My Organic Garden Swimming Pond

[Meyer Jordan]

I have seen natural swimming ponds on a couple of nat geo tv shows and they even have fish in them .That must have been a lot of work and 1 expensive liner .Have you had any problems with the cedar wood yet putting tannins in the water or is it to new yet .I just think it is one neat idea and sure is prettier that just a pool in the ground .I watch that show that does all the fancy natural looking swimming pools on tv .

Sissy, are you referring to "The Pool Master" with Anthony Archer-Wills?
He is a master designer. On most of his projects, with the exception of the very large installations, commercial grade UV sterilizers were included. This information came straight from the installation contractor, who happens to be an acquaintance.

 

[xye]

Great project! It inspires me to keep going on my project.
How long did it take for the rain water to fill it in? (And how deep is the "swimming zone"?)

 

[Chelseabreeze]

Great project! It inspires me to keep going on my project.
How long did it take for the rain water to fill it in? (And how deep is the "swimming zone"?)

Thanks. I first filled it over several days last fall with my deep well water. I have very good, clean well water. Rain water now tops it up. I plan to run a pipe from my roof downspouts (with an in-line filter) to add to the rain fill. The deep end is 8', the shallow end 3.5'.

 

[CometKeith]

What a great project! I have seen ponds here with natural beaches for swimming and it looks like they are getting more popular,

 

[Rach]

Wow that's brilliant. You must be chuffed now all finished and can enjoy

 

[MitchM]

I am all for eliminating toxic chemicals in my environment, but sometimes the benefits of using the chemical outweighs the risks - DEET in mosquito spray, for example.
E. coli is present in swimming pools, from both humans and animals, so I was wondering at what point intervention is required when the bacteria count exceeds a safe level and what form that intervention will take in a natural swimming pool?

I came across this article and was wondering, Chelseabreeze, if you could comment on it?
http://www.agenciasinc.es/en/News/Natural-swimming-pools-also-get-contaminated

 

[sissy]

He is one of them and there is another one that does more natural pools and also does existing pools to make them look natural .I also have watched extreme pools .I am amazed that that was a fiberglass preformed pool chelseabreeze and has it been through a winter and do you have pics of it over winter .We actually have here in VA a preformed pool place and they have out front a pool that looks more like a pond than pool .Good gosh you are one busy person ,first a log home and now this .You should do a video on you tube so we can see it all .Maybe they should do a tv show on the place and call it EXTREME EVERYTHING .I know i would love to watch it .Also it looks like your property is amazing and so green .

 

[Chelseabreeze]

I am all for eliminating toxic chemicals in my environment, but sometimes the benefits of using the chemical outweighs the risks - DEET in mosquito spray, for example.
E. coli is present in swimming pools, from both humans and animals, so I was wondering at what point intervention is required when the bacteria count exceeds a safe level and what form that intervention will take in a natural swimming pool?

I came across this article and was wondering, Chelseabreeze, if you could comment on it?
http://www.agenciasinc.es/en/News/Natural-swimming-pools-also-get-contaminated

Thanks Mitch. I read the article and all I can say at this point is that possibly because of the fencing, we are noticing that animals, and birds in particular, are thus far staying out. Also, the number of swimmers are at a minimum. I plan to have a water sample tested this week, and will continue to periodically do so. As for intervention measures if needed, I have a number of resources and experienced individuals who I can consult with, some local.

 

[Chelseabreeze]

He is one of them and there is another one that does more natural pools and also does existing pools to make them look natural .I also have watched extreme pools .I am amazed that that was a fiberglass preformed pool chelseabreeze and has it been through a winter and do you have pics of it over winter .We actually have here in VA a preformed pool place and they have out front a pool that looks more like a pond than pool .Good gosh you are one busy person ,first a log home and now this .You should do a video on you tube so we can see it all .Maybe they should do a tv show on the place and call it EXTREME EVERYTHING .I know i would love to watch it .Also it looks like your property is amazing and so green .

Hi sissy. I am aware of the TV show to which you refer, but unfortunately, we do not get that channel, so I've never watched it. Perhaps it is available on youtube, I'll have to check.

If I understand you correctly, you're suggesting my swimming pool was a preformed pool...it was not. The pics I initially posted in this thread show that it consisted of 3.5' galvanized steel walls all the way around, with the deep end sculpted to 8' deep and the bottom covered in a thin layer of concrete. I removed 75% of the steel walls and filled-in with lower hemlock timbers.

I do have pics of my pond after the winter. This one was taken this past mid-April before the ice had totally melted. Though it doesn't appear appealing, it survived unscathed.

This next pic was taken a few weeks later. Things had dried-out enough to continue.

Here is a pic taken a couple of weeks ago that shows our house and the relationship to where the pond is.

Thanks for your interest!

Tom

 

[Tula]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing your pictures

 

[sissy]

sorry it looked like the fiberglass ones they sell here .And wow that is beautiful .My parents had a log cabin in PA that was over a hundred years old .Seems like it lasted but chinking was always a problem with it .I love the green roof .The house i have now is a modular custom built and since it can do 60 miles an hour from Tennessee it should hold up .I did not have time to do any thing else my house in NJ sold in the first couple of days on the market .I retired to VA just before my 50th birthday .Told my dad I was going to retire at 50 and I made it with time to spare .Gotta say your lawn is to die for .We had friends that just had a split log house put up .The logs are split down the middle and there is this foam insulation stuff in the middle and log look out side and in .I just love the look but to maintain them seems to be a pain .It has gotten better with new technology though .

 

[sissy]

I am still amazed you did all of this WOW impressive

 

[haver79]

Looks wonderful. Love what you have done with your pool. Neat home and your area looks beautiful.

 

[MitchM]

Thanks Mitch. I read the article and all I can say at this point is that possibly because of the fencing, we are noticing that animals, and birds in particular, are thus far staying out. Also, the number of swimmers are at a minimum. I plan to have a water sample tested this week, and will continue to periodically do so. As for intervention measures if needed, I have a number of resources and experienced individuals who I can consult with, some local.

Thanks, I hope you post your results back here.
Testing for bacteria is not something I do.

 

[Chelseabreeze]

Thanks, I hope you post your results back here.
Testing for bacteria is not something I do.

I will.