You wouldn't always be able to see if an unwanted creature had made it's way into the pond. It could hide there unnoticed, and then maybe harm the fish. Depending on what type of creature it was. When you do the yearly drain and clean, you have to deal with, and clean all those rocks. So what do yall think? If you don't do rocks, what do you do to make the bottom of your pond look pretty?
And not just be the drab, black pond liner? The answer to 2 is that they affect water quality based exactly on your reason 1. Avoid the rocks.
I don't personally think you can see the fish at their best colors when they are sitting on a tan backdrop of rocks. Koi colors stand out best on a black background. This is my third year with a pond. The first two years I had river rocks in the bottom of the pond. I tried keeping the rocks clean so they could be seen by using a shop vac.
That was a lot of work and it wasn't successful. I do have big bolders on the sides but no small rocks. This Spring when I cleaned the pond I took the river rocks out. Now the bottom is the color of algae and it looks natural. I have a ton of rocks if anyone wants them.
I am just like "fish" with my own pond. I am being a little stubborn, so I still have some river rocks in my pond, but they are nearer the top of the water. All of the river rock are gone from about 1 foot and down. I say I am stubborn since I have left some larger boulder type rocks in the bottom as I like the look of them, but I think within a couple of years, those will be gone as well.
I have what they call egg rocks. They are different colors and smooth. I have never had a problem with water quality. In the Spring when I clean it, I just put my crocs on and move them around and use the hose to spray them. My water is clear, tests are always good. I am in Ohio, no trees around it and have an arbor over it cause it sits in full sun. The first year that we built it, I didn't have any rocks in it cause I knew it was going to be a green mess with it cycling.
I didn't like looking at liner on the bottom. The next year, I added the egg rock. You can avoid all these problems by keeping rocks off of the bottom of the pond. Creating a shelf around the sides of the pond extending 12 to 18 inches below the water surface and then installing rocks on this shelf can create a beautiful effect.
So why do so some pond builders argue — often vehemently — against it? The main argument against gravel-bottom ponds is that all the nooks and crannies act as a magnet for fish waste and other debris. Without a skimmer, percent of the fish waste, leaves and anything else that ends up in the pond sinks to the bottom. That leaves all that stuff trapped in the gravel, where it decays and wrecks the water quality. Similar to the muck build-up argument, this line of thought goes that thousands of pieces of pond gravel are a lot harder to clean than one smooth liner.
Koi are natural foragers. They use those little barbels protruding from their faces to root around rocks and find algae and small critters to eat. Anti-gravel folks argue this behavior leads fish to indiscriminately eat anything small enough to fit in their mouths — including gravel. To keep fish — and the liner — safe, only use smooth-edged rocks and gravel in your pond. Some people argue that gravel is an unnecessary expense that pond builders only push so they can jack up your bill.
Pond gravel typically makes up a small portion of the overall cost of building a pond. During a clean-out, you or the crew you hire will move fish to a temporary holding tank and drain the pond using a pump and discharge hose. Once you get to the bottom of the pond, simply use the old pond water — and a little fresh hose water as-needed — to gently disturb the gravel and dislodge large debris.
The goal here is to get rid of muck and leaves, not sanitize the surface of every rock. The more of that biofilm you can keep in the pond, the better. Most pond owners do this kind of full clean-out every one to three years. For the times in between cleanings, you can use a contact algaecide to kill string algae on gravel, and a good skimming net to pull out large debris. Check out our full pond clean-out guide here. More importantly, you should know that the liner is generally frail and there is a risk that something sharp may cut it.
If the liner tears, it could allow water to seep into the soil. Heterotrophic bacteria also exist in natural ponds. These bacteria are able to consume the fish droppings and other aqua waste without much of a problem, and it helps maintain a robust ecosystem within. However, without a liner, these bacteria would no longer exist so the pond will continue to get dirty over time. This is going to require extra effort on your part because you will have to regularly clean the pond. Another choice is the gravel bottom pond.
Right from the start, gravel bottom ponds have a more natural aesthetic. It will look exactly like the ponds found in nature. As you can imagine, it significantly reduces the amount of effort that you will have to make to keep the pond clean. The pond will have its own ecosystem. The large area available at the bottom will also promote the growth of natural, beneficial bacteria. But many people expect too much from such ponds. They often take things too far, completely ignoring their ponds.
Without any maintenance whatsoever, the water will become more and more toxic, until the fish in your pond will begin to die. Another important thing that you should know about these ponds is that they are slightly more expensive to build.
The cost of the gravel and rocks is considerably high, and depending on the size of the pond, you will need to make a sizeable investment. Gravel is generally suitable for a smaller pond.
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