Swimming pool to wildlife pond project

[Bullie4me]

Hi all,
Planning to convert an unwanted swimming pool into a large garden pond. Approx 10,000 gallons. already have electrics for the filtration etc and now require/ need much advice as to what to plants will be suitable in the deeper parts. gradient appox 3ft - 7.5ft. after treatment etc. Will I have to stand large containers on pillars to raise them to the correct depth as I'm presuming too deep and they will just rot away? I've tried to find some deep water plants but there only seem to go to about 130cm max. Any ideas?
Very keen to introduce wildlife and have got two strong men to do the difficult and wet bits!
regards Bullie4me

[GCN lova]

hi,

is this a wildlife pond? if so filters will kill newts and tadpoles and other wildlife so should be avoided. make sure the wildlife can get out and create shallows and beaches. also use oxygenators (which provide oxygen for pond life) such as elodea or hornwort. irises are good plants because they can spread themselves. water lilies could be used and water soldiers are great too. you could introduce some duckweed because it provides cover for pond life though make sure they dont cover the whole pond.

your pond sounds rather deep so i would probably just leave some open water for wildlife because ducks may visit. you dont need gravel or sand though you could add them. i let the sediment just grow at the bottom of my pond and its covered it now.

good luck, GCN lova

[Bullie4me]

Hi GNC lova,

Thanks for your response.
Yes planning to create a wildlife pond - If I do not use a filtration system ( the thought of squashed newts and frogs is grim ), how long will it take to naturalise? I plan to stock with as many plants as possible and have already planned and installed the escape routes for hedehogs and other wildlife. The cost saving on the filter system will just mean I can spend more on the other essentials!
Bullie4me

[tom00_uk]

wow this would be an amazing addition to your garden, looked into this before for our garden as hate swimming in chlorine pools, so swim in rivers,quarries, ponds or the sea instead

have you heard about living ponds/pools its a way where you can create a swimming pool that's a wildlife haven and still ok to swim in on the few days a year you want to

BBC - Climate Change - Bloom - Building a natural swimming pool

YouTube - ‪Its Not Easy Being Geen‬‏

these are a few companies that make them
Woodhouse Natural Pools Looking for a natural swimming pool in your garden - The Swimming Pond Company

[Falesh]

One thing to bare in mind is if you use tap water you will have a lot of algae for quite a while especially with the volume of water the pool will contain. Harvesting enough rain water would take a while though unless you can plumb all your neighbors gutters into hoses emptying into the pool.

I would recommend checking out Pond Conservation too as they have a lot of experience with making very big ponds like yours, albeit they are not usually swimming pools.

[King Edward]

The great depth is always going to be the main disadvantage of converting a swimming pool to a wildlife pond. The 3' 'shallow end' is more like the maximum depth you'd want for a pond, so you don't have any genuinely shallow water (inches deep) or muddy margins where a lot of the marginal plants and wildlife would naturally live.

I also think it might difficult to make it look like a pond, rather than like an old swimming pool. That aside though, as others have said above the best thing would be to fill it using rainwater diverted off as much roof area as possible.

For planting, White Water Lily (Nymphaea alba) and Brandy Bottle (Nuphar lutea) will both grow in deep water. Potamogeton natans should do as well, probably not in the deepest parts though.

Marginals: Common Reed and Common/Lesser Bulrush will grow in quite deep water. They need to be able to breathe when planted though, using live/dead leaves above the surface.

For submerged plants, I'd avoid aliens like Canadian Pondweed / Curly Pondweed (Elodea and Lagarosiphon).

[tom00_uk]

Originally Posted by Falesh

One thing to bare in mind is if you use tap water you will have a lot of algae for quite a while especially with the volume of water the pool will contain. Harvesting enough rain water would take a while though unless you can plumb all your neighbors gutters into hoses emptying into the pool.

I would recommend checking out Pond Conservation too as they have a lot of experience with making very big ponds like yours, albeit they are not usually swimming pools.

the PC is a good call, you might be able to make a donation to the fire brigade or otherwise a friendly farmer and get untreated water supplied to you as long as your not in a currently active drought zone

[Bullie4me]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for your replies - duly noted and appreciated. I'll check out the sites recommended and plan to stick with native plant species.
Not too worried about it still looking like a pool, its kidney shaped and surrounded by paving and planting - so should blend in ok.
After a thorough clean it was left to gather rain water and am just going to top up, then treat accordingly -
Thought at the deep end, I'd lift a few edging stones and create (somehow) a suspended shelf or too, to plant a few marginals to soften the edge- well, it might work!
Now looking for a good supplier of plants, 'cos I'm going to need a fair few.
thanks again.
Bullie4me.

[tom00_uk]

Originally Posted by Bullie4me

Hi everyone,
Thanks for your replies - duly noted and appreciated. I'll check out the sites recommended and plan to stick with native plant species.
Not too worried about it still looking like a pool, its kidney shaped and surrounded by paving and planting - so should blend in ok.
After a thorough clean it was left to gather rain water and am just going to top up, then treat accordingly -
Thought at the deep end, I'd lift a few edging stones and create (somehow) a suspended shelf or too, to plant a few marginals to soften the edge- well, it might work!
Now looking for a good supplier of plants, 'cos I'm going to need a fair few.
thanks again.
Bullie4me.

get some scaffolding and create a shelf with that, you also keep as much water volume as possible. it will be below the water so you wont see the poles. just ensure nothing sticks up above the planting shelf level, in case so one does fall in you don't want to create a kebab out of them

Its used quite a lot in inland dive sites to make training platforms that are safe, stable and secure and will last a long time.

[GCN lova]

filters are not in natural ponds and it will kill small animals which are predated by larger animals and is rather a waste of money as you said because you can buy plants with that money. as said before you should deffinitely make some shelves because then froglets can begin to emerge from there. how are you going to make an escape route?