I wonder how much junk will get caught in the rocks? Will they clog and
reduce flow? I suspect the size of the rocks will matter here. Gravel
would clog more easily than 4-6" rocks. If you are running the water
feature, you want a good, reliable flow. Maybe others have a good idea
about rock sizes.

The issue of pump repair is a good one. Is the pump external or submerged?
How easy would it be to repair or replace? If it could draw from the
bottom, but not be under the rock, that would be a good deal.

Enjoy your twins! Our youngest child is 25.

Jim


"an old lurker" wrote in message
news:NTh1e.21216$fn3.11984@attbi_s01...
We inherited a 600 gallon pond with waterfall and 12 small koi when we
bought our house. We've also got 16 month old twins. We're planning to
fill in the pond with rock and keep the water feature until the boys are
much older - then maybe we'll try fish again.

Our local pond store suggested selling the fish, draining the pond,
adding another layer of liner, filling the pond with quarry rock and
then decorative rock on top. If we keep the existing pump and
waterfall, we should be able to run the waterfall without having 2-3
feet of standing water for our kids to drown in, right?

Any suggestions for the best way to sell the koi? I'm not looking to
make a killing, but hopefully end up with enough money to get all the
rock and stuff we need to finish this project. We're in central
Kentucky and the fish are 6 to 8 or so inches long and have all survived
the winter despite our ignorance about how to care for them!