Walking on Gravel on Top of Liner?

[jgrandmont]

Hello. I'm about to begin construction of a small pond and have a question regarding the use of gravel on top of a 45 mil EPDM liner (which will be installed over underlayment). Should I be concerned about the possibility of puncturing the liner if I have to walk on the gravel I plan on putting on the level areas (shelves & bottom) of the pond? I didn't know if I should wait until the very end to add the gravel or if it's okay to do it as I complete each level of the walls.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Well... My pond has gravel all over the bottom & I wander around in it all the time. No issues with liner punctures here. It is a smooth, rounded "river gravel" and not a sharp type of stone in there, so I'm sure that would make a difference.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome.

There will be others with an opinion. It probably won’t hurt anything, but I am very protective of my liner, and if it was me, I would minimize walking on it.

Just curious, why the gravel?

 

[jgrandmont]

Just curious, why the gravel?

Just thought it might look more natural instead of having bare liner. It's only going to be about 3 to 3.5 feet deep.

 

[Mmathis]

Just thought it might look more natural instead of having bare liner. It's only going to be about 3 to 3.5 feet deep.

In most ponds, you can’t really see the liner since it’s dark. The bare liner will eventually get a nice covering of beneficial algae, anyway. Before you decide, you might want to search through here and see what other members have to say about the pro’s and con’s of a gravel bottom. It’s one of those things where you need to be able to make an informed decision, but is purely personal preference. In fact, there was a recent thread about this. If I can find it, I’ll post the link.

 

[IPA]

Pea gravel right?

 

[Lisak1]

I walk in my gravel bottom pond all the time. Like @BKHpondcritters said - you only want smooth gravel in the pond and then you don't have to worry about punctures. But honestly, we just worked with liner last weekend for another project and I was reminded how tough 45 mil EPDM is!

One of the reasons I like walking around in the pond is I can stir the gravel up with my feet. The fish move it around constantly so I'm always "rearranging" and it helps to stir things up a bit on the bottom.

 

[jgrandmont]

Pea gravel right?

Yes, that's pretty much the size.

 

[j.w]

And welcome @jgrandmont
I don't use gravel as I find it harder to keep the muck out of it.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

 

[Mayank]

Before we got fish or ever intended to get fish, I was hoping to get frogs to come to our new patio pond like we always did with our little 50 gal front pond (our back pond is 1800 gal). The front pond was a pain because it was only 18 in deep and any frogs that stayed to winter died. So, that meant a whole process in Nov of shutting the pond down, and rescuing the frogs and taking them to the large neighborhood natural pond, etc etc. Now that we have a "big" pond I thought, hey I'm going to make a whole base of sand and gravel for them to bury themselves in for winter so I poured a bunch of sand and smooth round pebbles etc on the deepest level (40-42 inches). I thought I was simulating a natural situation more closely as opposed to having a manmade bottom (just liner). Should I remove the sand and stuff so that there is only a smooth liner on the bottom? Our water is crystal clear at this time and every so often I just stir up the bottom and the aerator mixes the gunk which gets taken to the biofilters.

 

[poconojoe]

I don't have gravel in my pond. My liner has a nice layer of biofilm, so you don't see the black liner. Gravel bottom is a matter of different opinions, so read up on it and make your choice.

If you do choose the gravel and your worried about the liner getting damaged, cover the liner with underlayment, then lay your gravel on that.

 

[addy1]

Should I remove the sand and stuff so that there is only a smooth liner on the bottom? Our water is crystal clear at this time and every so often I just stir up the bottom and the aerator mixes the gunk which gets taken to the biofilters.

hey if it is working why change it.

 

[jgrandmont]

If you do choose the gravel and your worried about the liner getting damaged, cover the liner with underlayment, then lay your gravel on that.

Thanks. That thought crossed my mind and I wondered if it was a viable option.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

View attachment 131502And welcome @jgrandmont
I don't use gravel as I find it harder to keep the muck out of it.

My gravel in the main pond doesn't ever get 'muck'. The fish spend way too much time rooting around, moving it, digging it up, sucking on & spitting it back out again for anything to ever accumulate! I do admit to getting some 'muck' build up in the upper pond area that is fish-free. Earlier in the Spring when we have tons of tadpoles munching in that area there's no build up, since the clean-up crew keeps it eaten down, but now... yeah, some mucky stuff. I just don't worry about that, since the majority of (fish inhabited) pond area is clean gravel.

Plus - How in the world do you walk on an algae covered liner without slipping & killing yourself? My gravel bottom is what offers safe walking.