Hi,

I've just finished building a small pond using a liner, but I'm not sure if
it's a good idea to put gravel in the bottom or not. Being a tropical fish
keeper, it seems the natural thing to do, and I think it will look better,
but will it be a pain to keep clean?

Any thoughts much appreciated.


Mike

Mike, You said it, it's a pain to keep clean. I started out with small rocks
in the bottom of my small pond and the waste collected in them all most
impossible to clean. The pond forms a green tint after a short while that in
itself looks great. I'd say no to gravel personally. No more rocks for me I
took them all out, now that was a true pain. Kc
"Mike (mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums)"
wrote in message
. ..
Hi,

I've just finished building a small pond using a liner, but I'm not sure
if
it's a good idea to put gravel in the bottom or not. Being a tropical fish
keeper, it seems the natural thing to do, and I think it will look better,
but will it be a pain to keep clean?

Any thoughts much appreciated.


Mike

Mike,

The tropical fish tank has an undergravel filter that draws water down and
through the gravel. That works and works well. In a pond, the gravel is
just sitting there collecting dead leaves, dead algae, poop, and all manner
of other things that are going to rot. Without the flow of water through
the gravel, the rotting is anaerobic, creating hydrogen sulfide gas that is
toxic to the fish, provides a hiding place for parasites, and is a royal
pain when it comes time to clean the pond. The gravel does give the pond a
more natural appearance, but the good blanket algae will grow on all
surfaces, and then the gravel will look like the liner, or vice versa.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Mike (mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums)"
wrote in message
. ..
Hi,

I've just finished building a small pond using a liner, but I'm not sure
if
it's a good idea to put gravel in the bottom or not. Being a tropical fish
keeper, it seems the natural thing to do, and I think it will look better,
but will it be a pain to keep clean?

Any thoughts much appreciated.


Mike

Mike (mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums) wrote:

Hi,

I've just finished building a small pond using a liner, but I'm not sure if
it's a good idea to put gravel in the bottom or not. Being a tropical fish
keeper, it seems the natural thing to do, and I think it will look better,
but will it be a pain to keep clean?

Any thoughts much appreciated.

I wouldn't use gravel. I would, however, use rocks. I just think it looks
much more natural.

Joe



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"RichToyBox" wrote in message
. net...
Mike,

The tropical fish tank has an undergravel filter that draws water down and
through the gravel. That works and works well. In a pond, the gravel is
just sitting there collecting dead leaves, dead algae, poop, and all
manner
of other things that are going to rot. Without the flow of water through
the gravel, the rotting is anaerobic, creating hydrogen sulfide gas that
is
toxic to the fish, provides a hiding place for parasites, and is a royal
pain when it comes time to clean the pond. The gravel does give the pond
a
more natural appearance, but the good blanket algae will grow on all
surfaces, and then the gravel will look like the liner, or vice versa.


Thanks, that's what I was thinking, it's just the liner has a few bumps and
creases in it due to the shape of the pond and I don't really want to see
them, but like you say, algae will form on there and it will probably look
ok.


Mike

"Mike \(mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums\)" writes:

I've just finished building a small pond using a liner, but I'm not sure if
it's a good idea to put gravel in the bottom or not. Being a tropical fish
keeper, it seems the natural thing to do, and I think it will look better,
but will it be a pain to keep clean?

I use black epoxy coated aquarium gravel in my pond. The koi love to root
in it and it has no algae or debris collecting -- the koi just mouth
it too much.

I didn't want regular colored aquarium gravel as I think koi look
better on a dark background.

I can see where bigger gravel or stones would be problematic.

I've just finished building a small pond using a liner, but I'm not sure if
it's a good idea to put gravel in the bottom or not. Being a tropical fish
keeper, it seems the natural thing to do, and I think it will look better,
but will it be a pain to keep clean?
Any thoughts much appreciated.

We did rocks and things in the veggie filter and we let plants just
grow wild (and I go in and yank bunches out whenever it gets ugly),
but the main koi pond is all black liner with two bottom drains.

I highly recommend bottom drains if you want big Koi BTW...

I also would agree w/the masses here and say 'no' to gravel. What I did was
put some flat rocks in - I was able to purchase them at my local garden
supply place by the pound. I was calling it slate until I learned it was
just flat cut field stone :-)

LeeAnne
"Mike (mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums)"
wrote in message
. ..
Hi,

I've just finished building a small pond using a liner, but I'm not sure
if
it's a good idea to put gravel in the bottom or not. Being a tropical fish
keeper, it seems the natural thing to do, and I think it will look better,
but will it be a pain to keep clean?

Any thoughts much appreciated.


Mike

"LeeAnne" wrote in message
...
I also would agree w/the masses here and say 'no' to gravel. What I did
was
put some flat rocks in - I was able to purchase them at my local garden
supply place by the pound. I was calling it slate until I learned it was
just flat cut field stone :-)

That's not a bad idea, using slate I mean, there is a water garden centre
near me that sells nice big flat pieces that I could arrange into a simple
flat base.

Make sure it's slate and not shale. Shale leaches an oily substance that
would be toxic to the fish.

The only way I could "sign on" to (even large) rocks on the bottom would be
if they were permanently mounted, i.e., cemented in place. That way, there's
no place for the crud to get caught. However, it would still get overgrown
with algae, so you wouldn't see it anyhow, so why go to the trouble?
Lee

"Mike (mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums)"
wrote in message
...

"LeeAnne" wrote in message
...
I also would agree w/the masses here and say 'no' to gravel. What I did
was
put some flat rocks in - I was able to purchase them at my local garden
supply place by the pound. I was calling it slate until I learned it
was
just flat cut field stone :-)

That's not a bad idea, using slate I mean, there is a water garden centre
near me that sells nice big flat pieces that I could arrange into a simple
flat base.

Lee Brouillet wrote:

However, it would still get overgrown
with algae, so you wouldn't see it anyhow, so why go to the trouble?

I've heard others say that too, but I have rocks on the bottom of my pond
and I can see them fine and dandy.

Joe



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My pond, I should mention, is also very small - more of a bird splashing
pool so if/when they get nasty I can just take 'em out and hose 'em off.

www.chewedtoast.com if you're interested in seeing.

LeeAnne

"Mike (mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums)"
wrote in message
...

"LeeAnne" wrote in message
...
I also would agree w/the masses here and say 'no' to gravel. What I did
was
put some flat rocks in - I was able to purchase them at my local garden
supply place by the pound. I was calling it slate until I learned it
was
just flat cut field stone :-)

That's not a bad idea, using slate I mean, there is a water garden centre
near me that sells nice big flat pieces that I could arrange into a simple
flat base.

KEWL! Little ponds with no fish are much different than large fish with huge
fish loads! I'm sure your birdie friends enjoy the place to splash and cool
off. Watching birds take a bath has always made me happy I'm human, with a
little more control over where the water goes! G

Lee

"LeeAnne" wrote in message
...
My pond, I should mention, is also very small - more of a bird splashing
pool so if/when they get nasty I can just take 'em out and hose 'em off.

www.chewedtoast.com if you're interested in seeing.

LeeAnne

"Mike (mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums)"
wrote in message
...

"LeeAnne" wrote in message
...
I also would agree w/the masses here and say 'no' to gravel. What I
did
was
put some flat rocks in - I was able to purchase them at my local
garden
supply place by the pound. I was calling it slate until I learned it
was
just flat cut field stone :-)

That's not a bad idea, using slate I mean, there is a water garden
centre
near me that sells nice big flat pieces that I could arrange into a
simple
flat base.

"joe" wrote in message
...
Lee Brouillet wrote:

However, it would still get overgrown
with algae, so you wouldn't see it anyhow, so why go to the trouble?

I've heard others say that too, but I have rocks on the bottom of my pond
and I can see them fine and dandy.

Joe

Same here, Joe. I have a small pond (600 gal), liner, and the bottom and
sides are covered in marble-sized river rock. I have a PondSweep skimmer
system and waterfall. The pond is 3 yrs. old. I have not had any issues
dealing with collected crud. I have 4 fish, and my water lilies (2) and
anacharis are rooted right into the bottom of the pond under the gravel.
They are doing very well...the anacharis has grown a foot and is sending up
blooms almost daily. I had no idea it would do that, but this is the first
year we rooted it into the bottom.

I do lots and lots of "Ponding No-No's", according to the accepted
practices, but my pond is balanced, crystal clear, and my fish are happy and
illness-free. Two of them have been in the pond since we first established
it, and they have wintered over each year here in zone 5b. I guess one
Ponding Rule is the overriding one he If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

NJ

Yeah, much different - there is life in there that came all by itself. I
have things that look like grains of black pepper that are cruising about as
well as ones that are about that size but they are sorta fleshy colored. I
have had dragonfly naiads (sp?) and some water bugs as well as snails.

I just found a bunch of snail eggs on the underside of some Iris fronds (if
that's the right word) that I had laid across the 'deep' end to keep an area
shady. I'm amazed at how long the Iris have lasted - I have a few huge
bunches in the yard and cut off a ton of the longest leaves and laid them
across - they've been there for at least a month and are still green. A few
were browning and I was going to remove them but then I found the eggs -- go
snails go (they're black). Every time I see them they're mating - horny
little critters they are.

I haven't had any frogs this year at all - I usually have at least one - but
I have seen a snake more than a few times so that could be the reason.

LeeAnne



"Lee Brouillet" wrote in message
...
KEWL! Little ponds with no fish are much different than large fish with
huge
fish loads! I'm sure your birdie friends enjoy the place to splash and
cool
off. Watching birds take a bath has always made me happy I'm human, with a
little more control over where the water goes! G

Lee

"LeeAnne" wrote in message
...
My pond, I should mention, is also very small - more of a bird splashing
pool so if/when they get nasty I can just take 'em out and hose 'em off.

www.chewedtoast.com if you're interested in seeing.

LeeAnne

"Mike (mixmanx at AV and DVD Forums)"
wrote in message
...

"LeeAnne" wrote in message
...
I also would agree w/the masses here and say 'no' to gravel. What I
did
was
put some flat rocks in - I was able to purchase them at my local
garden
supply place by the pound. I was calling it slate until I learned
it
was
just flat cut field stone :-)

That's not a bad idea, using slate I mean, there is a water garden
centre
near me that sells nice big flat pieces that I could arrange into a
simple
flat base.