When we bought this homestead last June, I was thrilled that it came with a swimming pool (inground).....about 25 feet long, kidney shaped, with a maximum depth of 6 feet at one end and 3 feet at the other. It has an underwater shelf all around and two sets of graduated steps at the short end.It is surrounded by concrete for a width of two feet in all directions, and has a high-capacity filter system which is connected to the house. The location of the pool is about 50 feet to the right of my front porch,and the pool is partially shaded by two large maples.The liner is plexiglass; no tears, no bumps..perfect condition.We found out we are not pool people, and the expense and upkeep of a pool is not how we want to spemd time and money. Neil & I have been discussing turning this into a pond. We had a Great Blue Heron stop by this Fall. He walked all around the pool and then flew off in apparent disgust. One large factor is we live in very rural woods of NE Alabama and so far, no copperheads or cottonmouths..We like the idea of a pond and hate the idea of attracting vipers 50 feet from the house.First, is this a realistic fear??? The nearest natural source of above-ground water is a pond in a cotton field a mile away and a small creek two miles away. Secondly, has anybody ever done this?????? Aside from getting rid of the cement walkway and ladders..dumping rocks and fish into it..what more do we need to consider????? God bless.

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 09, 2001

Answers

LOL -- Been there, done that and can write a book on "What Not to do for Your Pond." We also had an inground pool which we converted into a pond. My first recommendation is get a good book BEFORE setting up your pond. #1 mistake was I sloped sides of pond so if any animal were to fall in, that it could climb out. Well when the sides are so slippery with algae, I don't know that my goats could get out! But they've never fallen in during last 6 years. Pond sides should be 90 degree angle to help deter algae. Also, I have 1 tree near the pond, but I know pine needles & other types of tree leaves fall into pond from 30' away! We deliberately backfilled the pond with dirt so the depth is 3' at center--if I did it again, I'd only have 2' which is plenty if you plan to use it for Koi/goldfish (and still protect them in a winter freeze). And it would be ALOT easier on your back for the maintenance too! Do NOT use the pool liner--you can keep it intact and install a pond liner directly on top of it, but pool liners are not designed as well. I would pay more money for a solid- piece liner, not one you'd have to glue together (then develop a leak later). Just re-read your post, you said plexiglass liner. Don't know what thickness, but I'd be tempted to throw a liner on top of the plexiglass, especially if you decide to raise Koi--they can get pricey, and I get angry at myself when even a fish dies due to my incompetence. Use RECYCLED CARPETING underneath your liner to protect from stones/debris which might damage the liner. It really isn't difficult--just trying to save you some of my woes. Snakes? I'm in SE GA and never seen a poisonious/water snake near my pond. A small garden snake, sunning itself, but doesn't bother me. GO with the pond, I enjoy sitting there, feeding fish, watching dragonflies, frogs, petting goats, cats, dog & communing with God and nature! That's my little bit of heaven on earth.

-- Marsha (CaprisMaa@aol.com), January 09, 2001.

Marsha...many thanks for your response..I had done a search regarding the subject and came up with zilch (except for digging a pond from scratch)..are there any books you are aware of that speak to converting a pool into a pond????

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 09, 2001.

Lesley:

See if your local library can get a loaner copy of Getting Food From Water: A Guide to Backyard Aquaculture by Gene Logsdon. Doesn't specifically address this, but lots of other good information.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), January 10, 2001.

Thanks Ken!!!!!

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 10, 2001.

Lesley, I too am in the process of converting my inground pool into a fish pond. I say in the process since I have been researching and trying things for a couple of years. My liner has come apart anyway so I have to put in something to hold the water. Right now the deep end of my pool (about 12' since it has a diving board) still has a liner and therefore it holds water. I am planning to remove the lining and put some kind of sealant along the cracks of the pool. My pool is made of somekind of cement type produce in panels with seams between them and it has a solid floor of this stuff as well. If a sealant doesn't hold the water then I will have to buy a pond liner but that stuff could get expensive for my size pool (16' x 32'). My biggest problem is to solve the algae problem without chemicals. I am experimenting with one technique now. I have thrown in three plocastomus (sp) catfish which I bought at the pet store because someone told me they would take care of the algae. So far I haven't found them dead so I assume they are still alive but the algae makes the water too murky for me to see to the bottom so I can't be sure. They were only about three inches long when I bought them but they grow to 18inches. I plan to raise trout or bass in my pond because I want to use it to substitute for food so I won't be stocking it with goldfish. Bass are warm water and trout are cold and either one would survive in my pool because it goes deep enough to avoid freezing. I'm even considering growing bass in the summer and trout in the winter but I'm not sure if they would grow enough in size in six months to make it worthwhile. I live in Virginia. Snakes wouldn't be a problem for me because it is open pasture around our house and we don't see any. The pool has not had chemicals in it for seven years so they would have showed up already if they were going to. I also plan to try growing some lettuce and other veggies along the top of the pond in floating crates of some sort. I haven't gotten far enough along to figure out how I am going to do it but I have some ideas. My thought is to make the pond it's own little eco system where I could raise crayfish and fish to eat. I would like to raise turtles for food but I don't think I could kill them. I also am considering snails but I need to know more about the diseases they can transmit to humans and whether or not that would be a problem before I try them. Eventually, we plan to landscape it to make it look like a nice pond and I plan to use it for swimming as well since I don't mind swimming with the critters just like you would do in a real pond. But I have to solve the algae problem first before I put in fish or I am wasting my time. I also have rigged up a sump pump in the pool and have a hose that dribbles water back into the top of the pool to help with aeration. I think you will need some kind of aeration system to allow them to survive. The goldfish systems can be a little pricey if you have a rather large body of water so I'm not sure I want to do that yet. Still trying to figure it all out. It isn't a priority for us this year so I haven't been real aggressive about finding solutions. I am pretty much waiting to see if the catfish survive the winter and get bigger and if the algae gets less. Once I know that works, I will have more confidence to move forward. Let me know if you come up with a good solution to handling the algae.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), January 11, 2001.

Thanks Colleen! The Amish use aerators powered by gasoline motors in their ponds, yet in the heat of Summer, there is still quite a bit of algae. We do not want a "decorative" pond or goldfish, we want a "natural/man-made" (oxymoron) pond. We have tons of deer, wild turkey, and Lord only knows what else around here (besides the snakes)...we are both avid bird-watchers and keep being frustrated by having cranes and herons and ducks stop by for a look at the pool and then fly off. BTW, the reason all this wildlife stop in is because we got tired of playing with the pool and just left the water in it and watched it turn a lovely shade of green. Because we are fairly isolated, it must look like a great place if you are a bird or a deer until you find out it is not really a pond! I plan on getting the book that John mentioned as well as continuing to search on the internet for appropriate advice...Thanks again! God bless.

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 11, 2001.

sigh..another "senior moment" I meant to say the book that KEN recommended!

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 11, 2001.

Lesley

I would suggest you leave to concrete around the pool, & get a liner in the pool first. Many times the liners will go over the edge so they can be covered with rocks & other stuff. Once it over laps the sides cover with soil & plant some grass. It's easier then tearing up the concrete.

Also the shelf going around the edge is a good place to establish water plants (cattails, reeds, water chestnuts are also good to grow as what the animals don't eat you can (I have info on 2 kinds), and many other kinds of plants), as many natural ponds have some plants around the waters edge which also attracts birds & animals. Many of the birds you've seen at the pool won't stay lond because of 2 things. One very little food, & two no cover to hide from preditors.

Having fish in the pond will also entice the birds to stay a while (herons, ducks, etc... enjoy feeding on small fish). If you fill with fish (even if you don't eat any) you have a good source of fertilizer for your garden at hand. Any caught fish (or scraps of fish if eaten) can be ground to mush, dried, pulverized to powder, & spread as a dry fertilizer. Also the pond water has fish poop & in most cases algie. If used every time you water your garden (like a light feeding), your garden will get a great boost. You are also helping to clean the pond a little so just add the plain water you were going to put on the garden to refill your pond.

These are only seggestions. Good luck.

animalfarms

-- animalfarms (jwlewis@indy.net), January 13, 2001.

Thank you animalfarms!!!!!! Sounds alot better than digging up concrete!!!!! Today it is about 58 here and I find myself looking out the window and picturing "the pond"....God bless.

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 13, 2001.

Go to Amazon.com. There are tons of books on pond building. Granted not on converting a pool. But if you understand the basics of ponds, then you won't have any problem with the conversion. If you have a solid bottom, you will probably need some kind of filtering system for the algae. A natural pond has a continual change of water due to soaking into the ground and rain. There are tons of filtering systems that can be made at home, you don't have to buy a lot of stuff except for the pump. And before I bought an expensive pump, I would try a yard sale small pool pump. Lowes had vidio for $10 on how to build a pond last summer and its quite good. You might start there. You can throw a lot of money into that pond with poor or no results if you don't do your research in advance. I no longer have the url, but there are several forums on ponds on the internet. Look up aquatic plants and look at all those web sites and you should come across the forums. thats how I found them. Judith

-- Judith (JHaral2197@aol.com), January 16, 2001.

I know I found a floating aerator for under $250 from England I think, called Maya Solar. Your pond itself would have to be in the sunshine. If it isn't directly then this product might be better for you since it has a panel you can place elsewhere: http://www.spotfree.net/solaire.html

Good luck.

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), January 16, 2001.