Ponds and koi.
Plan stone together with the pond circulation and cleaning system. A decorative floor and a designed planted filter are different jobs.
What goes where.
Make room for the animal first. Plan the clear floor, secure the heavy pieces, and leave access to clean and inspect the layout.
- Choose texture and size for the animals you actually keep. A broad habitat label does not cover every species.
- Support heavy stone on a suitable base before adding loose substrate. Digging must not undermine a stack.
- Product-specific chemistry, finish, and species claims appear only when confirmed.
Draw the water route before the stone layer
A pond bottom, stream, decorative edge, and planted filter are different zones. Plan each around its job instead of buying one aggregate to fill everything. Identify where solids travel, where they are collected, and how the actual maintenance tools will reach them.
A rock-lined water garden and a drain-focused koi system may have different requirements. A photograph of clear water does not show all the plumbing, service work, or design assumptions behind it. Choose a complete maintainable approach rather than a universal rule about covering every bottom.
Protect the liner and support the edge
Aquascape's liner guidance emphasizes careful positioning and suitable protection beneath heavy pieces. Inspect actual contact points. A rounded name does not guarantee that every underside is free of sharp edges.
Keep edge stones stable and avoid dragging loads across exposed liner. Plan safe access for service and qualified help for heavy structural work. A decorative bag of pebble cannot repair an unsupported bank or approve a retaining structure.
Follow the filter design
A planted filter needs water distribution and maintenance access as well as media. The grading belongs to the actual design: a small pea-gravel method is not interchangeable with a modular wetland requiring larger aggregate around components. Ask the designer about substitutions before ordering.
Our chemistry and some supplied grades are awaiting confirmation. We withhold water-habitat recommendations that depend on those facts. Washed and screened describes preparation; it does not certify the minerals or every possible water effect.
Estimate zones separately
Measure each planned area and layer depth rather than using total pond gallons as a stone order. Keep structural pieces separate from bagged infill and use the material's estimated density transparently. Check the full delivered total when many boxes are involved.
Leave drains, pumps, and cleanout routes accessible after planting. Keep construction photographs before the edges conceal them. Read pond-bottom stone, bog grading, and pond-filter lava for the sequence from design to material selection.
Keep out.
- Unprotected liner beneath sharp material
- Substituting coarse drain rock for a specified bog medium
Measure the ground.
Footprint, depth, and density determine the estimated pounds. Start with the dimensions of your actual tank or enclosure.
Open the substrate calculator