Want to make a natural pool for your next family get together? Here is a simple checklist that works fast!
Natural Swimming Pool
- Hollow a hole in the ground.
- Make sure sides slope.
- Reserve 50 percent of pool’s surface area for shallow plants.
- Separate the swimming area and the filtration area.
- Inside the plant zone, let the water get steadily deeper (allow it to reach a maximum depth of 18 inches near swimming zones).
- Aerate the water (water organisms’ oxygen to be available).
- Channel water from pump into plant zone (use of PVC tubes).
- Bury tubing in the soil (about 18 inches deep).
- Use skimmers hook them up to small pump to suck off floating.
- Apply a layer of bentonite clay (seals the soil or lays a synthetic liner).
- Choose a liner made of ethylene propylene rather than PVC.
- Cover the bottom of pool with 4 to 5 inches of gravel.
- Open the spigot to run water through the gravel.
- Build cobblestone steps for easy access in and out of the pool.
- Run a plate compactor around the perimeter to finish the edges.
- Cover perimeter with rocks, flagstone or even wood planking.
Concrete Options
- Construct with cement.
- Have the right mix
- Have right density to prevent cracking.
- Pour concrete and then trowel on a %inch coat of stucco
- Stucco waterproofs the pool (concrete is porous).
- Prepare plant zone with 3 to 6 inches of soil.
- Avoid harvesting soil from places with excrement.
Plants
- Know the laws protecting wetlands and their plants.
- Choose plants suited to your type of climate.
- Obtain your plants from native-plant supplier.
- Include submergent plants (common waterweed for high oxygen).
- Plant a mixture of floating, submergent and emergent plants in water (6 to 18 inches deep).
- Group plants as per height and type.
- Place plants into the soil / anchoring them (use enough gravel).
Maintenance
- Remove plant litter during spring and fall.
- Keep water levels constant
- Be prepared to add water as required.
- Check mechanical systems annually.
It’s time to get the best natural pool for your home coming party. Let our checklist give you the boost.