One important part of pond maintenance has to be clearing out the debris from the bottom and the sides of your pond or water feature with a pond vacuum cleaner. Not only is this done for aesthetics, but removing debris, leaves, algae, and string algae will prevent them from adding toxins to your pond as they break down. This used to be done by draining the pond, removing the fish, and then scrubbing out with a sweeping brush.

This task has been replaced with pond vacuums the advantage being, they can be used under the water level without disturbing the pond inhabitants. All of the debris is automatically removed by the pond vacuum pump with out having to scoop it out, then doing a large water change. There are companies that will do a cleaning service for ponds and will often offer a pond vacuum hire service, but as expected this usually incurs a monthly charge, basically it means that you will pay out for a job that can be done by yourself if you invest in a suitable pond vacuum cleaner.
So what is a pond vacuum?

Have you ever used a wet or dry vacuum on your carpets, basically this is the same idea as a pond vacuum. A motor creates suction in the vacuum which draws water from the bottom or sides of the pond, this then passes through a chamber, then the water is released back into the pond but the debris is held inside, this is then emptied and rinsed out when the job is complete. If this small task is done on a regular basis, not only does your pond always look clean and looked after, it will also provide much better water conditions for your fish with less pollutants being created to lower the overall quality.