Thoughts on gravel vs pure liner

[Miami Al]

I have a small pond, ~270 gallons, 28 sq ft of surface
I have about 5 sq. ft. of bog surface, it's in 3 resin pots, they spill over. It's pretty. They are fed via skimmer.
I have a bottom drain that feeds into a commercial filtration system: an OASE 1200 (UV + Bio/Mechanical) that feeds into a spillover Urn (with lots of bio material and activated charcoal.

I am thinking of covering the bottom with pea pebbles - same as I use in the bogs. My reasoning is that some of the tropical fish I've added aren't so visible on the black liner, but when they swim over plants or some of the patches of gravel, they are clearly visible. I thought that adding some of the pea pebbles to the bottom would help make fish more visible.

Conceivably it will add more biological filtering, but I think that is minor compared to the filtration I have going on. I do hope the snails will still be able to eat everything up. I have two mystery snails that are about 3" large. I should have some nerite snails as well, haven't seen them in a while, but they are small.

Fish: about 8 goldfish, 30 Silver Mollies (I started with 5), 6 Blue Neon Platys, 6 Pineapple Swordtails, 4 Rainbowfish, 6 Denison Barbs, 5 Pearl Gourami, and 6 Bueneos Aires Tetras.

Yes it's too many fish. I'm okay with that. The mollies are a bit out of control, but they are gorgeous and are my favorite fish right now because they are the most visible.

I was thinking of adding lights as well.

Any thoughts?

 

[Lisak1]

Gravel vs bare liner is really a matter of preference to most folks. I like a gravel bottom pond - the fish like to poke around in the gravel, it covers the liner and I do believe it adds a significant amount of surface area for bacteria to colonize. Some will tell you it makes the pond more difficult to clean - I use a pool net to scoop leaves from the pond bottom and have no issue with the layer of gravel on the bottom. Or you'll hear it gets dirty or traps debris - the key is to keep the layer of gravel shallow. Just cover the liner. My gravel stays as clean as the day we put it in the pond. You can pick out individual pebbles 3 feet down. Any time I get in the pond I swish around the gravel with my feet - a small amount of sediment gets stirred up, but it settles right back down again.

As for lights - nothing better than a pond lit up at night!

 

[bagsmom]

Do you have a skimmer or an intake bay - to help pull in leaves or other debris on the surface? Those will really help catch a lot of falling stuff, which means less junk to sink down to the bottom. I am amazed with how much my intake bay captures. The leaves that do sink to the bottom are kind of a pain to get - especially when the water is icy cold! (I doubt that will be an issue for you in Florida!) I like my pebble covered pond bottoms. I think it really is a matter of preference.

 

[rubyduby]

I love my Mystery Snail!! He is always the most visible (and active) of all my snails since the 12 Japanese Trapdoor Snails that I put in a year ago grew so much algae on their backs that they are now impossible to see. As for gravel vs. liner, I prefer the gravel...The fish love to root around in it and even though my pond is under a HUGE live oak, the bottom of my pond stays pretty clean. I do have a skimmer and netting fallen leaves is my favorite pastime so there is not a lot of accumulation. My water is still crystal clear and the gravel paints a pretty backdrop to my 25 shubunkins...especially at night when the pond is lit (I only leave the lights on for 2 hours a night since I like to give my fish a more natural environment)

 

[Miami Al]

I have a skimmer. I'm actually really proud of that redneck engineering feet. It's a pool skimmer that feeds a sediment chamber, and from there pumps water to the bog system. It works pretty well.

The main issue there is that sometimes the flow drops off, and I have to go into the bucket system and brush off the back of the pump from debris.

@bagsmom - don't be surprised. I was dealing with the pond water the other day, it had to be in the 70s.

@rubyduby - that was my thought on the gravel backdrop, make that fish more visible.

Main thing I'm thinking is to keep the gravel a bit of a distance from the floor drain. I don't want pebbles to slide into the pipes.

The leaves on the bottom is a pretty minor issue. When the sea grape is shedding in May, I scoop a few out a week. Occasionally a leaf gets to the bottom. Whenever I remember, I pull them out. I should be better about it, because the tannins are driving me crazy.

I was actually considering lights in the pond during the day as well, to help make fish more visible. But I think that the gravel backdrop will solve. I light up the area around the pond at night, I could add some lights too the pond.

Thanks everyone!

 

[rubyduby]

I have a skimmer. I'm actually really proud of that redneck engineering feet. It's a pool skimmer that feeds a sediment chamber, and from there pumps water to the bog system. It works pretty well.

The main issue there is that sometimes the flow drops off, and I have to go into the bucket system and brush off the back of the pump from debris.

@bagsmom - don't be surprised. I was dealing with the pond water the other day, it had to be in the 70s.

@rubyduby - that was my thought on the gravel backdrop, make that fish more visible.

Main thing I'm thinking is to keep the gravel a bit of a distance from the floor drain. I don't want pebbles to slide into the pipes.

The leaves on the bottom is a pretty minor issue. When the sea grape is shedding in May, I scoop a few out a week. Occasionally a leaf gets to the bottom. Whenever I remember, I pull them out. I should be better about it, because the tannins are driving me crazy.

I was actually considering lights in the pond during the day as well, to help make fish more visible. But I think that the gravel backdrop will solve. I light up the area around the pond at night, I could add some lights too the pond.

Thanks everyone!

Just a note: The gravel WILL turn very dark from algae eventually. When it is first installed it is AWESOME...you can see every movement of your fish and it is beautiful with all of the different colors...eventually however, it darkens but is still better than looking at a black liner.

 

[GBBUDD]

A small pond hands down add stone . as mentioned it provides extra surface area for bacteria and a place for micro and macro algae's a place to grow. But hands down number one reason is to protect the liner from uv rays in Miami

 

[Lisak1]

I would offer different advice to anyone with a bottom drain. I don't know if there's a way to keep gravel from going into the drain or not - I don't personally have one. Perhaps you need to choose a larger gravel that won't fit into the drain? Mine is about the size of a blueberry - not sure what grade you'd call it, but it's definitely not pea gravel. But my fish move the gravel all the time. About twice a summer I have to stick my foot inside the cave and pull out the piles they've moved inside. So don't expect gravel to stay put.

The gravel WILL turn very dark from algae eventually.

Mine doesn't. My rock walls are covered with algae, but my gravel stays clean and colorful. Not sure if there's a reason why, but that's been my experience after 12 years. You can still pick out individual colors of stones on the bottom which makes me happy - I chose the gravel and rock that we used because I loved the color. It matches my patio.

I saw an Aquascape video the other day where the homeowner used sand in the shallow part of a pond. The owner is an Aquascape employee, so he had some level of experience, but I have to say it looked really cool. Showed off the fish really nicely. He said it was a particular type of aquatic sand - it sinks instantly when it's stirred up. Since it's a new-ish pond, the jury is still out on how it will work long term.

 

[WaterGardener]

The gravel will clog your bottom drain. Even if you put the gravel away from the drain, the water will draw it into the drain and it will reduce the effectiveness of the bottom drain. After all, the whole purpose of a bottom drain is to draw debris into it. The gravel will also make that more difficult for the bottom drain to do, since debris will settle into the gravel and will be harder for the water flow to pull it out and into the drain.

Using sand would also not work well. It would all end up in the drain.

 

[GBBUDD]

I have buried my main drains under 3 to 8 inch rock and an aquablock panel. This works fantastic for me as it draws everything to it and when i jump in every so often I ROLL THE ROCKS WITH A FOOT FREEING ANYTHING THAT GOT STUCK IN THE ROCKS. EMPTY the strainer basket and easy way to clean the bottom. The way I came upon this was to protect the fish from the drain i have lost several before i did this . not one since.

 

[Miami Al]

so my plan, a bag of bigger rocks to encircle the bottom drain cover, then an intermediate size that can’t flow, then pebble further out

Keep rocks out of drain and protect the lane.

I love this forum. It’s the most welcoming and accepting I’ve been on.

 

[WaterGardener]

Sounds possible. Please let us know how that works out.

 

[Stephen Noble]

I have a skimmer. I'm actually really proud of that redneck engineering.

Love the redneck engineering! Oh, have we all done it.

A small pond hands down add stone . as mentioned it provides extra surface area for bacteria and a place for micro and macro algae's a place to grow.

Yep.

I have buried my main drains under 3 to 8 inch rock and an aquablock panel. This works fantastic for me as it draws everything to it and when i jump in every so often I ROLL THE ROCKS WITH A FOOT FREEING ANYTHING THAT GOT STUCK IN THE ROCKS. EMPTY the strainer basket and easy way to clean the bottom. The way I came upon this was to protect the fish from the drain i have lost several before i did this . not one since.

Okay, this is a great idea!

so my plan, a bag of bigger rocks to encircle the bottom drain cover, then an intermediate size that can’t flow, then pebble further out

Keep rocks out of drain and protect the lane.

I love this forum. It’s the most welcoming and accepting I’ve been on.

I would take note of GBBUDD's method and combine it with your idea. This forum has amazingly creative members. Good luck and enjoy your great weather!

 

[Miami Al]

So I put the bigger rocks in a ring around the drain. That should limit how many pebbles get into the line. I then covered the bottom in gravel. I have more that I have washed the dust off, but the pond is currently orange from rock dust. I'm going to let it settle/filter out for a few days (if needed) and finish adding gravel to anywhere missing it. I also plan to fill the pots nicely.

I'm excited!

 

[GBBUDD]

Not sure what type of filter your using, but a good filter with a decent turn over ratio should clear the silt from the rocks in 2 hours or so. If it takes a lot more than that I'd think about updating my filtering system.