Rocks in the Pond

Introduction
Below are two statements for putting rocks in your pond. One statement
is for rocks and one statement is against rocks. I have no opinion ;-)
and will stay neutral on this subject as long as I am keeping the
informal rec.ponds faqs.


FOR ROCKS
Subject: rock vs no rock
From: "Glenn Rieker"


There are two schools of thought in water gardening as we see
it..............the old timers are set in their ways saying simple liner
ponds are the way to go.........I think these are the same people who
may still listen to 8 tracks..... I can't tell you how many people
come into our garden centre and tell us they have read this book or that
magazine and they installed their ponds like that and they constantly
have challenges...as I have told them most of these authors are just
that, great writers, unfortunately as a group they have probably
installed less than 10 ponds, we do this on a daily basis and must
answer to our demanding clients......one school of thought is you need
to "filter" your water.....like a sewage plant.....the other school of
thought we prefer is to create an "ecosystem"

Most of the "filters" out there are based on sewage treatment plant
design and/or chlorinated pool systems which are sterile.........The
email I had an opportunity to review mentioned the appearance of the
bottom of a watergarden is a judgement call .....Hmmmmmmmmmm.....let's
see........when I was out west in Yosemite and the Tetons I can't tell
you how much I longed to see a clean black liner on the bottom of those
rushing crystal clear rock bottom streams in the park Rock bottom
streams and watergardens win the aesthetic award hands down.

But Glenn..........what about maintenance?????????? Well, we drain the
pond down in the spring and wash the stones down and the pads in the
skimmer and falls and fill the pond back up with water, salt and
bacteria....during the season we have an automatic fill valve in the
skimmer to top off the pond while we are casually resting on the back
deck instead of pulling hoses around......in the fall we set up our fall
netting protection because even skimmers can only handle so many leaves
and then take it down in late fall.

In the meantime we have enjoyed the crystal clear water, healthy fish
and lily blooms galore from the plants planted directly in the bottom of
the watergarden.......not one time did I have to trapse into the
watergarden to clean a pump intake.....or have cloudy water.......

Can you have crystal clear water in a simple liner pond.........yes, we
did it for seven years until we saw "the light".........now my life is
simple, create watergardens with considerable less calculations, crystal
clear water, happy clients across teh country and no more headaches!!!!

Our business model is based on focusing on success, not failures......I
have not had the opportunity to visit this site due to this being
obviously our busy season....but when I looked today the questions and
answers are still the same...........Unfortunately Doctors are the same
as this newsgroup...........they treat sickness.....they are not taught
to promote health......ever have a 300 lb. smoking doctor tell you your
blood pressure is high???? I am sure this commentary will raise the ire
of the usual people in this newsgroup, however, I feel I need to tell
you how "I" see watergarden development changing on a daily
basis..........don't get me started on the Koi Gods and how you have to
have a $20,000 filter system that takes up half of your basement and
bottom drain to keep their championship fish.

We have happy, healthy fish worth thousands in our ponds and they love
the rock bottom.....

--
Glenn Rieker
BS Landscape Architecture
Remember.....Life is a game don't live it on the bench!
http://www.gardenhaus.com