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

[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.

[SandyDittmer]

Hi Anna,

I will continue the chlorine for this summer. My son's graduation party is in a week, so hopefully it will get some use then. I am working on my husband, who will probably be less than thrilled with my idea. But it just seems logical if I can get the right type of filtration going. We spent a lot of money for this pool and deck, and I don't see why we would just tear it down because we don't use it anymore. In a world where everybody is "repurposing", I can't think of a better time to go for it. I'm continuing my research. I don't want to do something that will end up even MORE work for myself. But if there's a do-able way, I will find it! I have always loved fish, and our home is too small for a nice sized aquarium. Imagine a 13,000 gallon one!

Thanks everybody for the comments.

Sandy

[waterbear]

If you have a sand filter then you have the filtration you need. Sand filters are the usual on ponds like that!

[virangos]

Interesting idea. I'm in the north east of PA and my pool (15 x 30) freezes about 4 inches
thick during the coldest winters.

[Poconos]

4" is that all? I think the record thickness on my IG was around 17" with around 9 being average. I weight down a couple of 5 gallon Home Depot pails with a smaller bucket inside full of stone so they just float, then let them freeze in place. Pull out the stone bucket then yank on the handle and the buckets pop out leaving a hole in the ice. Measure the thickness through the hole and also drop a line in to see what I can catch. So far nothing.
Al

[virangos]

Poconos, Maybe the black winter cover is keeping my ice down. I'm just outside Allentown but really 4" is the most I have measured.

The rubber expandible plug the pool store guy told you about is really a good idea. Imho.
we use them to seal toilet drains and sinks all the time. I doubt your main drain is threaded
so you may not have any other options.

Garden hose snorkel? Hmmmm I would think a few well held breaths
with a few trips to the bottom to install the plug would work better.