Converting to a natural swimming pool.
The sound of running water. The beauty of aquatic plants. Birds and other wildlife sharing your space. If the thought of having your own natural swimming pool appeals to you, one of your options is to convert your existing pool.
Of course, there are other alternatives to moving away from a chlorine pool, including converting to a saltwater system or using ultraviolet light to purify water, but a natural swimming pool is a whole new ball game. Its back-to-nature filtration system will teach you that a balanced ecosystem is way better and healthier at cleaning the water than by using sanitising chemicals.
What makes a Natural Swimming Pool Different?
Let’s take a look at the traditional setup. Your swimming pool has a pump that circulates water through a filtration system (using different filter media, like sand) to remove large debris as well as microbes. You’ll have to change the filter media periodically. And remember, a standard filter doesn’t kill all the microbes in the water, which is why you need sanitiser, like chlorine.
Now, let’s consider a natural swimming pool. You’ll still need a filtration system, but instead of chlorine, you’ll use an aquatic garden or regeneration zone. This takes up half the area of your pool, but it does a great job pool of purifying the water.
The garden doesn’t attack and kill microbes, such as algae and bacteria, to keep the water clean and safe. Instead, it uses the nutrients these pathogens need to survive. So, unlike a traditional pool, which is full of irritating chemicals and dead microbes, the water in a natural swimming pond is as alive as the water in a mountain stream.
Of course, just like your traditional pool, a natural pool needs continuous water circulation to maintain a biological filter system. So to create this system as you covert your pool, you’ll modify the circulation system to direct water gently through the plants in the regeneration zone rather than sucking it through a filter.
Now, it’s important to note that the regeneration zone that filters your water is full of aquatic plants. That means the swimming area of your pool is reduced. You can alleviate this by increasing the size of your pool if possible or living with a smaller area of water in which to swim.
That can be a potential downside to converting to a natural swimming pool. However the advantages you’ll enjoy instead far outweigh it.
Let’s look at some of them.
Chemicals are not Sustainable
Traditional pools have a negative impact on the environment. There are other ways of making your pool more energy efficient, but using chemicals takes its toll on our planet, from mining it to its harmful emissions. So, say no to it. Let the environment do the job it’s been doing for millennia!
Enjoy a lower energy bill.
Pumps and regulators use a lot of energy to operate. The costs associated with this can be a drain on your wallet. A natural swimming pool, on the other hand, uses a much more efficient and sustainable pump system. It has the electrical consumption equivalent of just two 100-watt light bulbs and can be entirely off the grid if tied to solar power.
You’ll love swimming next to beautiful aquatic plants.
Your natural swimming pool has a regeneration zone that can be filled with vibrant and verdant plants. So instead of swimming in chemicals and next to power-gulping filters, you’ll be taking a dip with Mother Nature instead. The beauty that offers is truly stunning.
So how does converting your pool actually work?
You’ll need to invest in new equipment, including a circulation pump, a special fine-meshed filter, a biofilter, and a carbonator that adds carbon dioxide to feed the plants. As we said, creating your regeneration area will reduce your pool’s surface area by about half, but you can mitigate some of this by placing the pump and filters in underground compartments in the garden end of the pool.
You’ll need to fill in the shallow end with soil and other growing media, like rocks, for the plants. So, if the idea of losing half your swimming space isn’t appealing, think about expanding the area of your pool. While doing so, you can soften the circumference of your pool by rounding the edges into a more kidney-shape design, which suits the natural pool concept perfectly.
So, ask yourself a few questions. Do you want lower energy bills? Do you want to use less chlorine? Do you want a pool that’s as clean as it is naturally gorgeous? And do you want to be kinder to nature? If the answer to these questions is yes, it’s time to start thinking about converting to a natural swimming pool.
