Do you have rocks at the bottom of your pond?

[DrDave]

Once you get your pond in balance, you will almost be able to read the date off a dime at 3 feet.
It is amazing how much muck collects by those rocks that some people just have to have.

 

[mogsie]

and if you carnt read the date off a dime at 3 feet then you should of went to spec savers !! but before you condemn rocks completely, ime sure if u was to place 1 or 2 large round rocks on the bottom of my pond they wouldnt do much harm ! the water could circulate around them and i could vacuum under them without too much hassle !

 

[DrDave]

The key to that is location and circulation. It requires at least one circulation pump in the pond directing the water.

 

[sissy]

It's funny you look at almost all the professionally built ponds they use tons of rock even on the bottom .If you google ponds and waterfalls and look at the pics .Professional and home built most have rocks all the way down the sides and on the bottoms .Why do they do that and what do you do when you have one like that .That could really be a lot of work

 

[DrDave]

Ask them how they do it. People with money can hire professionals to clean. When we were in Jamaica, the ponds at the resort had about 5 people full time cleaning them daily.

 

[sissy]

Actually I have left several comments on some of the sights to see if they would get back to me or answer my question But nothing yet I guess they figure they are right and my question is not worth an answer oh well ask me if I really give a ----.Not my pond not my problem

 

[pondbuilder13]

Well like i said a few pages ago i watched a couple vids on you tube and i asked a guy who built ponds why he puts rocks down on all of them and how he keeps it clean and he said the beneficial bacteria will keep it clean......

 

[sissy]

Well I have to admit I do put rocks in in the winter all around my pumps inside of milk crates because my biggest fish knocks the pumps over and the water comes out the over the sides of the pond I didn't do it to one of my pumps this past winter and it got knocked over and let a lot of the water out of the pond before I caught it .Auntie Ag likes to be a devil ,I have actually watched her do it

 

[shakaho]

Well like i said a few pages ago i watched a couple vids on you tube and i asked a guy who built ponds why he puts rocks down on all of them and how he keeps it clean and he said the beneficial bacteria will keep it clean......

All those little bacteria with their nano vacuum cleaners and micro-mini brooms don't miss a speck of mulm.

 

[mogsie]

or what if you had an area of pea gravel and small rocks on the bottom of my pond and ran an inlet pipe from the pump so it sucked water from under the gravel like a bottom filter in an aquarium ? i understand this will require extra maintenance but every pond needs that !

 

[mogsie]

@pondbuilder13, ime currently trying some sludge removing bacteria in my pond now, says it removes all organic sludge, waste food and fecal matter, so wil see how well it does on the settled dirt on the bottom of my pond, they even use bacteria to remove matter in human waste water treatment !

 

[addy1]

keep us posted! I so far just have construction dirt on the bottom of my pond, and very little fish poop from 5 tiny fish.

 

[lifeworthliving]

I did remove all the rock. Green water is bad right now. Need a new pump. Not sure what to get.

 

[addy1]

There are a lot of pumps out there, get one that is low electric use, calculate the amount of flow you need to start the search.

At 2300 gallons you would want one that at least turns it over once an hour would be best so 2300 gallons an hour. Now you also have to factor in do you have a water fall, head pressure etc.

 

[shakaho]

I'm trying to figure out how bacteria could remove all organic sludge. They are good little chemists, but chemical reactions can only change substances, not destroy matter. Bacteria can convert the stuff in the sludge to some other kind of gunk and make more bacteria, which are also another kind of gunk. Of course bacteria are essential in sewage treatment, but the ultimate products of successful sewage treatment is potable water and solid sludge. The valuable thing bacteria do is change toxic or otherwise nasty stuff into stuff that isn't so nasty.