So much rock

[Liz k]

Hi folks,
I am rehabbing a pond that came with my house. I have found gravel up to 12" deep in some areas. I have been taking it out and leaving a couple of inches in the bottom but am so puzzled as to why they would have put in so much rock to begin with. Any ideas?

 

[Laaf]

What a beautiful setting! Is it a liner pond or concrete? Deeper gravel could protect a liner from hooves perhaps. And it is more area for good bacteria to live.

 

[Liz k]

What a beautiful setting! Is it a liner pond or concrete? Deeper gravel could protect a liner from hooves perhaps. And it is more area for good bacteria to live.

Thanks Laaf. It is made with a liner. The original builder also put underlayment on top of the liner in many/most areas. I am assuming there is also underlayment under the liner.
Unfortunately it hasn't been cleaned in years, maybe a decade, and the plants were incredibly overgrown and noxious invasive plants had moved in.

 

[Hound Heaven]

Beautiful spot there Perhaps they were trying to naturalize the area and the slope got the best of it? Could have taken some time and just become too much of a struggle to keep up with. Sure got some nice big rocks there!

 

[GBBUDD]

I think @Laaf nailed it as you have in your photo DEER those holes can easy shred a liner. That and koi move gravel around I was 6 feet deep but no more.

 

[seandelevan]

Maybe gravity? I know I’ve placed hundreds of pounds of gravel around the edges to make it look more natural and over time most of it has slowly fell into my pond.

Funny you are doing this because i just posted a topic asking about re doing a pond. I want to do this to my pond but it seems very difficult. Any advice?

 

[dinm]

I would rather put more thick stones on the bottom than gravel if it were for animals, just easier to deal with. Reason could be anything, to they ordered too much so they had to get rid of it or they actually did it purposefully to prevent animals from piercing the liner.

I've had to pull out a lot of gravel myself, but it was also me alone who built the pond and just dumped too much gravel in there.

 

[Liz k]

Beautiful spot there Perhaps they were trying to naturalize the area and the slope got the best of it? Could have taken some time and just become too much of a struggle to keep up with. Sure got some nice big rocks there!

Thanks, I am really fortunate to have this beautiful feature even if it was badly neglected. I love big rocks! I think rock movement over the years contributed to the excessive gravel build up.

 

[Liz k]

Maybe gravity? I know I’ve placed hundreds of pounds of gravel around the edges to make it look more natural and over time most of it has slowly fell into my pond.

Funny you are doing this because i just posted a topic asking about re doing a pond. I want to do this to my pond but it seems very difficult. Any advice?

I think gravity is a big player combined with minor tremors from earthquakes and as @dinm mentioned could be they just had extra so dumped it in.

For advice for taking on a big rehab project I would first ask if you have a well or purchase water from the city. I used ungodly amounts of water to flush the rock. Fortunately we have a private well.
I gave myself the entire summer plus some to get it done. It has taken 4+ months and I am not quite finished. I have two ponds connected by a stream bed with a waterfall feeding the first one. I didn't work on it every day of course as I have a business, family commitments and needed time to recover from the physical aspects of it. I can say I am stronger at the end than I was at the beginning!
A lot of work I had was removing overgrown plants. Japanese sweet flag so overgrown that needed a hand saw to get them out. Invasive and noxious plants in and around the pond. If you don't have that problem it will go much faster for you.
I have been able to use a big shovel to get the gravel out but, I don't dig down, I skim the surface of the gravel to pick it up so I don't risk piercing through the liner. Really strong buckets to haul the gravel - I went through 2 pails. But not big buckets because they get heavy really fast. In some places, I could shovel the gravel directly onto a tarp on my deck.
Invest in really good water shoes. I have spent a lot of time in them.
Ditto with really good gloves for working in water.
Even if a rock looks dry, when you step on it in wet shoes it is like stepping on slime so step cautiously.
All my fish were 'disappeared' last October when I was out of town. Guessing a heron moved in. So, I didn't have to worry about what to do with fish.
I approached it with an attitude of mindfulness and that helped. I was happy to be outside playing in the water and rocks. It would have been so much harder if I was feeling resentful of all the previous owners who contributed to the mess or any other drama.
Last but most important is a really good pond vacuum. I have a Matala Power Cyclone. I could not have done this without it.
Feel free to ask me any questions.

 

[Liz k]

I would rather put more thick stones on the bottom than gravel if it were for animals, just easier to deal with. Reason could be anything, to they ordered too much so they had to get rid of it or they actually did it purposefully to prevent animals from piercing the liner.

I've had to pull out a lot of gravel myself, but it was also me alone who built the pond and just dumped too much gravel in there.

I agree that more big stones would be a better protection and the areas with the deepest gravel aren't likely to have any animals unless a bear decided to take a bath. The lower pond is much easier for animals to access. I think you could be spot on about they may have just ordered too much.
One benefit I guess is that I am much stronger after hauling out so much rock.