Gravel or no Gravel for a pond??

[dawnynz70]

Hi
I have recently shifted 3 fish to a portable pond outside , all is going good but I was reading up that gravel in a pond is not good for a pond
here is the link

since I am new to having a pond what is your advice on it.
my pond is a whiskey barrel pond ,until I get a bigger one made.
Today I done a 40% water change and what a mess I used my siphon to clean and it went all cloudy. Next week I will be getting a solar oxygenator air pump to get more oxygen in the water , I have oxygenating plants ,and a water liliy.

I am thinking if I take out the gravel and keep the big rocks , is this alright.

thanks for any advice

Dawn

 

[Jennie Beth]

That's a 'depends on who you ask' question Me, I like gravel in the bottom of my pond. People who keep koi often do bare bottomed ponds for ease of cleaning. As far as the big rock, if you leave just big rocks, will all the fish food end up between the rocks where the fish can't get it?

Jen

 

[XanAvaloni]

A barrel isn't so much a pond as it is a tall-aquarium-that's-very-hard-to-see-through. Unless the rocks or gravel are serving some function like raising water hardness or securing the roots of plants, I don't see any need for them.

Especially since this is intended as a temporary housing unit, why bother? The fish would probably appreciate the volume a rock would displace used for more water to swim through.

/imho. ymmv. etc.

 

[dawnynz70]

Hi there are only rocks that serve as a cave for them to hide the rest is just gravel on the bottom

 

[hankn]

I had smooth river rocks at the bottom of my pond and after 3 seasons I removed them since they trap dirt and making seasonal cleaning very difficult.

 

[Muske]

1-3" of various sized washed gravel on shevles and bottom. Planting pockets have up to 6" of gravel in them. 3+ tons of boulders in pond and falls.

5 years of continous running and never an issue.

Over filtered and over planted.....