Garden State Koi - Pond & Waterfall Design Center
    A koi pond with a natural stone waterfall

    NEW POND OWNERS

    Your First Year of Pond Ownership

    Every pond has a first year. Here is what to expect, season by season, from the week it goes in to the spring it wakes up.

    When was your pond installed?

    Pick a month and the seasons below will line up with your own first year. Skip it if you like, the whole year is laid out below either way.

    Showing the year in calendar order: spring, summer, fall, winter.

    A newly built ecosystem pond with a waterfall and fresh plantings

    Any season

    Your First 30 Days

    What's happening in your pond

    Your pond is a brand new ecosystem with no established bacteria colony yet. Somewhere between day five and day twenty-one the water will probably go cloudy or green. This is normal. The biological filter is colonizing and the algae get a head start because they establish faster than the bacteria do. It clears on its own.

    What we handle

    Hands-on startup training before we leave the site, written care instructions, and a one year warranty on the installation. If you are on a maintenance membership, your first in-season visits start right away.

    See our maintenance memberships

    Watch for

    • Fish gasping at the surface
    • Fish hiding constantly after the first week
    • Water level dropping more than an inch or two a week, which points to a leak or a liner edge issue rather than evaporation
    Team member cleaning a pond during a spring drain and clean

    Typically March, April, May

    Spring

    Water warming, roughly 40 to 65 degrees

    What's happening in your pond

    The pond wakes up, and it does not wake up evenly. Algae come back faster than the beneficial bacteria do, so string algae usually bloom first and take over the waterfall before the plants have leafed out to compete. At the same time, sludge left from winter is breaking down and your fish are at their weakest point of the year. Spring is the highest risk window for fish loss, and it is almost always decided by how well the pond was closed the previous fall.

    What we handle

    Our Spring Drain and Clean: complete drain, clean, rinse and refill, fish safely removed and held in holding tanks, power wash of rocks, gravel and waterfall, sludge and debris removal, skimmer and BioFalls filter cleaning, pump and filtration inspection, aquatic plant cutback, lighting inspection, fish health observation, and recommendations for any repairs we find.

    See our Spring Services

    Watch for

    • String algae covering the waterfall. Normal in spring, should fade as the plants come in. If it is still winning in June, something is out of balance.
    • White spots on fish, or fish flashing and rubbing against rocks
    • Water dropping faster than it did last fall
    A koi pond in full summer growth with water lilies and marginal plants

    Typically June, July, August

    Summer

    Water 65 to 85 degrees

    What's happening in your pond

    Peak season. Your plants are at full growth and doing the most filtering they will do all year. The thing most first year owners do not know is that oxygen is at its lowest in the hours just before dawn, after a hot night. That is when summer fish loss happens, not in the afternoon heat. Green water can show up after a heavy feeding week or after lawn fertilizer runs off into the pond.

    What we handle

    Water quality testing and treatment, algae management and prevention, fish health monitoring, aquatic plant care and fertilizing, filter and pump inspection, debris removal and skimmer cleaning. How often depends on your membership: weekly on Diamond, every other week on Platinum, monthly on Gold, and a single mid-summer visit on Bronze.

    See our Summer Services

    Watch for

    • Fish gulping at the surface at dawn. That is oxygen, and it needs aeration now.
    • A sudden ammonia or sulfur smell
    • Waterfall flow falling off, which is usually a clogged pad or pump basket rather than a failed pump
    Koi pond with aquatic plants as the season turns

    Typically September, October, November

    Fall

    Water cooling, 65 down to 40 degrees

    What's happening in your pond

    Fall is the season that decides how hard your spring will be. Leaves that sink and rot under the ice all winter are exactly the sludge and the ammonia spike that hit your weakened fish in March. Meanwhile fish metabolism is slowing down and their ability to digest food is shutting off well before they stop acting hungry.

    What we handle

    Leaf netting installation, aquatic plant cutback and removal, fall debris cleanup, cold water fish food transition, equipment inspection before winter, and optional full winterization shutdown.

    Two options. Closing Only is a single visit: cleanup around the water feature, plant cutback in the pond and stream, plumbing lines blown out and capped, filters and skimmers cleaned, pumps shut down, pond netted. Tenting and Closing is a two visit process: we tent or net the pond and cut back plants on the first visit, then come back to remove the tent, finish the cleanup, blow out and cap the lines, and complete the shutdown.

    See our Fall Services

    Watch for

    • Netting sagging into the water under the weight of leaves, which defeats the whole purpose
    • Fish still begging below 50 degrees. Do not feed them. They cannot digest it and it will sit in their gut all winter.
    • Any plumbing that still needs blowing out before the first hard freeze
    A pond in winter with snow on the rocks and an open hole in the ice

    Typically December, January, February

    Winter

    Under 40 degrees

    What's happening in your pond

    Your fish go dormant near the bottom, where the water is warmest and most stable. The pond does not need to be heated. What it needs is an open hole in the ice so gases can escape. Fish that are lost over winter are usually lost to trapped decomposition gases under a sealed ice cap, not to the cold itself.

    What we handle

    De-icer installation and monitoring, pump and equipment winterization, and monthly wellness checks where we confirm your aeration and de-icers are working, check that everything is safe under the water, and perform a partial water change if it is needed and water is accessible. Plus fish overwintering guidance and a spring readiness assessment.

    Winter visit pricing starts at $599 for four visits covering December through March, $449 for three visits covering January through March, and $299 for two visits covering February and March. If your pond is not already aerated, buy an appropriate kit from us and we install it free as part of the service.

    See our Winter Services

    Watch for

    • A completely frozen surface with no open hole
    • A de-icer that has stopped drawing power
    • Falling water level in winter, usually an ice dam on the stream, which can empty a pond surprisingly fast

    MAINTENANCE MEMBERSHIPS

    Which Membership Fits Your First Year?

    Everything above is doable yourself. The question is how much of it you want to be responsible for.

    Maintenance membership tiers and starting prices
    MembershipStarting at*What's included
    Diamond$8,189
    • Weekly in-season visits
    • Spring deluxe drain & clean
    • Deluxe fall shutdown
    • Monthly winter visits
    • FREE service calls
    • Clear-water guarantee
    • 20% off products & upgrades
    Platinum$4,409
    • Bi-weekly in-season visits
    • Spring deluxe drain & clean
    • Deluxe fall shutdown
    • Monthly winter visits
    • 20% off in-store products
    • 10% off field products
    Gold$3,149
    • Monthly in-season visits
    • Spring deluxe drain & clean
    • Standard fall shutdown
    • Monthly winter visits
    • 20% off in-store products
    • 10% off field products
    Bronze$1,259
    • Spring deluxe drain & clean
    • Mid-summer service visit
    • Standard fall shutdown
    • Plant package add-on available
    • 20% off in-store products
    • 10% off field products
    Basic$839
    • Spring deluxe drain & clean
    • Mid-summer service visit
    • Standard fall shutdown

    *Starting prices are for a small pondless at full price, the same way our membership page lists them. Ponds and larger features are priced by size.

    If you want to do it yourself, the fall closing and the spring opening are the two we would still recommend handing off. They are the two that decide whether your fish make it.

    Compare every membership and size

    Not Sure How Much You Want to Take On?

    Tell us about your pond and we will talk through what makes sense for you. No pressure and no obligation.

    I'd like to discuss my optionsSee our maintenance memberships

    Or call us at 845-651-4100