Tap water and well water are not always ideal for pond dwellers. Tap water can contain heavy metals, such as copper, lead and zinc, especially when the water hasn’t been flowing in the domestic water pipes made of metal for some time. Unfortunately rainwater is no longer free of pollutants. Rainwater is often collected from the roof by means of metal pipes and the pond owner believes he is doing something for the environment by supplying this water to his pond. While this is definitely a good thing to do, further metal ions can end up in the garden pond with the collected water.
And this is why we have the water conditioner JBL BiotoPond to treat the water for the pond dwellers. JBL BiotoPond binds heavy metals, protects gills, skin and fins and completely neutralises dangerous chlorine, should it be present in your tap water. An additional effect of the water conditioner is that is makes any iron, which is to be found in well water and elsewhere, available to the plants. But be careful: Don’t use well water for your pond, if it contains brownish flakes or if they form after it has been stagnant for any period of time. The metal content will be too high.
In general you need to thoroughly check the composition of any well water before using it in your garden pond (see the chapter water test). Depending on the area there are large fluctuations in composition and quality. Normally iron is present in a form which the plants cannot use. Only the water conditioner’s chelators make it possible for the plants to absorb iron.
