Spring Cleaning your Evolution Aqua Equipment 

Spring cleaning for your pond can be one of the most rewarding actions you can take for your pond heading into the hot months of the year. We’ve put together a quick reference guide to help you with the task and get all your Ea equipment ready in no time to get your pond water crystal clear.

Remove the debris

Over autumn and winter, organic waste and plant debris build up in the pond. When removing debris, remember to be gentle to reduce the stress on your fish.
Use a net or a pond vacuum to clean the debris from the top and sludge from the bottom of your pond.

Test your parameters 

Consistently check the water parameter of your pond, especially during the initial cycling period.

The aim is to keep your kH levels (Carbonate Hardness) as high as possible. This will significantly increase the effectiveness of your filter.

It is recommended that you use air stones, as they will drive off CO2 and increase your water hardness.

FILTERS

The first job you want to do is clean your pond filters. Cleaning your pond filters regularly is important to ensure optimum and continued filtration performance.

 
Restoring bacterial activity 

After cleaning your pond filters, you should add a Filter Feed to boost and restore bacterial activity in the filter. In other words, promote the naturally occurring and necessary organisms required to break down the organics in the water passing through the filter system and back into the pond.

The good bacteria you have accumulated over the summer months will have been affected due to the cold weather conditions over the winter period.
Therefore it is encouraged to use a biological boost to your filter media, such as PURE+ Filter Start Gel which should be added once your fish start to feed again.
The PURE+ Filter Start Gel will ensure that the ammonia and nitrite do not spike during this time, keeping your fish healthy.

PURE+ Filter Start Gel can be used after each clean if necessary. 

If you find a spike of ammonia and nitrite, you can use a PURE Pond Bomb to help smoothen out the issues.

PUMP

Most pond owners may keep their pumps running all year round.

It is good practice to inspect the Varipump regularly and to clean it once or twice per year. Ideally you should be cleaning it after the season and just before the season begins.

Video: If you need help on how to clean your Varipump, watch our step by step video guide https://youtu.be/gApUPNTwqWk

UV

Our evoUVs have been designed and manufactured to the highest standards and should be run 24 hours a day, every day, from mid-March to early October, depending on the weather conditions.

If the unit is frost-protected, it may be left running throughout the winter. Otherwise the unit should be removed, drained and stored safely for the winter.

How to set up and install an evoUV

Video: If you plan to upgrade to a new evoUV and need to know how to set up one, you can watch our video tutorial here: https://youtu.be/o9PXmJ40bws

Manual: evoUV Manual

Replacing the UV Bulb

The evoUV bulb has an effective lifespan of 9000 hours, but it is an accepted practice to replace a UV bulb once a year at the start of every pond season.

Looking after the Quartz sleeve

During the spring and summer seasons, the quartz sleeve, which separates the UV bulb from the water passing through the unit, will need to be cleaned two or three times. This is essential, as dirt or limescale building up on the quartz sleeve will inhibit the penetration of the ultraviolet light into the water and affect the efficient working of the unit.

Clean the sleeve and polish with a soft cloth or paper towel. If you live in a hard water area, you may get limescale on the quartz sleeve; this can be easily removed by using vinegar or a cold water descaler.

Replacement quartz sleeves and bulbs are available to purchase from an Evolution Aqua Dealer.

Ballast box replacement

Easily replace the ballast box on evoUV models manufactured from 2021 onwards.

Click on the link https://evolutionaqua.com/evouv-ballast-box-pond and use the drop-down list to select the appropriate wattage of the ballast box you require.

Each box comes with the ballast pre-fitted inside the control box, cables, lamp connectors and end caps.

Need to replace a pre-2021 UV ballast? – No problem; https://youtu.be/n8EcSYIzhu8

Additional tips

For tips on how to get the most out of your UV, click one of the links below to read through one of our previous blog posts.

5 Top Tips – Make the most of your Pond UV

UVC – Installation Set up and Bypass

AIR PUMP

Check your Air pump by removing its hood to access the components, one of those being the filter foam. We recommend that you clean the filter foam every 6 months.

If you need to replace the filter foam or other parts these are available to purchase either online or through an Evolution Aqua Dealer.

How to clean your filter foam video tutorial https://youtu.be/_rdae_kYSBQ

How to change the diaphragm https://youtu.be/UNm_bU7khXM

Product link: https://evolutionaqua.com/diaphragm-kit

How to change the activating arm: https://youtu.be/FL5rdGLgklE

Product Link: https://evolutionaqua.com/activating-arm

How to change the electromagnet: https://youtu.be/G6ko4sxSvJY

Product Link: https://evolutionaqua.com/electromagnet

FOOD 

Test your parameters 

pH: Keep your pH as close to the ideal 7.3-7.7 range as possible. Feeding your fish will result in a spike in ammonia and nitrite.
Overfeeding and feeding too early in the season are two of the most common and costly mistakes made by hobbyists!

By adding beneficial bacteria into your pond at the start of the season, it will help to balance your pond when you do start to feed again.


Feed fish

One of the most common mistakes you can make is to feed your fish too much. As the weather warms up, so does their appetite, but you risk shocking the pond system with an ammonia spike that could kill your fish.

Only time can truly balance your water, so take a deep breath and let nature take its course for about 2 months.

You can start feeding your fish again at temperatures of 10°C and higher. When feeding your fish, it is important to choose the right food for the season.
Use the table below to identify the time of year you can use eaFoods.

As a distributer of Takazumi, you can identify the time of year to feed using their feeding calendar;
https://takazumi.nl/feeding-calendar/?lang=en

BLANKETWEED
Why more blanketweed in Spring?
Blanketweed are more susceptible to bloom in the spring and summer when the water is heated up by the sunny weather.
Through feeding our koi, we add nutrients to the water that can accelerate the blanketweed growth.

Generally, it is a competition for the nutrients that can be taken up by plants or converted by bacteria. Most of the time they are slow

starters in the spring that would increase the nutrients and the opportunist like blanketweed, or algae would outcompete

 them.

7 Top Tips for dealing with blanketweed in your pond this Spring

Reduce the amount of sunlight that your pond receives using shade nets or structures above the pond.
Avoid having a lot of trees around the pond as this would give problems in the autumn when the leaves fall into the ponds.
Use quality food that pollutes less. Don't overfeed and spread portions during the course of the day. You can use battery-powered feeders to help with this.
Use efficient filtration with a moving bed reactor
Before you start with any blanketweed treatment ensure that you remove as much as possible by hand, stick or brush to minimise the treatment needed.
Start with your blanketweed treatment early in the year.
Favour organic natural blanketweed treatments over algicides and copper solutions.

For everything you need to know about blanketweed, read our blog. https://evolutionaqua.com/news/blanketweed-blog