Bottom: Gravel, Stones, Rocks, Liner Only?

[addy1]

I let the powder go out into the pond, it is like the expensive koi clay that people buy. The dust is gone within hours.
The plants love the stuff.

 

[zinjy]

I have large stones on the walls, they provide extra surface area, hide the liner, and overall make the ponds look nicer, I don't have any stones on the bottom where the fish are, I have river stones in the plant pools to anchor the roots

How do you keep the large stones on the walls? Are they attached to the liner in some way?

 

[Lisak1]

How do you keep the large stones on the walls? Are they attached to the liner in some way?

I can't answer for @Gemma but I THINK she meant she rocked the sides of her pond - boulders are dry stacked from the bottom up. Some people mortar between the rocks, but if you stack properly, you don't need to mortar.

I've seen people try to mortar or glue rocks to liner - I wouldn't recommend it as you run the risk of tearing the liner or pulling it down into the pond over time.

 

[mgmine]

It's a lot easier not to put anything down then have to remove it if you don't like it. A few large rocks wouldn't complicate things but a gravel bottom would be a mess IMHO. As others have said in a year or so you won't even notice the liner it will be covered and look natural.

 

[Lisak1]

but a gravel bottom would be a mess IMHO

I know you said it was your opinion, but I can tell you from personal experience that a gravel bottom pond is NOT a mess. And there are reasons other than aesthetics for adding gravel to an eco-system pond - like giving good bacteria lots of surface area to colonize. But again - personal choice. I just don't think it's fair to say something "would be a mess" if you haven't actually experienced it yourself.

 

[addy1]

Mine has a mix of spilled pea gravel, spilled kitty litter, fallen rocks. It is doing just fine.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I'm going to agree with Lisak1, here. Our ponds have always had a nice layer of gravel on the bottom & it definitely is not a mess. I do make sure to not let large debris accumulate by regularly scooping what the skimmers don't clear, and anything left over is quickly munched up by the fish & tadpoles. Plus, walking on a gravel bottom is much less slippery than trying to traverse on an algae covered liner (or large flat rocks)

 

[bagsmom]

The sidewalls of my pond are rocked. I'm a member of the Cult of the Pond Digger (ha ha) and my only knowledge of how to build a pond came from his tutorials on YouTube. As he did, I put some squirts of black waterfall foam in the gaps between the wall rocks, kind of like grout. Although I tried my best to make them fit securely, the foam added a little bit of stability -- but is impermanent -- good for if you ever need to dismantle an area. It also fills in gaps between the rock and liner wall, where gunk and sludge could accumulate. (I also have some "gravel" on the bottom of my pond -- but it's no smaller than the size of cherry tomatoes. It's not pea gravel. All seems good with it so far! (The picture was taken mid-construction.) From many other conversations on the forum, "to rock or not to rock" is a question -- and just a personal preference. Either way you go, everything seems fine, rocks or no rocks. I like rocks!

 

[Lisak1]

Nice rock work @bagsmom ! One difference in my pond is the size of the rocks - we used "two man boulders" in the walls. But that's because I had "two men" (actually three) to help me lift them! My sons did all the heavy lifting and built the walls. Larger boulders are easier to build stable walls with - more weight makes them more forgiving.

 

[bagsmom]

Nice rock work @bagsmom ! One difference in my pond is the size of the rocks - we used "two man boulders" in the walls. But that's because I had "two men" (actually three) to help me lift them! My sons did all the heavy lifting and built the walls. Larger boulders are easier to build stable walls with - more weight makes them more forgiving.

Thanks! Yes, I meant to say that I was limited by the budget (these softball size rocks were cheap) and the strength of my workers (mostly all me!) I love the look of the big rocks!!!! (and the solidity!)
I was watching a pond build on youtube yesterday - that required excavators and cranes to move the rocks. WOW - so beautiful!

 

[Lisak1]

We had a few rocks that had to be moved by machine - it's a real skill those guys have who run that equipment! Some of those big pond builds have single rocks that weigh more than my whole pond!

 

[mgmine]

I know you said it was your opinion, but I can tell you from personal experience that a gravel bottom pond is NOT a mess. And there are reasons other than aesthetics for adding gravel to an eco-system pond - like giving good bacteria lots of surface area to colonize. But again - personal choice. I just don't think it's fair to say something "would be a mess" if you haven't actually experienced it yourself.

Okay, but I know how hard it is to try to scoop leaves out of the bottom of the pond in the spring. These leaves accumulate despite the pond being covered from early fall and remains covered all winter. It's as if they grow in there over the winter. The water is almost black and I can see maybe an inch below the surface. The only way I can get the leaves is to run the leaf net over the bottom. I can't see what I'm doing so anything else that has fallen in (usually a rock or Lilly pot) gets scooped up at the same time scraping the debris up also stirs the dirt on the bottom up adding to the problem. Now perhaps everyone doesn't have the same problem but I would guess that most people do have to remove stuff from the bottom. If it's on the bottom and if rocks or gravel is also on the bottom something is going to have to give. If a person wants a nice clear pond then the downside is that they are going to see whatever is on the bottom. So if the bottom gets dirty and you want to clean it, either by vacuuming or dragging a leaf net then how are you going to do that with a gravel bottom?

 

[Bluerooster]

I have tadpoles, the bottom is black with tadpoles. The fish have been eating them as fast as they can, but to no avail.

 

[Lisak1]

So if the bottom gets dirty and you want to clean it, either by vacuuming or dragging a leaf net then how are you going to do that with a gravel bottom?

I get leaves in the pond - not to the degree you mention, but enough that they require scooping. I use a pool net and just, well, scoop! The gravel stays in the bottom. I'm not looking for a pristinely clean pond bottom - a bit of mulm is fine. The little pond critters love it.

Again - totally a matter of personal choice. It's just inaccurate to say a gravel bottom means a messy pond.

 

[zinjy]

For those who put rocks on the bottom/sides, do you put them directly on top of the liner, or use some sort of "overlayment" to protect the liner from the rocks?