How To Keep My Koi Pond Clear

Struggling to keep your pond water crystal clear without using chemicals?

Try this one time quick and easy trick to remove the algae once and for all.

And get reacquainted with your fish.

Backyard pond with goldfish and floating plants

In my opinion, summer is the best time of the year.

There's sun, surf and sand to enjoy and of course, my lovely backyard. It's my little cottage style sanctuary.

There's nothing better than relaxing back there, surrounded by flowers, the sound of water flowing and all the critters that happen to be passing through.

Their presence is what really makes me smile...which is why it used to bug me to no end when I couldn't see the fish in my pond.

The season always started with crystal clear water, but two weeks in and the water was a murky mess.

Not a pretty sight.

If you look really close at this photo from a post I did back in 2015, you can see that the water is green.

I used to complain to my husband about it every year, but without chemicals there really wasn't any way to combat it.

How To Make A Fountain From A Cement Statue words over picture of backyard fish pond

Frankly, he wasn't thrilled about it either.

He used to clean the filter and the entire pond out several times a month so we could catch a glimpse of our pond residents, at least for couple of days until the algae took over again.

And let me tell you, it was a ton of work.

He used to take all the fish out of our tiny pond and put them in a tank. Then he'd use a shop vac to remove the water and rinse it all down.

He also cleaned out the filter. Then he'd fill the pond back up again and put everyone back inside.

It was an hour long process that didn't really get us a great view for very long.

We investigated different ways to keep it clear, but everyone recommended chemicals and for us, that was a no.

Until my husband found the light. And I don't mean that metaphorically.

UVC CUV- 118 Clarifying Pond Light

It's a uv light designed for outdoor water features that kills the free floating algae in the water.

The pond water gets diverted out of the pond and goes through the pump, past the uv light fixture and then goes back into the pond.

Clean and clear.

Our light/ pump is mounted to the pool cabana behind the pond, just a few feet away.

We bought this one- the Sunsun CUV-118 which is an 18watt pump.

It was the right size for our small pond, but works on very large ones, as well. There are tons of them out there though.

You just need to choose one that fit your size pond.

Sunsun UV Pond Light attached to side of house

It's our first season with the light, but so far, so good.

The fish are completely visible. I can watch them pop up to the surface when I feed them.

Update! Third season now and the water is just as clear. Success!!

I can also see their bright orange bodies swimming around from my kitchen window and, best of all, my husband doesn't have to completely empty the pond anymore.

We spend our weekends enjoying the scenery and creating more pond fountains, instead of working to to clear away the ick.

Pond with clear water and swimming goldfish

I have to say I was a little worried about the fish being so visible to everyone else in the yard...raccoons, birds, kitty cats...but so far, so good.

My scaly friends still have plenty of cover from our aquatic plants and from the greenery that hangs over into the water.

I honestly don't think we've lost even one yet.

Which is good, because now that I can see them, I've started to name them.

A dangerous prospect with outdoor fish, I know.

Backyard pond with frog fountain, petunias and fish

But way too cute to resist.

Bubbles, Goldy, Clementine, Cheeto.

Amber, Tangerine, Finn.

Pumpkin, Peaches.

Doreen.

Dennis.

Would you name your fish?

Chemical Free Clean Pond Water