Above ground pool question....you don't even want to know why!

[SandyDittmer]

First off, I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this.....but once you read it, you will understand why I wasn't quite sure.

We have an AG pool, 16x26, with a deep end of about 6.5 feet. It's unheated. I am the exclusive pool keeper in our family. Thanks to info I've learned here, I have been able to save myself a lot of time, and our family a ton of money over the years, I'm sure. Bleach and baking soda is about it truthfully. However, as I suspected might be the case eventually, our sons are teenagers now and I practically have to pay them (literally) to use the pool. Neither my husband nor I like cool water, and we do not have a heater. Hence, we don't even like going in unless the water gets up into the 80s honestly. It just seems our time with a pool has come to a close. I can't justify running a filter 8 hours a day, vacuming, adding bleach, etc. for somebody to go in once every three weeks. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. It just makes you feel GUILTY.

We had a nice cedar deck built onto the pool when it was installed years ago. Please don't choke, but I have always been a nature lover, and have always wanted a pond. We are considering turning our pool into a pond rather than rip it down and try to get a few pennies out of it. I guess I'm not the only one, because after searching the net, I've seen quite a few people who had the same idea and actually did it. They were all inground pools though, so this would have certain challenges.

A couple questions that somebody here might be able to answer that might help in our decision......I know the pool freezes in the winter. We have a main drain in the deep end, and I have to winterize it by putting antifreeze in it. I've gone out and felt the ice, so I know it is freezing quite a ways down, but never measured how far. It would be helpful to know about how deep it freezes. I live in Southeast Michigan. Anybody have any clue how deep it might be freezing? And how does water freeze? From the top down, obviously, but how about from the outside in too? I'm assuming the portion of the deep end that is underground (about 1.5 to 2 feet) probably does not freeze. Would this be safe to say? I know a lot depends on the harshness of the particular winter, of course.

Another question that would be nice to have answered is if the main drain could be capped so that it could be taken out of the equation. Do they make a special cap to close it off if you no longer want to use it? We have a valve external to the pump which switches between skimmer and main drain, or a combination of both, but I would like to have the water not go into the underground plumbing at all to prevent freeze damage to the pipe. Obviously I could not use antifreeze....it would kill the fish.

I already know how crazy this probably sounds to most of you, because this is a group of real pool lovers. I understand totally. I have never been a real traditional person....I like different. Although we enjoyed our pool for many years, it really has served its purpose for our family and we are ready to move on to something new. So if anybody can answer these couple questions, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks a million! Please don't hurt my little feelings. I am feeling rather vulnerable lately. )

Sandy

[CarlD]

Maybe if you put in a solar panel or two your pool would get warmer and you'd enjoy it more....

[SandyDittmer]

Yeah, we already discussed that at length for several years and for various reasons, decided against it. We've decided it's the end of the pool era. So it's either going to be a pond or getting taken down. I opt for the first choice. If that doesn't work out, then we can take it down.

[aylad]

Hmmm, that's an interesting idea, have to put some thought into it to wrap my head around how well it would work. I don't know the answer to your question about the main drain, but I don't think the ice in the pool would be an issue for the fish as long as you can make some holes in the ice to allow air in. Poconos does this in his pool, I think he just partially weights some 5 gallon buckets to float in the water and lets the ice form around it, then removes the buckets. Maybe you could do something similar there?

What kind of fish are you planning to put into your pond? I have an 1100 gallon koi pond right next to my pool, and they do fine in the winter, as long as they can get to some source of air. Would you still keep your pump/filter intact to provide filtration?

janet

[SandyDittmer]

Hi, and thanks for the reply.

Well, if we can just kind of forget it is a pool and consider it an above ground pond, that seems to work better for most people. I would not be able to use the existing pool pump or filter, as filtration of a pond is a whole different animal than filtration of a pool. I will be making a biological filter (huge) from a stock tank. The sand filter would just clog immediately, and the pump is not geared toward moving the volume of water the right speed for a pond. So, in short, it will be filtered, but not with my pool equipment.

My main concern right now is is anybody knows how far down an above ground pool freezes in the winter. There would need to be some liquid water for the fish. I do believe that even if the whole 4 feet of shallow end freezes solid (which I doubt it would), at least the 2 feet that are underground in the deep end would remain liquid. The fish could go there. I will be having Koi, goldfish, Shubunkins, and/or a mixture of all. Not quite sure yet. I will keep a bubbler/aerator going in the winter, but turn off the main pump/filter unit until Spring.

It's just a thought in progress right now, but I am getting more excited about it the more research I do. It won't look like a landscaped inground pond like yours does, which I'm sure is beautiful. But I will be happy to have fish and lots of lillies, water hyacinths, water lettuce, cattails, etc.

Thanks for the input. I am going to call the pool place and ask about a main drain cover.

Have a good one!

Sandy

[Phillbo]

2 thoughts come to my mind.

The bubbler / aerator should prevent freezing and you may want to consider filling in the deep end, do you really want a 6.5' deep pond ? You may, I'm not familiar with the pond thing .

[SandyDittmer]

Hi. Yes, I do want a 6.5' pond. Koi like the water a bit on the deep side, so that won't be a problem.

I know what you mean though, pools and ponds are not the same animal for sure. I already have a small one, and there is no comparison other than they both contain water.

Take care!

Sandy

[Phillbo]

I was always under the impression Koi ponds were only a couple feet deep. I learned something today.

[aylad]

I learned it, too!

My pond is about 3 1/2 feet deep with a 1 foot deep shelf around the perimeter. My fish tend to stay at the top of the water, sometimes even crawling over the lily pads, but when the temps are extremely hot or cold they do tend to go deeper--I assume it's because the water temp changes more slowly there.



Janet

[AnnaK]

They go deeper when it's hot because the deeper water holds more oxygen.

Sandy, I love your idea of turning the pool into a fish pond. With the deck built around it the landscaping possibilities are endless. I envision lily pads, clumps of various grasses, vines, a waterfall, hidden lights . . . an oasis in your backyard.

I would probably start with the external landscaping and let the pool freeze over winter to get rid of the CYA. Mine ends the season with around 60 ppm and is at zero when it's finally thawed out the end of April. To the best of my knowledge all 48" or so freeze solid. We don't have a deep end.

But that would mean continuing the chlorine maintenance for the rest of this season and you probably don't want to do that.