Many homeowners hire a CAC (Certified Aquascape Contractor) to install a backyard pond expecting years of peaceful enjoyment. What many people don’t realize until later is that virtually every Aquascape pond design requires expensive annual cleanings.
An annual cleaning of an Aquascape pond includes catching and removing all the fish from the pond and placing them into a temporary holding tank, then completely draining the pond, pressure washing all the rocks and gravel, and then pumping out the sludge and slurry.
Aquascape-style ponds are one of the most common pond systems installed in North America, and while they may look beautiful initially, many pond owners eventually discover that annual cleaning costs quickly add up.
Why Aquascape Ponds Require Annual Cleaning
Many Certified Aquascape Contractors (CAC's) recommend their annual cleanout services along with their installation services. An annual Aquascape pond cleanout typically involves:
- Catching and relocating all the pond fish into holding tanks
- Completely draining the pond
- Dismantling the Biofalls waterfall filter or wetland bog style filter for hand cleaning
- Hand picking debris trapped within the rock and gravel
- Pressure washing all the rocks and gravel
- Pumping out sludge and slurry
- Refilling the pond with fresh water
- Re-introduce the fish to the pond
- Restart the system
- Restart the biological filter and ecosystem
These cleanings are necessary because debris accumulates in the rock and gravel on the bottom of the pond and inside the non-backwashable filtration system.
Is Annual Pond Cleaning Good or Bad?
Aquascape ponds typically either have a non-backwashable Biofalls biological waterfall filter or a bog type wetland filter. No matter the type, they all require dismantling for hand cleaning.
Over time, leaves, fish waste, and organic debris settle into the spaces between the rock and gravel on the pond bottom, where they begin to rot, decay, feed algae, and become breeding grounds for pathogenic species of bacteria such as AeromonasandPseudomonas that are extremely harmful and often fatal to koi and pond fish.
The Hidden Cost of Annual Aquascape Pond Cleanouts
According to Google AI, an annual professional Aquascape pond cleaning typically costs between $810 and $2,625, with a national average of roughly $1,750 per service. Costs vary based on pond size, depth, and the amount of debris, with smaller ponds costing $300–$800 and larger, more complex, or heavily stocked ponds exceeding $3,000–$5,000 per cleaning.
Since Aquascape and Certified Aquascape Contractors recommend draining and pressure washing Aquascape ponds every year, the long-term annual pond cleaning costs can exceed the original installation price over time.
Example:
Annual Aquascape Pond Cleaning Costs
Over Time
|
Year |
Cumulative Annual Cleaning Costs |
|
Year 1 |
$1,750 |
|
Year 2 |
$3,500 |
|
Year 3 |
$5,250 |
|
Year 4 |
$7,000 |
|
Year 5 |
$8,750 |
|
Year 7 |
$12,250 |
|
Year 10 |
$17,500 |
Many pond owners are unhappily surprised to learn that annually cleaning their Aquascape pond can cost thousands and thousands of dollars over time. The annual Aquascape pond cleaning costs can exceed the initial installation purchase price in just a few years.
Why Debris Builds Up in Aquascape Ponds
Aquascape-style ponds typically feature:
- rock and gravel pond bottoms
- no bottom drains
- waterfall filters that are difficult to clean or wetland filters that are nearly impossible to completely clean
Without a bottom drain to continuously remove debris, organic material simply settles to the bottom of the pond.
Over time this creates sludge buildup, which contributes to:
- algae growth
- murky water
- fish health problems and death
A Better Approach to Pond Design and Filtration
Russell Watergardens' modern pond filtration systems and pond concepts are designed differently.
Instead of allowing debris to settle in the pond, Russell Watergardens' advanced systems remove debris continuously through bottom drains, skimmers, pre-filters, and patented backwashable filtration systems.
This allows ponds to operate with routine maintenance throughout the year rather than complete draining and pressure washing annually.
Russell Watergardens' filtration systems work like swimming pool filters, enabling routine maintenance without draining and pressure washing the pond every year. Nobody builds swimming pools with the idea of draining and pressure washing them every year, so why do Aquascape contractors build ponds that way? Do Certified Aquascape Contractors build Aquascape ponds for the annual cleaning jobs? That is a good question to ponder.
If you're interested in learning more about why Aquascape ponds require annual cleanings, read our full article:
