It appears the general consensuses regarding the lining of a pond bottom with rocks is..... "don't do it" because it's a maintenance nightmare. What a about a fairly long (15-25') stream bed? Do rocks in the stream bed present the same kind of maintenance nightmare?
Stream Bed... Rocks or No Rocks?
- Thread starter malatu
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koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
stream beds are o.k for rock..rocks help in aeration and in.bio filtering when in moving waters such as a sream...the more teirs in the stream the better.
i agree with koiguy. Definitely not in a pond because of the the maintenance, but since the stream is rushing water, you usually flush out all the goop and it doesn't sit. You just need to figure out how to prevent the rocks from falling into the pond.
Definitely rocks in the stream bed. You can also add some ground cover type plants in between the rocks for added filtration
jethro13
jethro13
Yes absolutely rockss in the stream bed. Stack them to create mini water falls.stick them out from the sides so the water bounces off as it cascades down. The more obstructions the better. It creates plenty of great spots for bacteria. moss, etc. But most of all the sounds that the water creates as it splash's and cascades down the stream. As for stone in the bottom of the pond. Nope, no way I made that mistake already. Drained my ponds this spring since I lost my fish last labor day and removed all the stone . What a nasty mess. Big mistake.
I have rocks only in my stream bed where the water is a mini torrent.
Yep rocks in the stream bed the only problem is string algae it's a bear to get it off and can clog the bed up, even make it take a different route over night and drop your water level.
Well, this one came out of the past! Even though this is an old post, let me just address this part:
I'm a rocky bottom girl and I'm here to say it's perfectly OK to rock your pond! It's not "a maintenance nightmare" at all. In fact, if you believe in the eco-system pond, you understand that those rocks all help with maintenance of your pond. I'm a bit of a broken record on this subject, only because I know when we were researching our pond, I would read all these forum threads (even the really old ones) and collect ideas and opinions. I would hate for someone to read "it's the general consensus" and leave it at that. This is one area that's more preference than anything and depends a lot on what kind of pond you desire.
That's all! Off my soapbox! (Or my pile of rocks, if you prefer!)
I'm a rocky bottom girl and I'm here to say it's perfectly OK to rock your pond! It's not "a maintenance nightmare" at all. In fact, if you believe in the eco-system pond, you understand that those rocks all help with maintenance of your pond. I'm a bit of a broken record on this subject, only because I know when we were researching our pond, I would read all these forum threads (even the really old ones) and collect ideas and opinions. I would hate for someone to read "it's the general consensus" and leave it at that. This is one area that's more preference than anything and depends a lot on what kind of pond you desire.
That's all! Off my soapbox! (Or my pile of rocks, if you prefer!)
So I really like the look of rocks throughout the pond, tell me there are more of you out there that have rocks in pond? I don't mind a yearly clean out if that makes it doable.
Meyer Jordan
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Been designing, building and maintaining gravel bottom ponds for almost 20 years. My personal pond is gravel bottom. Have never had a problem when basic maintenance practices were observed.
That is great news, I really like the look of rock!
sissy
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Remember with rock stream that you want most of the water to go over the rocks not under them .