Silt is an issue that is common to all ponds. Caused by the breakdown of living material, such as leaves and pond plants, it is an unavoidable issue, although management of the contributors to the issue will have a big effect on how quickly silt does build up in your pond.

To have trees, or to not have trees?

Many pond owners will choose to avoid having trees in their garden as falling leaves are a primary contributor to eventual silt buildup. Whilst this is a simple preventative measure it is possibly a little too restrictive for many who would consider trees to be an aesthetic backdrop or otherwise to a garden. Avoiding large plants and trees around the pond does also limit the pond environment itself. A lot of wildlife will be attracted to the more shaded areas provided by trees and plants. It also aids water quality to have some shelter in hotter months when the water temperature is rising.

If you do have trees, it is prudent to either cover the pond with some form of netting or mesh come autumn. At the very least it will be necessary to physically remove any significant buildup of leaves.

Others sources of silt are plant life and algal or weed growth. As part of your normal pond management routine it is likely you will want to maintain tidy planting and also utilise UV filtering to tackle algal growth. Both of these management disciplines will also have the added benefit of controlling silt buildup.

Having followed steps such as those detailed above to minimise sources of silt buildup, you will have reduced the need to actually tackle the issue of removing buildups. In terms of doing this there are chemical treatments that can be added to the water to break down silt before it collects. Beyond this the problem becomes physical. Removal is done by pond vacuums which come in three forms, hand, water and electrical powered.

Water and hand powered vacuums are ideal for a regular maintenance job, but the electrical model is the ideal choice when tackling large buildups. Any of these options is far more appealing than the pre vacuum methods of dealing with such an unpleasant sludge.