Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Putting rock/boulder around pond?

I was just wondering if anyone put some rock or boulders around the pond? I figure it was look great plus help out in erosion, since the north side of my pond catches the rain water from my back yard. How about broken up concrete? I like the moss rock, but looks like it can get expensive. I dont have a big pond, 1/4 acre at most. Just looking for sugggestions or comments,
Thanks!

I've been planning on it. Have about 20 large rocks that I need to haul from a neighbors house probably 50-300 pounds to get the project started. They are turning a highway from 2 to 4 lanes a few miles from me and have had to cut through some limestone hills and haul off the rock might see if I can get some from there also.

Bob

i put softball and a little bigger almost all around the pond couple feet out , then some big , bigger and huge in the water. very time consuming , got place each rock or they just roll in. the best part in when you lose some water , you really don't notice it and pond looks real nice. except for green crap.

My dozer guy was given a heads up before his blade hit the ground...save all rocks & boulders. I only have 5 or 6 large ones, but they are scattered around the proposed water line, a couple have become my sitting spots for Dove hunting, the rest will be excellent fishing seats once my pond is full. On a smaller scale, the pond in my back yard was accented by large rocks as well...easy to weed eat around if positioned right, I like the white stuff. I would shy away from anything small enough to be moved my weed-eater string...there's little to no maintenance with the big ones.

Jixxxer -- I work with one guy who did quite a bit of rock work. He put the rocks/boulders along the shoreline. In one place, it was to stop erosion from waves. In other places, it was just because they looked good.

He also used some broken concrete slabs, as you indicated. I've never thought that they look very attractive out of the water, or even along the edge of the water (that's just opinion, I guess). Thus, he put those in a little deeper water for fish structure. You can see them from the shore when it is calm, but covered with algae, they look pretty good down there.

Dave

I used about 5 tons of rip-rap around the edges of my pond and have another ton or so to place now that the water is down. I had to stack 2 4x4's along the bottom of one edge and drive stakes on the outside edge to hold what I put in on the steep slope. Like Ken says you have to place most by hand, but it sure helps to have a front end loader get it to the location. I have several other large boulders around that are used as seating and also some large limestone slabs that I will use for the waterfall feature. There are some pics if you want to see what we did. My Pond

Dumper, Pretty place.

Thanks Dave, I have put a lot of work into it and have many more plans, including a large expansion to over an acre.

Rip rap rock is great but very labour intensive. I have installed a few hundred tonnes to my lake with a few more tonnes to go. I used heavy landscape fabric underneath the rock to help prevent weed growth up thru the rock. In my case I used the rock for erosion purposes along the east shoreline and to help stop the willows from re-establishing. The added benefit is the beautiful look from the house and hot tub.

Rowly

Thanks for all the info guys. I have a couple other questions though. I just dont know how much rip rap i need? They sell for $34 a ton. I know I have 150' along the south side of the pond which is where i want to place the rock. Also, where can i get the heavy fabric and do i need it? Thanks again!

Jixxers, landscape fabric is used for keeping the weeds etc from growing up thru it. It also helps to keep the soil in place under the fabric/rocks from wave erosion. In my case the lake is some 750' wide and I get white cap waves lapping up on the east shoreline where my riprap is located. If your water is narrow this wouldn't be a problem. The amount of rock depends on how far into the water and out of the water you want the rip rap rock to cover but it will be 15-20 tonnes plus with 2-3 layers of rock over each other. I hope this helps.

Rowly

lildumper ,
Nice green color in the pond. Is that natural or are you using dye? The stone looks very nice.

thanks Tuzz, I do use some blue dye, more in the spring to help block out the light to help control algae and then a small amount throught the summer a couple of times.

lildumper, great pics............question about the dye for the water...how do you buy the dye, is it expensive, how often would you have to add it in a season say April thru Oct, cost per acre of color???? It looks great...just like the ocean...but would it be cost prohibited for a large tank of 10 acres or more?

Rowly