Pond Equipment
With all parts of the garden there is a requirement for some specialised equipment to make its management more efficient. This is particularly true with the garden pond. While conventional spades, shovels and other garden tools are used in the construction of a pond, once it is up and running there are several items of equipment that are necessary to ensure the ease of continued maintenance. However, many of these are quite specialised and not necessarily applicable to all circumstances, so requirements must be reviewed quite carefully.
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 Successful pond management is easier to achieve with the proper equipment.
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 A good net is amongst the most important pieces of equipment for the water gardener.
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Pond nets are amongst the most important pieces of equipment. It may appear that there is only one kind of pond net - a fine netting bag on the end of a wooden or bamboo handle - but there are many different kinds, some for quite sophisticated applications. It is not only leaves and debris that require removing from the pond surface, or fish that must be captured from time to time, there are many other tasks that can be performed using specialist nets from algae removal and benthic sampling to the transfer of live fish foods.
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Hand tools that enable the water gardener to reach into the centre of the pond and perform tasks without getting wet or disturbing the plants are invaluable. Some may seem to be innovation for the sake of innovation, but most water gardeners agree that once such tools have been used they would be reluctant to work without them again. These include pond scissors, pond pliers, grabbers and fertiliser injectors.
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 Hand tools that preclude the need for the gardener to get wet are invaluable.
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 Mounted pond rakes are useful tools for larger bodies of water.
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Other than in the smaller domestic pond, where conventional hand tools can be successfully used for algae and weed removal, there is a general requirement for equipment to undertake pond raking and weed control. These tasks are sometimes achieved by the use of specially designed pond rakes with either floats or hydrofoil like wing attachments, or specialised hand weed cutters. For larger bodies of water, then mounted pond rakes, weed harvesters, hydrorakes and pond sweepers are viable options.
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Finally there is the boat. This may seem at first glance appear to be a luxury, and indeed it can double up as a pleasure craft, but any body of water that is likely to be able to successfully accommodate a boat for leisure purposes, is almost certain to be able to justify it on practical management grounds. A boat is invaluable, even in modest bodies of water, for herbicide spraying, thinning waterlilies and controlling submerged weed growth.
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 A boat is invaluable for managing larger areas of water
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