No, I can say 100% guaranteed that my pond in fact is NOT spotlessly clean at any point in time. I don't do major cleanups preparing for Winter. I try to net up about 95% of the leaves, and the rest stay in the bottom until I clean out the sand in the Spring. I have string algae growing under the ice, I have fish waste collecting in the pea-gravel in the river area, and I leave my pumps running year-round.
In the last 5 years, I have only ever lost one fish to unknown causes. I do everything wrong by conventional wisdom, yet my water stays clear, my fish are strong and healthy, and the worst problem I have is trying to keep the plants from outgrowing the pond. This setup works for me, but it could be a complete disaster to someone else. My point is not that rocks are perfectly OK, but rather that everyone's pond is different, and that rocks can work just find in the right situation.
I agree with this on so many levels. It doesn't matter if you have rocks on the bottom or not. Your going to have some build up of muck on the bottom no matter what you do if you have any fish load and plants. That's a simple given fact. How each individual address's this determines more on the success of the pond. NOT if it has rocks or does not have rocks on the bottom. I do feel in most cases though that rock bottom ponds are more likely to have slow hidden problems over time and they add to the maintenance required to keep them in top condition.
We ourselves have a bottom drain and in the UK koi world and formal pond setting are not used for the reasons I previously posted if you have a rockbottom pond then kudos to you but it is a fact that the gaps left by the pebbles can and do harbour many things nasty thats why I posted.
I have yet to understand The American love for pebbled ponds .
Why make things harder on yourselves when trying to clean the pond which you cannot do properly unless the rocks are removed for cleaning .
A green bottom to a pond looks just as natural you are garenteed the bottom drain takes care of any detritus fish poo etc by seperating it off in the vortex ready to be flushed away to drain .
Can you say 100% cross your heart that your pond is spotlessly clean ready for the run up to winter leaving nothing nasty that can attack your fish ?
We can .................
rgrds
Dave
Can you say with 100% certainty you have no build up in your system? filters, vortex's, streams, waterfalls, etc. etc. All can trap a given amount of crude that builds up. Actually I don't think American ponders on the whole really go with rock bottom ponds. Most rock bottom ponds are on the aquascape design, are regular goldfish ponds/Not Koi ponds, or are built by novices that haven't learned how to maintain ponds over a long term.
Wayne, I hope not to offend you but I would like to speak my opinion on your rock bottom pond. I'm still in debate if I like the look or not. Again this is just my observation and my opinion of the overall look. It doesn't look natural. The rings of rocks and the sizes the way you have to stack doesn't leave a natural look IMO. I can't say I don't like the look of a rock bottom pond. I have seen several over the years that highly appealed to me. I do think yours is unique, It different and if it works for you and makes you happy, THAT's what counts! I have done rock bottom ponds, My last one was and it was a specific reason, I simply had to get more weight on the liner or during heavy rains my liner would float up. I loved the look but after two years of maintaining I decided Not to do that with these two ponds I have now. It simply just became a to big and dreaded chore that HAD to be done!
If I do ever build another pond with the thought of rocks covering the bottom I think I would try Waterbugs idea/design. Mortar them in place! No gaps to hide the crude, a bottom drain to help eliminate build up on the bottom, easier maintenance with a more natural look. Again, I would like to say, these are my opinions, everyone is different. If I thought I could build a pond that was a successful design and had the budget to do so I probably would. I do like the look. But with my neck and back condition, limited help, and my budget already blown way over what it was set out to be. It might be a long time before I build a pond of that style. Besides, I have a natural pond in the front yard, Been adding rocks to it for the last few weeks for spawning beds for the bass and bream. Guess that will have to be my rock bottom pond for now!
