I was looking at this one, https://www.amazon.com/DEL-Ozone-SEC-100-26-Eclipse-Sanitation/dp/B00CS150FY It says up to 50k gallons.
Can you use a DE filter in a pond?
- Thread starter jenmazy
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What size are the bottom drains and what do they flow to? I don't see them in the picture.
The youtube video you posted shows a couple of ponds the guy built but doesn't go into the filtering details much. However, from the looks of the ponds I'd say his water quality is no better then a natural pond, which by swimming pool standards would be far from being considered "safe". That isn't to say you are gona get sick or catch anything swimming in those ponds, it just means you need to be extra cautious. I often wade in my pond and even dive to the bottom to inspect the bottom drain, I've never got sick or caught anything, but I dry off immediate after coming out and I'm very careful not to get any of the water in my mouth. I'm sure there are lots of things living in there that could make me sick, just like there are lots of things in natural bodies of water that could make effect you, especially ponds. Take something as simple as swimmers itch for example, (also called cercarial dermatitis, is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to infection with certain parasites of birds and mammals. These microscopic parasites are released from infected snails who swim in fresh and salt water, such as lakes, ponds, and oceans used for swimming and wading). I had swimmers itch before from swimming in lakes and coming out and not drying off after which allows the parasite more time to burrow into your skin. I wouldn't be too surprised to find it living in my pond or the ponds in that guy's video you posted. That's just one of the many water borne parasites that could effect human swimmers in natural ponds, and as long as you have living organics (plants, algae, snails, frogs, invertebrates, phytoplankton, etc...) in your pond, there will always be a chance of something not safe to humans living in there. You can't kill everything and still have a "natural" pond.
The youtube video you posted shows a couple of ponds the guy built but doesn't go into the filtering details much. However, from the looks of the ponds I'd say his water quality is no better then a natural pond, which by swimming pool standards would be far from being considered "safe". That isn't to say you are gona get sick or catch anything swimming in those ponds, it just means you need to be extra cautious. I often wade in my pond and even dive to the bottom to inspect the bottom drain, I've never got sick or caught anything, but I dry off immediate after coming out and I'm very careful not to get any of the water in my mouth. I'm sure there are lots of things living in there that could make me sick, just like there are lots of things in natural bodies of water that could make effect you, especially ponds. Take something as simple as swimmers itch for example, (also called cercarial dermatitis, is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to infection with certain parasites of birds and mammals. These microscopic parasites are released from infected snails who swim in fresh and salt water, such as lakes, ponds, and oceans used for swimming and wading). I had swimmers itch before from swimming in lakes and coming out and not drying off after which allows the parasite more time to burrow into your skin. I wouldn't be too surprised to find it living in my pond or the ponds in that guy's video you posted. That's just one of the many water borne parasites that could effect human swimmers in natural ponds, and as long as you have living organics (plants, algae, snails, frogs, invertebrates, phytoplankton, etc...) in your pond, there will always be a chance of something not safe to humans living in there. You can't kill everything and still have a "natural" pond.
Meyer Jordan
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Appears to be a suitable unit. This in combination with a commercial UV unit will provide a substantial level of protection. It should be understood that no form of disinfection is 100% in swimming pool venues. Chlorine is used because it has been proven to be the most effective. The CDC classifies UV/Ozone applications as secondary disinfectants. They feel that the use of these two processes supplement Chlorine use but do not replace it.
It really boils down to the level of risk that one is willing to take while swimming.
The following chart was taken from a White Paper offered by DEL Ozone (the unit you linked to) in reference to the use of their units.(The highlight is mine)
As you can see, even Del Ozone states that some Chlorine is still required.
A UV/Ozone combination of the required size will have substantial disinfection effect on the water. Will it be as effective as Chlorine? No.
What size are the bottom drains and what do they flow to? I don't see them in the picture.
The youtube video you posted shows a couple of ponds the guy built but doesn't go into the filtering details much. However, from the looks of the ponds I'd say his water quality is no better then a natural pond, which by swimming pool standards would be far from being considered "safe". That isn't to say you are gona get sick or catch anything swimming in those ponds, it just means you need to be extra cautious. I often wade in my pond and even dive to the bottom to inspect the bottom drain, I've never got sick or caught anything, but I dry off immediate after coming out and I'm very careful not to get any of the water in my mouth. I'm sure there are lots of things living in there that could make me sick, just like there are lots of things in natural bodies of water that could make effect you, especially ponds. Take something as simple as swimmers itch for example, (also called cercarial dermatitis, is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to infection with certain parasites of birds and mammals. These microscopic parasites are released from infected snails who swim in fresh and salt water, such as lakes, ponds, and oceans used for swimming and wading). I had swimmers itch before from swimming in lakes and coming out and not drying off after which allows the parasite more time to burrow into your skin. I wouldn't be too surprised to find it living in my pond or the ponds in that guy's video you posted. That's just one of the many water borne parasites that could effect human swimmers in natural ponds, and as long as you have living organics (plants, algae, snails, frogs, invertebrates, phytoplankton, etc...) in your pond, there will always be a chance of something not safe to humans living in there. You can't kill everything and still have a "natural" pond.
I searched for hours trying to find out how people who build natural pools filter but besides cute pictures there is not a lot of real info out there, unless you want to buy someones book.
The bottom drains are on the lowest part of the deep end and will flow up to the pump outside the wall. We put the drains in with pvc but havent cut the liner yet. It is scary! That liner was not cheap lol I was scared to try and seam smaller pieces so we got a 50x50. It was so heavy!!!! I think on a less deep walled pond it would have been easier, but dragging this 775 pound beast down a 6 ft wall was insane. It took us the entire day to get it in. Now we are scared to cut the drain because if we mess it up there is no way we can get it out and replace it. I still have to get an electrician to do the wiring out there so I have time.
What would you normally seal the bottom drain to a firestone 45 mil liner? We read somewhere to use roof flashing silicone sealant. Is that correct?
There are risks with everything. I think we all just do the best we can. I swim in the lake and ocean. There are all kinds of things that can harm you. We are supposed to go to the Texas coast in 2 weeks and there is an advisory for flesh eating bacteria. We take our boat out and go swimming in the lake almost weekly. There are all kinds of bacteria in lakes. Crypto is chlorine resistant so chlorine isnt the be all end all of water safety. Pools around here have to close for 2 weeks every time they test positive for it because it takes a long time to kill it.
I just want to do all I can to make my pond/pool safe for my family. I know there are always risks. Right now we are drinking well water in Texas where they frack nonstop. We have our water tested regularly just as I will test the pond water
Thank you for taking time to give me advice!!
This one says it has UV and ozone. Would I need an additional UV? Is it something that you could never have enough of and two would be better than one or would it be overkill?
I am sorry for my ignorance. I am really trying to learn all of this, it is a lot to take in and understand. I just want to make sure I do it right and get all of the information to make the right decisions
What I do not understand is why is ozone and UV not enough? What can chlorine do that they cannot? Crypto is chlorine resistant but UV and ozone kill it. A week ago I had no idea what ozone was besides something up in the sky that protected us from the suns rays. I read today that bottled water is treated with ozone. I really hate chlorine. My daughter has asthma and chlorine causes issues for her. When I started this pool I was going with salt but that is still chlorine right? I read something about how the salt is converted into chlorine to sanitize. I still prefer the salt to chlorine. If nothing works out and I cannot properly sanitize the pool with UV and ozone I will have the salt hooked up and get rid of the plants. I read today that the liner will work with salt water. Hopefully what I read about that is right.
Thank you for your time and advice! This has been very helpful!!
Meyer Jordan
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The UV in this unit is used to generate the ozone.
"Ultra-violet (UV) light creates ozone when a wavelength at 254 nm (nanometers) hits an oxygen atom. The molecule (O2) splits into two atoms (O), which combine with another
oxygen molecule (O2) to form ozone (O3)."
http://www.ozoneapplications.com/products/Residential/q&a_ozone.htm.
That is correct. You are just making your own Chlorine.
"Salt water chlorination is a process that uses dissolved salt (2,500–6,000 ppm) as a store for the chlorination system.[1] The chlorine generator (also known as salt cell, salt
generator, salt chlorinator or SWG) uses electrolysis in the presence of dissolved salt (NaCl) to produce hypochlorous acid (HClO) and sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), which are the
sanitizing agents already commonly used in swimming pools. As such, a saltwater pool is not actually chlorine-free; it simply utilizes a chlorine generator instead of direct
addition of chlorine."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_water_chlorination
The one main advantage of salt water swimming pools is that the chlorine is generated as needed to keep your chlorine level at the optimum level. The optimum level being the lowest level of chlorine concentration needed to disinfect the water and control algae. This is an important factor if you have a daughter has problems with the chlorine. I've had and maintained swimming pools before and one thing I've learned is that, for one reason or another, most people put entirely too much chlorine in their pools. The main reason just being ignorance of proper water parameters, the other being just plain laziness. In a properly maintained swimming pool the chlorine should be essentially unnoticeable. But to do that you are going to have to understand, test and adjust the water nearly daily and you should keep the pool covered any time you are not using it. This is also true of salt water pools.
If you decide to go ahead with a natural pond you should really research proper gravity fed bottom drain systems. Your pump fed bottom drain is going to blend up all the muck and detritus that gets sucked off the bottom of the pond and mix it with the water again and make it very difficult to filter out, this will lead to cloudy water and algae blooms. What you want is to take advantage of the bottom drains to gently flow that muck into a settling chamber or a sieve and remove it from the water cycle before it gets blended up by the pump and spit back into your pond.
If you decide to go ahead with a natural pond you should really research proper gravity fed bottom drain systems. Your pump fed bottom drain is going to blend up all the muck and detritus that gets sucked off the bottom of the pond and mix it with the water again and make it very difficult to filter out, this will lead to cloudy water and algae blooms. What you want is to take advantage of the bottom drains to gently flow that muck into a settling chamber or a sieve and remove it from the water cycle before it gets blended up by the pump and spit back into your pond.