On February 19, 2009 I drove to Richland Center and purchased the last supplies to convert my indoor swimming pool into a fish pond. (I also took care of a lot of other shopping to not waste gas.)
When I bought this place last April, I wondered about its indoor swimming pool. A nice feature; but a one acre pond sat in the front yard if I really needed to take a swim. The room with the pool lacked a heating system (except for what it drew from the rest of the house), so a dip in mid-winter was impractical. If we heated the pool and room, chlorine in the air could cause long term problems with the walls and fixtures, not to mention the fuel cost. The pool’s practical utility was limited to the summer, when I could just as easily jump into my pond.
While my wife was settling in (She came first while I sold the old place in Alaska) problems developed with getting the existing filter system to work. The filter system had been non-operational even before we moved in. Cris had no luck finding a maintenance business or supplier who would help get it operational. All queries regarding what was needed were answered with demands for money to even look at the system or recommendation we replace everything with the new stuff they sold (note, they had not seen our existing system). I needed information, not some sales person looking for their commission.
Three basic options existed.
1) Pay what it took to get the filter systems working and have an indoor pool we could only use in warm weather. Nice to have the pool, especially for those warm summer evenings when we could avoid the mosquitoes.
2) Change out the entire filter system and replace it with a new one designed for fish. In other words, make it into a large (9,000) gallon aquarium.
3) Cover over and fill in the pool and use the room as a recreation room or whatever. This was tempting, but I really hated to just write off the pool.
Since I am an expert aquarist, and the wife wanted a Koi or goldfish pond all her life, we looked into the aquarium option.
My first concern dealt with the risk of chlorine or other pool chemicals remaining in the pool liner. No chlorine had been added since last May, and the room had none of that old chlorine smell I remembered from all the old indoor swimming pools. I had to test the pool in the only sure way I knew. On my next trip to La Crosse for building supplies, I stopped by PETCO and bought 10 cheap comet goldfish (feeder goldfish to those of us who raised large cichlids or other nasty aquarium fish). I put them into the pool and left them to their fate as I began researching pond filter systems.
Four days later, I had found 2 fish floating and one on the pool bottom. This was not good, but not necessarily bad. 3 dead fish would normally be a cause for concern, but the “feeder goldfish” are often stressed in the store and not sold to last long. It also meant there were 7 others alive or not accounted for. I continued my research and looked into various suppliers, while monitoring the pool.
A month later, the fish were still alive. 9000 gallon aquariums with 7 small goldfish do well even without a filter system. II ordered a filter system large enough to handle this size pond, as long as I was not stupid regarding many fish and what types I added.
The parts arrived last Wednesday. I began assembling the various sub-systems and making sure just what else I needed to pick up, such as plugs to cap off some existing pool openings, PVC pipe, PVC pipe glue, and a few extra connections. Those were purchased yesterday, and I put everything together and laid out the flexible PVC pipe that goes into the bottom of the pool so its coils could straighten out. While doing this work, I was able to actually count six fish alive and swimming inthe pool.
Later today, I will attach the last pieces of pipe and start the entire system. It will take a month for the bacteria to establish in the filter media and for having the system ready for the first load on fish. Hopefully, the time will pass quickly, in spite of my impatience.
Now I must decide what to put into the pond. Since we are registering the place as a private fish farm under Wisconsin law, we have a number of options as to where we can get fish to stock and which ones. Now it should become even more interesting.
When I bought this place last April, I wondered about its indoor swimming pool. A nice feature; but a one acre pond sat in the front yard if I really needed to take a swim. The room with the pool lacked a heating system (except for what it drew from the rest of the house), so a dip in mid-winter was impractical. If we heated the pool and room, chlorine in the air could cause long term problems with the walls and fixtures, not to mention the fuel cost. The pool’s practical utility was limited to the summer, when I could just as easily jump into my pond.
While my wife was settling in (She came first while I sold the old place in Alaska) problems developed with getting the existing filter system to work. The filter system had been non-operational even before we moved in. Cris had no luck finding a maintenance business or supplier who would help get it operational. All queries regarding what was needed were answered with demands for money to even look at the system or recommendation we replace everything with the new stuff they sold (note, they had not seen our existing system). I needed information, not some sales person looking for their commission.
Three basic options existed.
1) Pay what it took to get the filter systems working and have an indoor pool we could only use in warm weather. Nice to have the pool, especially for those warm summer evenings when we could avoid the mosquitoes.
2) Change out the entire filter system and replace it with a new one designed for fish. In other words, make it into a large (9,000) gallon aquarium.
3) Cover over and fill in the pool and use the room as a recreation room or whatever. This was tempting, but I really hated to just write off the pool.
Since I am an expert aquarist, and the wife wanted a Koi or goldfish pond all her life, we looked into the aquarium option.
My first concern dealt with the risk of chlorine or other pool chemicals remaining in the pool liner. No chlorine had been added since last May, and the room had none of that old chlorine smell I remembered from all the old indoor swimming pools. I had to test the pool in the only sure way I knew. On my next trip to La Crosse for building supplies, I stopped by PETCO and bought 10 cheap comet goldfish (feeder goldfish to those of us who raised large cichlids or other nasty aquarium fish). I put them into the pool and left them to their fate as I began researching pond filter systems.
Four days later, I had found 2 fish floating and one on the pool bottom. This was not good, but not necessarily bad. 3 dead fish would normally be a cause for concern, but the “feeder goldfish” are often stressed in the store and not sold to last long. It also meant there were 7 others alive or not accounted for. I continued my research and looked into various suppliers, while monitoring the pool.
A month later, the fish were still alive. 9000 gallon aquariums with 7 small goldfish do well even without a filter system. II ordered a filter system large enough to handle this size pond, as long as I was not stupid regarding many fish and what types I added.
The parts arrived last Wednesday. I began assembling the various sub-systems and making sure just what else I needed to pick up, such as plugs to cap off some existing pool openings, PVC pipe, PVC pipe glue, and a few extra connections. Those were purchased yesterday, and I put everything together and laid out the flexible PVC pipe that goes into the bottom of the pool so its coils could straighten out. While doing this work, I was able to actually count six fish alive and swimming inthe pool.
Later today, I will attach the last pieces of pipe and start the entire system. It will take a month for the bacteria to establish in the filter media and for having the system ready for the first load on fish. Hopefully, the time will pass quickly, in spite of my impatience.
Now I must decide what to put into the pond. Since we are registering the place as a private fish farm under Wisconsin law, we have a number of options as to where we can get fish to stock and which ones. Now it should become even more interesting.
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