You Must not use gravel on bottom of a Fish pond

In any pond at any time there are a range of bacteria present. These bacteria are consuming waste products to survive. Some need oxygen to survive ... called aerobic bacteria and others do not. The latter are called anaerobic bacteria. In our pond we want lots of aerobic and preferably very few anaerobic ones since the latter tend to be involved with infections and unpleasant smelly situations.

If you have ever walked through the mud in a natural pond you will have noticed a sulphurous type smell and this would have been the result of anaerobic bacteria living in the mud (no oxygen there) and they metabolise using sulphur compounds amongst others.

It makes sense therefore to create garden ponds to avoid or at least limit the possibility of creating stagnant areas where these anaerobic bacteria can live and multiply.

Now consider a pond which has got gravel on bottom (like you would see in an aquarium) and ask yourself what happens to any food or fish excretions that settle down into the bottom of the pond ... yes of course they work their way down through the gravel where they build up in the absence of oxygen since no fresh water containing oxygen can reach these dead spots. These regions become breeding grounds for anaerobic bacteria. All sorts of problems can occur as a result.

In the early days of pond keeping gravel bottoms were popular because there was not a full understanding of what happens in ponds and the "technology" was based upon aquarium knowledge. The point about aquariums is that it is easy to vacuum the gravel using a miniture vacuum pump ... in a pond this cannot be done.

In koi ponds great trouble is taken to ensure nothing stays on bottom of ponds through the use of bottom drains to minimize anaerobic bacteria possibilities. Removal of debris this way is for appearance reasons of course too. Because of the need to avoid anaerobic bacteria in pond water is a reason why sand filters are very bad for any type of pond ... dead anaerobic spots are inevitable in a sand filter.

If you already have gravel on your pond bottom then do yourself a favour and get rid of it before you create problems. The best time to do this now before water temperatures increase. ( Southern hemisphere of course)

Gravel in ponds seems to be popular in USA as evidenced by a number of similar queries received while I was away. It really is not good for a pond to do this.

If you cannot get rid of the gravel then I strongly suggest you investigate using a pond sludge digester that works well. Take a look at VIresco.

Tips For All Time ...

Choose your type of pond plant here ... your choice of wild indigenous plants from list here. The types are the oxygenators ... floaters or floating plants and marginals

Choose your pond filter .... Tetra pond filters review | OASE pond filters review | Hozelock pond filter reviews | Water garden fish pond UV lights | AquaBead large koi pond filters | Tetra fish pond UV sterilizers | Fluidart garden fish pond UV sterilizers

How to choose the right pond pump for all pond situations and where to get your pump of choice in the USA

A pond skimmer is designed to remove (skim) floating debris by suction and thus remove some of the potential biological debris polluting the water or making it cloudy. The skimming action is created using a pump which can be attached to what is a fixed or floating device ... for those people with swimming pools the skimmer is almost always in a fixed position and is normally an overflow point. You can get a pond skimmer here if you live in USA

Alfagrog is called Fish-Mate SUPRA  in USA and is the perfect small to medium pond biofilter media.

Choose your UV system here ....  this supplier is based in Florida. UK ponders can look here

Peter J May's is the author of "The Perfect Pond Recipe Book"  which is probably the most practical and useful basic DIY pond building book ever published. You can read more ... just click here to read about Building Perfect Ponds and at $13 it's a steal