3. Remove any debris
  4. Remove filter pads
  5. Spray the filter pads with a hose
  6. Hose down the skimmer basket

8. Reassemble Your Skimmer

Putting your skimmer back together happens in 3 easy steps:

  1. Put the rack it sits on back in
  2. Attach the check valve on the pump to the bulkhead
  3. Put in the filter pad
    • the hole in the pad goes around the pump

The bulkhead is the hole that runs the water to the bio-falls.

9. Care For Any Plants

Aquatic plants add beauty and elegance to koi ponds. They can also help filter the water and feed your fish. You can keep them living longer and looking better with occasional care, whether it be:

  • Trimming
  • Removing
  • Repotting
  • Adding
Aqualife Ponds crew trimming and caring for pond plants

10. Refill Your Koi Pond

Now it’s time to fill the pond to the fill line with the hose and spigot.

Here’s the problem: this water isn’t good for the fish. It’s full of minerals and hazards such as chlorine and fluorine. The best course of action is to treat the water with a pond detoxifier. This can help neutralize these hazards, allowing your fish back into your pond more quickly.

11. Reintroduce Your Koi Fish

This part can be tricky. It can take about 15 minutes to a few hours to reintroduce your koi fish to their pond. One way to do this is by using a tub:

  1. Make the water in tub 1/2 old and 1/2 new pond water
  2. Wait a few hours and release them into the new pond

The other method involves a bag(s):

  1. Put fish in a bag
  2. Place the bag in the pond with the top sticking out
    • this helps them with the temperature change
  3. Slowly let the new water into the bag
    • do this over a period of 15 minutes
Finger in koi fish mouth

Bonus Step For Fall: Install Netting

Leaves can easily obscure and even clog your pond. During fall cleaning or maintenance, having a net installed can prevent this. It can catch most of the leaves and leave your pond cleaner and clearer.

Smaller pond nets are easier because they can be held down by rocks around the pond. Bigger ponds will need a special, heavy-duty net needing multiple people, cables, and time to install.

Enjoy Your Amazingly Clean Koi Pond

The process may be long and difficult, but the end result can be worth it. You can have your pond looking its best for every season.

You can learn about your pond with an exploratory drain & clean >>