Old Swimming pool to a pond for plants and frogs

16 years ago

We a have a 40 year old swimming pool that is in poor shape and we don't swim much. We are thinking of relining the pool and converting it to a natural pond for frogs and other critters as well as for water plants (we don't expect to have fish). We want to minimize maintainance. For a pond such as this, is filtration and a pump necessary, what would be the least complex way to do this? Should we work off of the existing pool water system ofr should we use submersible equipment. Any suggestions? our preference would be to do this with out pumps and filtration, but I suspect this will be necessary.

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Comments (2)

evonline
16 years ago
Well, it is a really fun idea to consider. One suggestion I have is to find out if the critters you want to provide a habitat for are able to reproduce and survive at the depths the pool would provide.

For example, do frogs need a shallow area at any stage in their life? I wouldn't be surprised if they can feed better in shallow water. Can you adjust the depth to meet their needs?

If you are interested in enjoying some birds that like water (ducks?) they like water that is shallow enough so that they can get to the plants growing on the bottom. I know they eat the plants and would guess they eat some larval insects that live in shallower water.

I do have a friend who has a shallow pond maybe 15 inches deep and 10'X 10'. Without a great deal of effort it seems to have achieved a balance that allows everything to survive without any pumps or filtration. She lives in Hawaii and her pond has guppies (little fish she put in), frogs (or toads) that arrived on their own and a number of plants. Her pond has been on its own for years.

There is a forum on ponds at Garden Web. I have provided the link to it below.

If you do create a pond from your pool I hope you describe your experience as you gather it! It is such an interesting idea.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pond Forum
glen3a
16 years ago
Sounds like your 'pond' would be ideal for a few fish. Being deep, to overwinter your fish all you would have to do is keep a hole in the ice for gases to escape. As for not needing filtration, some have created natural ponds this way, though I am not sure how it would work (the pond forum listed above is full of many knowledgable people).

One thing I've noticed with my small pond is that as long as the water is kept moving it stays pretty fresh. In spring, as soon as the water thaws, I throw a small pump in just to keep the water moving. In summer I go to a full fitration system. I guess what I am saying is that chances are you could adapt the current pool filtration system or at least some part of it for your needs.

By the way, having fish in your ponds is pretty addictive and they are for the most carefree. If you have mosquitoes in your area the fish will eat the mosquitoe larvae in the water.

good luck with your project,

Glen
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Hi, bugsb! I converted my 12,000 gallon pool into a pond of considerably less gallonage due to plants, pots, etc. Although I swapped out my Hayward pump for a Sequence pump to save money on electricity, I'm still using a Hayward pool filter and it seems to be working fine after a year. Did replace the sand with pea gravel to minimize clogging and I back-flush if the flow slows down same as when it was a pool. I've even used my pool vac to clean out the bottom but had to backwash much more often than the pool. As things are now, I could drain it, powerwash it, and have a swimming pool again if I didn't love it as a pond, full of fish, frogs, and what-all. I'd definitely recommend it--basically the same as a pond filter but with different media and I would think a prefilter would make it even more efficient. Good luck whichever way you go with it. Linda
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Thanks, Gilroy! I wonder if anyone has success posting images from their libraries directly to gardenweb? We've gone back and forth--from making the pond into a firepit--which would mean somehow making it drain snow melt and rainwater, to reviving the pond, which means a bigger financial and time committment, plus lots more to learn (just trying to figure out the GPH and the lift and the head height and immersible vs external and direct drives vs mag drives...! Yikes!) We've also talked about making it a firepit surrounded by a pond or somehow making it into a hot tub or outdoor pizza oven. It's the focal point of our backyard and letting it fill up with algae and Mosquitos and weeds every summer just isn't working. Our neighbor put in a swimming pool and all the noisy equipment sits atop the hill just above the pond's retaining wall and behind a hideous chain link fence. We're hoping to cover up the noise with the waterfall sounds and eventually put up our own wooden fence to hide the chain link. But, wow, what a lot of work and expense. I love old houses and am glad you're trying to stay true to the design of your home's era. Have you posted any photos of your home and where the pond is sited in relation to the house? Good luck!
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Hi Obviously , there are many ways it can be done . Mostly depends on what you want. Would help to know what the pool is made of ,assuming in ground?? What kind of filtration.? What shape?? The average swimming pool would make a fantastic Koi pond but not so good water garden. Even for a Koi pond with no plants would still require some modification of the filter system. I would fear the result would look like a dirty swimming pool with fish in it?? lol Particularly if it's the usual rectangle with exit ladders with cement aprons. My neighbor converted their inground pool to a koi pond but the pool was only 8x12 feet with a 6 foot depth actually it already was a Koi pond lol gary
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There are several different ways you could go at it. If you want to keep it easy to convert back to "swimming pool" and keep the cost down for both factors, here are some suggestions. Leave the color as is, the blue isn't that big a problem with algae and a black swimming pool might not be as easy to sell. Some shade for the pool will help against the algae as well as would having it coated in black. Let the water age to get rid of the chlorine. (What source of water do you have for re-filling if you were to need to do any water changes? If you have city water with chloramine you might need to look into some water conditioner.) What is your existing pool pump/equipment? In some arrangements, you could simply continue using the existing pump/filter. Or you could shut down and drain (like for winter storage the pump and sand filter, if you do this properly, the equipment can be hooked back up when wanted for a pool again.) Then you can get a submersible pond pump and a bio falls basin. Put the pump in the pool and hook up to the bio-falls basin sitting on the edge of the pool and you are set to go for small numbers of fish. Add some aquatic plants (make sure they are in large plant baskets with gravel, no dirt.) Place potted plants around the falls tub to dress it up a bit and away you go. Now this might not turn your swimming pool into a perfect ornamental pond but it is the cheap way to do it. Make sure to choose an energy efficient pump as you will probably be running it 24/7. In warm water you need to keep it flowing or the fish can run out of O2. It is best to start out with smaller numbers of smaller fish and keep the feeding light until the system has stabilized. Now if you want to make it really fancy, it will of course get more complex and costly. If you want large or lots of fish, then you will definitely need to learn more about Aquaponics, bio filtration, fish keeping etc. Here is a link that might be useful: www.TCLynx.com
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Old Swimming pool to a pond for plants and frogs

Comments (2)

evonline

glen3a

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