Rich's suggestion is a good one: it will also help stave off "new pond
syndrome", which you will ALWAYS get when you have a clean pond with clean
water (it's essentiallly a brand new pond). However, try netting the pond to
keep the stuff out of it in the first place! It's much easier on both you
and the fish. Bird netting is relatively cheap, is visually inobtrusive,
and - if you need it - great predator defense!

Lee

"MC" wrote in message
om...
I did my spring cleaning and drained my pond to get all the fall
leaves out in April. Now, my neighbors tree has flooded my pond with
"helicopters" and buds. I scoop out what I can, but draining is the
only way I am going to get most of it out. Is it better to drain and
clean or leave it and not cause stress on the Koi? My pond is only
500 gallons, so it is not a big deal to drain it. The fish definitely
don't like it though.