Should you top up a pond?

Topping up the pond in the height of summer:

• Recently we have had hot and dry weather.
• The wildlife in the pond will adapt to a changing level of water & some creatures will leave.
• Young amphibians will bury themselves deep into the pond and hide.
• Top up with rain butt water if you can.
• But the plants on a marginal shelf need to be able to reach water with their roots or they will die.
• Most shallow marginal shelf plants (shelf ) will live with their roots in water even if their crowns are exposed in the summer months.
• Maintain the plants and keep the cover around the emergence zone of the pond by topping up the pond water to reach the shelf.
• They will need more protection from water over their crowns in winter but I am sure later rainfall will sort that out.
• The volume of tap water you will top up with should be small in proportion to the total volume of water in the pond.
• Add little and often so as not to alter the water quality too radically at any time.
• Use Chlorine Guard Water Treatment every time you top up to remove chlorine and chloridamides from the tap water.

Topping up fish ponds:

• If fish are short of water they cannot swim.
• If the water is shallow it will heat up quicker in the sun.
• Hot water holds less oxygen.
• Fish will gasp at the water surface if short of water.
• Top up and add an aerating appliance that will pump oxygen into the water and top up the water level.