Pond. Swim Pond. Natural Pool. Natural Swimming Pond. Water Garden. The waterhole with lots of different names. We personally call it a piece of paradise. What exactly is this?
Our swim pond is a man made pond filled with fresh water that circulates 24/7 through pumps to the top of the waterfall that has bio filters where the water is filtered, sent through the plants which also filter, and then continues on through the waterfalls where the water is aerated, leaving us with clean swimmable water with out chemicals. Watch our YouTube video for more photos of the process.
Let's start from the beginning. We hired Waterscape Creations, a local contractor, to help us build our dream pond.
We picked a spot in our yard and began the demo work ourselves.
Trees were removed, retaining walls taken apart, an old deck torn down and the wood was repurposed in the yard.
Equipment was brought in and the build began!
After grading the area, infrastructure was put in.
100 tons of rock was delivered and strategically placed.
They created the waterfalls and upper ponds first. The bio filters were installed, rubber liners laid out with concrete and rock on top of the liner. The liner is what holds all the water in. The water is pumped from the bottom of the pond through the skimmer and sent up to the bio filters which sit at the top of the waterfalls. We have 4 bio filters for our size pond and each one has a medium where the water travels through, bags of lava rock and we have water hyacinth plants on top which creates roots that filter by absorbing the nutrients that algae feeds on.
The next step was where we really saw progress. The main pond was dug out and shaped. Something to keep in mind is where will all the dirt go? We were able to use it throughout our backyard to give our slope a leveled area.
The liner was added to the main pond and rocks began to go in.
Once all the rocks were concreted in around the walls and gravel was laid on the bottom, it was time to fill it up.
We filled the pond and allowed all the lime from the concrete and rocks to leach out and then we dumped the water and refilled.
Once the water was at optimal PH, we added pond plants which are used to filter the water. It's important to choose a variety of color when picking out pond plants because each plant absorbs nutrients through roots down in the segments or leaves. The plants help regulate the growth of algae by limiting the excess amounts of nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sulfur. Basically the plants absorb all of those nutrient which limits leftovers for the algae to be able to grow.
The project was completed in December and the kids went right in.
We enjoy the beauty it has brought day and night, all year long.
The pond has been a wonderful addition to our backyard homestead, providing countless hours of swimming fun, relaxation, attracting wildlife, and just sitting around to enjoy its beauty. We have turtles, fish, frogs, dragon flies, bees, and many other wonderful creatures sharing the pond with us.
Comments