Must admit I'd never heard of the ammonia spike due to oak leaves and flowers in the water. My pond is the same as yours Alice - the bottom is totally covered with oak leaves all the time despite my efforts and netting. I've never cleaned it. Yet my fish live - I've had the same 8 or 9 goldfish in there for years. My problem with the big leaf drop and flowers is that they clog up the filter (which has a skimmer system like a swimming pool
) and the pump slows down a lot so I worry about aeration. Big mess to clean that filter and get things running again!
I wonder if it's anything to do with the plants taking up the ammonia fast enough so it doesn't get to toxic levels. I have tons of plants - too many really, including a lot of water iris in my pond which are great water filters and also pickerel weed. They are usually growing well by the time the oak leaves start to drop. I also have a plant of your lovely Teacup alocasia that you gave me years ago in there, although the raccoons tipped it over in the winter and it's not looking too great just now. Hm, I have a couple more divisions of that going, maybe I'll just put a new one in.
There's always something . . .
