How should I arrange the rocks and gravel in the bottom of my new pond?

Question

It's an old bath, so I dont need to weigh any liners down. There are no fish, so is there a right way to lay the rocks and gravel?

Answer 1

You can lay the rocks and gravel however you please.   However, a tip on ponds:  they're a small ecosystem and need certain things to stay balanced and avoid that lovely pea-green "sludgy" water:

1.  A pond needs at least 6 hours of sun daily.

2.  A pond needs aeration.  A bubbler, sprayer, or waterfall will help oxygenate the water and keep mosquito larvae out.

3.  A pond needs plants.  About 50% of the water surface should be plants.  Water lilies, water hyacinth, anything that shades the surface.

4.  A pond needs fish.  Even tiny minnows are good.  Fish eat algae.

5.  A pond needs a balancer.  I use beneficial bacteria enzyme tablets.  The enzyme "eats" sludge and gunk in the pond and keeps the water clear.  You can buy beneficial bacteria at most home improvement stores or pond stores.

Even an old bath needs to have an ecosystem, or you'll have pea-green algae sludge in no time at all.  You don't have to have all the above components, but get as many of them as you can.

Answer 2

July gave you a good answer.  Why not add some goldfish and plants into the bathtub.

Depending on the plants, you may need to support them on bricks or cinder blocks because some plants don't like to have a lot of water over them.  Some water plants are free floating.

Have fun with it.