They were installed by professional crews that are properly trained.

Well I guess the majority of our club members must have been professional
pool builders in past lives, as I've yet to hear of a bottom drain leaking.
;-)

In fact, the Demo Pond, all build by volunteers with only one person (me)
who had put in a pond involved, somehow managed to put in a bottom drain &
skimmer that doesn't leak. After that experience I figure it couldn't be
that easy to mess up, considering I hadn't even put a bottom drain thru the
liner myself at that time.

Not rocking a pond is a creepy sterile environment.

If you saw my pond you'd know it was anything but creepy, imho.

I don't know if Roy is still reading this thread, but if he is, Roy do you
have a link to the picture of the pond in koiphen that was covered with
algae that made the pond look like it was lined with sod? Absolutely
beautiful green like grass. What we should all strive for, rocks or not.

It is very easy to put your fish in a kiddie pool for a few hours while
you drain your pond, rent a power washer (or buy one they are not that
expensive) and spray the rocks and gravel, then suck out the muck. A
very easy task that just needs to be done in the spring anyway.

So you've personally done this? How many times?

If your goal is to have NO pond structure maintenance
then you are on track. But you sacrifice the natural look of a gravel
and rocked in pond.

Our goals is to keep people from filling them in out of frustration because
of sick fish and poor water quality, which has nothing to do with the
rocks. The rocks just make it harder to turn the situation around once it
goes south.

If I could keep people from over loading with fish, screen the ponds so no
leaves fall in, and beg mother nature for no more dust storms. AS ponds
might be a bigger hit in this area. ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~