Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Managing Hard Water - Waterfall staining rocks

I just built my first pond (1 acre) and I am excited to start filling it up. I have a aeration feature which drops water out of a water tower, splashes on rocks and flows into the pond. My concern is that I am filling the pond with my well which is hard water. I suspect that once I turn on the water feature it will splash iron rich water all over the rocks and they'll be rust stained in no time. Does anyone have a good remedy to this problem?

Thank you!!

- Jon

If you have the strong desire to avoid iron discoloration and the funds to filter the amount of water that your pond requires...filtration is and option, albeit an expensive one that requires periodic maintenance. I would not even venture a guess as to what a filtration system would cost for this type of application and lean towards embracing the "natural" discoloration of the rocks.

Now that I re-read your post. It sounds like you are recirculating water from the pond to the water feature. I will assume that the pond does receive most of its water from a watershed and that it is not wholly coming from the well. If this is the case, the iron staining will be minimal once the pond is full and filled more by mother nature than the well. Consider holding off on running the water feature until the pond is full and stabilized.

The rocks will develop staining to some degree. Minerals in the water, of course, bacteria's, algae, silts, etc will all play a roll in how they patina.

I'd say embrace what ever happens...it's sounds beautiful...how about some pictures?

Welcome to PB, btw!