Bottom questions

[Panzer13]

So I was reading a thread on gravel bottoms and it got me thinking. I have allot of plants in the pond, all in containers mostly filled with kitty litter. The problem is that goldfish like to dig. I have kitty litter al over the bottom of the pond.
This has led to a process, fish dig, I vacuum it up the litter and put back in the planters.
So I am wondering, would it be a bad thing just to turn the entire bottom of my relatively small pond into one large planter?

 

[sissy]

all plants have different depths they can grow in .

 

[Lisak1]

Technically you could indeed just turn your plants loose. They would grow where they were happiest growing and life would be grand. But I think the end result would be a lot of muck that you couldn't clean out without disturbing your plants. And they would eventually just take over the pond.

You don't necessarily have to clean that kitty litter up - it won't really hurt anything. How are your fish getting into it? Are they tipping or just rooting? If you add a layer of gravel to the top of the pot it makes it harder for them to disturb things.

 

[addy1]

I have spilled kitty litter, tipped over pots, the deer have eaten lily leaves, tipped over pots. So over the years I have gotten a layer of kitty litter on the bottom of the pond. I just leave it.

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Last year I put dirt /gravel/media in my plant baskets......they did fine...... This year I just put the plants in bare root and a couple of rocks just to keep them stable......I have three different kinds of elephant ears, King Tut papyrus, cattails, Cannas, and they are doing way better than last year......and the coolest thing about it this year when I test the water......I have a small amount of ammonia, and almost zero nitrites and nitrates......the plants are doing their job.....also to be truthful......I have less than 1/4 of the Koi I had at this time last year.......lol Jimmy

 

[Jimmy Gibson]

Last year I put dirt /gravel/media in my plant baskets......they did fine...... This year I just put the plants in bare root and a couple of rocks just to keep them stable......I have three different kinds of elephant ears, King Tut papyrus, cattails, Cannas, and they are doing way better than last year......and the coolest thing about it this year when I test the water......I have a small amount of ammonia, and almost zero nitrites and nitrates......the plants are doing their job.....also to be truthful......I have less than 1/4 of the Koi I had at this time last year.......lol Jimmy

These are great and cheap too

 

[Panzer13]

Technically you could indeed just turn your plants loose. They would grow where they were happiest growing and life would be grand. But I think the end result would be a lot of muck that you couldn't clean out without disturbing your plants. And they would eventually just take over the pond.

You don't necessarily have to clean that kitty litter up - it won't really hurt anything. How are your fish getting into it? Are they tipping or just rooting? If you add a layer of gravel to the top of the pot it makes it harder for them to disturb things.

Yes I think that is my biggest concern is that I would take over. Having them in pots does make controlling them easier.
In my case I have allot of pots in as small pond. My fish love to dig so I end up with allot of litter on the pond floor in say a month. I tried small peaceable but that does not return the digging at all.
I am afraid that if I use a larger gravel the plants won't be able to go through it. Not to mention it would be hard to centralize through large gravel.
I am at a loss here.

 

[Panzer13]

View attachment 114566

These are great and cheap too

I have used that type of planter. They allow to much soil and roots to escape the pot. Most pond plants have very shallow root. To be honest I think plastic oil drip pans make better pot. They are wide and shallow and don't loose soil when you lift the pot out of the pond.

 

[Lisak1]

Have we seen a picture of your pond? Share a photo and maybe we can help with some ideas.

 

[Panzer13]

I have spilled kitty litter, tipped over pots, the deer have eaten lily leaves, tipped over pots. So over the years I have gotten a layer of kitty litter on the bottom of the pond. I just leave it.

Unfortunately I have a small pond with allot of pots and plants. My fish love to dig so the kitty litter seems to be emptied out of the pots parity fast. I have to top of soil at least once a month.