Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi there,
New to this game
I have a swimming pool with stagnant green water and tree debris in it.
Looking for first steps to getting water suitable for fish.
I believe from what I've read hear, get the plants first then glass shrimp stock then fish stock would be the order of cleaning up the water and having a productive system.
Pool is approx 8x3.5 mtrs with a varying depth from 1.6 mtrs to 600mm, my rough calculations puts it at about 25kltrs.
My idea is to place large pond plants in the pool/existing water, flood and drain beds over the pool with a large capacity submersible pump in the deep end of the pool on a timer/flow switch.
Run this system for about 2 weeks with plants in medium. and in the pool
?A. what treatment would I need to do if any over the first 2 weeks to the water before introducing glass shrimp.
Can I us a clarifier in the water or will this naturally happen with the watering of the plants and shrimp (will it effect the shrimp?), I've read DandM have semi clear water in their pool although it is much smaller
I live in the Newcastle area NSW Australia are there any systems/networking in this area, where are good suppliers of stock product etc.
I look forward to the community response
Pete

I have no idea about setting up a swimming pool, but I suggest you read Dufflghts system thread.

Yep, Simo's suggestion definitely the best idea - search for Dufflight.

a swimming pool is for swimming in

If you want to do it well, you will need to at least match the capacity of the pool to grow-beds by 1:1, minimum and/or adopt commercial filtration to it

ohh - did I mention a pool is for swimming in?

That idea is sooo yesterday.... it's a fish tank...

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4396
Deb and Mac have the best of both worlds, they get two crops of fish a year from their pool as well as some food crops and still manage to swim. They are very happy with their results and have found plants that tolerate 5ppt of salt.

There is a system on here somewhere where the folks go swimming with their fish. Cant remember whose though

thats what i keep trying to explain to all my friends with pools . . . .theyr not for swimming, but for fishing

lol- I do agree however - quite a bit of cost and effort needs to go into it to make it work

I would suggest a couple of things to do early
- cover the pool with some sort of shade. Direct sun + nutrients = algae
- vaccume the pool and remove as much of the debris/organic material as possible
- add plenty of air and splash to increase the dissolved oxygen level as much as you can
- Put a few brightly coloured goldfish in it so that 1 you can see them, and 2 you will know that the water isnt toxic 3. a couple of small fish wont change the water parameters at all
- As you are just starting out it would be very usefull to buy a test kit and check your water often, it's an important way to learn
- start planning to put as much filtration as possible into the system. If you can build heaps of filtration and do some of the above the water will clear itself eventually without the use of chemicals.

When I quizzed DuffLight on his pool setup he extolled the virtues of his ABF (air lift biofilter). We'll have to hear direct from him, but you might want to start looking at those.

Hi there
Im new to aquaponics
Have a inground concrete swimming pool no longer used
Has anyone in the Gosford area of NSW have any luck in converting or what fish might survive

Here's one of my clients... in Bensville... that grew trout through last winter....

And has restocked again this year...







They use the pool through summer, after harvesting the trout...

And by the time it's too cold to swim in... it's time for trout again...

Hey Rup, what plants are they using there? It doesnt look like much filtration? I still have my pool but i would not be able to get any where close to the pool volume every hour nor have enough GBs.

Don't worry about trying to turn the pool over once an hour... with that volume of water.. and number of fish... it's not necessary...