Frequently Asked Questions

Water Treatments

How do I know which treatment to use?
You can start by looking through the product descriptions on our website or by reading the packaging in the shops. Some water treatments are easy to work out because they target a specific problem. e.g. Clearpond Pondclean kills algae that turn ponds green and Clearpond Pondzyme cleans up sludge from the bottom of the pond. Some treatments are algae preventatives like Oase Aquahumin and some alter the water’s chemistry like Clearpond pH down. Whilst all of these treatments are beneficial for you pond some of them might need further explanation as to how they work. You can get further information by reading the packaging and instructions on the bottles or by asking your local stockist.

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Are they safe for fish and plants?
All of our water treatments are safe for fish and plants when used as per the instructions. The only exception to this is Clearpond Feature Clean which is designed specifically for water features and therefore uses a formulation that is not suitable for fish or plants.

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How do I know if I need water treatments?
If you’re experiencing problems with excess algae, poor plant growth or fish health problems then you should start looking at the reasons why. Testing the water is a good start as this can determine if the pond is out of balance. Testing the water before you use a water treatment is also a good idea because many of them won’t work as well if the pond has unfavorable water conditions. Testing the water will help identify problems that water treatments can fix or if you need to consider other alternatives such as filtration.

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I don't like chemistry, is testing the water easy?
You don’t have to revisit your high school chemistry days to test your water. There are two types of water tests – the drip test and Oase Quicksticks. Drip tests work by taking a small sample of water in a test jar, adding some drops or powder and checking it against a colour chart to tell you the reading. All of the equipment comes with the products. Examples of these test kits are the Oase Consumer Test Kit and Oase Test Kit Plus. Whilst these test kits are easy to use the Oase Quicksticks are even easier. These use a paper strip that is dipped into the water and then held against a colour chart to determine the reading. Whatever method you choose, testing the water is easy and should be part of every pond keeper’s routine.

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When should I use a water treatment?
When you need to. Although water treatments are safe to use it’s not a good idea to use them when you don’t have to. For example, it’s unlikely that you’d need to use an algaecide over the winter months because algae naturally die off over this time of year so why load you system with unnecessary products? Depending on your pond, you may need to use balancing products like Clearpond pH down or Oase Aquahumin all year round as these products provide stability and maintain the general health of your pond.

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Will water treatments fix my problems?
Quality water treatments such as those from Oase and Clearpond are effective in their applications provided they are used in accordance with their instructions. This includes both dosage rates and water chemistry. While water treatments are effective, the need to use them usually identifies underlying problems with your pond such as excess nutrients from runoff, organic pollution, too many fish or over feeding. If you’re using water treatments all the time you should look at the reasons why and speak to your local retailer to work out better long term options. In many cases the cost of purchasing a filtration system is soon recovered by the savings on water treatments.

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Do I need water treatments if I have a filter system?
Filtration systems are designed to reduce the amount of pollutants from a pond and starve algae of its food source. The first step is to make sure you’ve got a filtration system that is capable of filtering the size of your pond and the amount of fish you have in it (further information on filtration can be found in the filtration section of the FAQ’s). If you have a well balanced pond with a good working filter then it’s unlikely that you’ll be a regular user of water treatments but you may need some from time to time.

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What types of water treatments are there?
There are treatments for a range of problems including; -killing floating algae that turns water green -preventing algae -balancing and stabilizing the pond’s water chemistry -reducing sludge -increasing oxygen levels -altering important water chemistry conditions like pH and hardness -improving biological filters with beneficial bacteria -removing algae from water features -removing chlorine from tap water -improving the hardness of rain (tank) water -clearing cloudy water -removing ammonia from the water There are water treatments available to help with most pond problems. To find out more, speak to your local retailer.

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How do I use them?
In most cases the best method is to take a bucket of your pond water, mix in the correct amount of liquid or powder and distribute throughout the pond. Some treatments differ from this procedure so please follow the instructions.

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Are there any non-chemical water treatments available?
Yes, some treatments use chemicals but some use natural products such as bacteria and enzymes.

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