Hello I have a small preformed pond with a cascade and I was wondering if the aquarium gravel at Walmart would be could for the bottom of my pond. Also would that gravel be good for the clams I am going to get?
Gravel for pond bottoms
- Thread starter minktrapper24
- Start date
That's what I used in mine. A half inch along the bottom is fine.
Sorry, I don't know anything about fresh-water clams.
Sorry, I don't know anything about fresh-water clams.
Big debate on gravel
Over in the pond forums I used to frequent, there was a long and rough debate about gravel in ponds. Essentially, one must clean it frequently, or eventually there will be an erruption of some sort of nasty "something" that will kill fish. Rather like having an aquarium that is never cleaned, or a UGF that is never cleaned, the toxins build up. The fish will be fine for quite awhile, then things start happening, finally when the gravel is cleaned, it smells horrid.
So, invest in a pool cleaning device of some sort, there are some that attach to a hose and work like a pool vac. Or get a large aquarium style gravel vac and clean it during water changes.
Personally, I try to keep my pond clear of gravel, but the fish dig in the plants so much that there is gravel all over anyhow. Oh, I need to get out there and do the fall clean up. Bleah.
Over in the pond forums I used to frequent, there was a long and rough debate about gravel in ponds. Essentially, one must clean it frequently, or eventually there will be an erruption of some sort of nasty "something" that will kill fish. Rather like having an aquarium that is never cleaned, or a UGF that is never cleaned, the toxins build up. The fish will be fine for quite awhile, then things start happening, finally when the gravel is cleaned, it smells horrid.
So, invest in a pool cleaning device of some sort, there are some that attach to a hose and work like a pool vac. Or get a large aquarium style gravel vac and clean it during water changes.
Personally, I try to keep my pond clear of gravel, but the fish dig in the plants so much that there is gravel all over anyhow. Oh, I need to get out there and do the fall clean up. Bleah.
Use a coarse sand at 1" deep or so - The clams only get 1/2" round from what I recall. The problem with gravel in ponds is that so much crap gets stuck between them.. The buildup is bad.. There is hardly any space between sand though, but make sure it's coarse..
I use sand from Lowes for all my stuff. My 75gal tank has a 2" layer.. Anyway, it's over by the concrete and slay sand.. It's just standard sand.. Nothing added to it.. Used for aggregate..
It's been in my tank for some odd 3 years now, and I'm a bit lax on water changes, so I wouldn't worry too much about any metal content. Plus in a pond you'll have fresh water coming in from rain and refills.
Scott--
I use sand from Lowes for all my stuff. My 75gal tank has a 2" layer.. Anyway, it's over by the concrete and slay sand.. It's just standard sand.. Nothing added to it.. Used for aggregate..
It's been in my tank for some odd 3 years now, and I'm a bit lax on water changes, so I wouldn't worry too much about any metal content. Plus in a pond you'll have fresh water coming in from rain and refills.
Scott--