Natural swimming pools are among the trendiest types of residential ponds being built today. A swimming pond is slightly more controlled and luxurious than a basic decorative pond, but it shares many of the same features. The biggest difference is that up to half of the total volume and surface area of the pond is set aside as a filtration system for the rest of it. Intensive planting helps break down waste in the water to keep it sparkling clean for swimming. Only a pump is needed to flush water through the system so plants and bacteria can do the rest with no chlorine. If you’re designing a new residential pond and want it to serve as a swimming pool as well, these tips will help jumpstart the process.
Benefits of a Natural Swimming Pond
Some of the benefits of these kinds of pools include:
- A lack of chlorine, which can irritate the skin and inflate the costs of pool maintenance
- The creation of habitat for birds, fish, and more
- The elimination of the pool draining and filling cycle on a seasonal basis
- Less attraction to vandals and less hazard to animals that fall in.
Why Liners are Essential
As with all swimming pools, you can’t afford to constantly lose water to a leak. Yet the leaks will be endless, through the soil itself, unless you install an impermeable geomembrane liner. A layer of RPE from BTL Liners is the best way to keep the water where it’s needed rather than letting it slowly seep out into the ground below.
Building a Biofilter Area
Biofilter areas for natural swimming ponds are essential because they take the place of extensive filtration units and chlorine generators to sterilize the water. Instead of killing off bacteria and parasites through chlorine, the biofilter uses plants and helpful microbes. Water that trickles through the porous bed of the filtration area slowly improves in clarity and quality. By the time it flushes back into the swimming area of the pond, it’s clean and fresh again. Biofilter areas must be lined as well to ensure they don’t lose any water either.
Adding in Plenty of Plant Life
Natural swimming ponds must be well-planted to process all the waste of people swimming in them. Everything from the lotion you use, to the skin cells you shed, ends up affecting the water quality in the long run. Without enough plants in the biofilter area and around the edges, the water quality slowly degrades over time instead of improving. Plant roots are the key to the biological system based around bacteria that is essential for the natural cleaning of the water.
Natural swimming ponds are a major investment, so don’t lose out by choosing an unreliable liner. Make sure to start off with an impermeable barrier from BTL Liners to get a watertight seal without any gunite or concrete required. Don’t settle for the same old pool everyone else has when we can help you build a residential pond that is safe, clean, and fun to swim in.
