Converting a swimming pool...

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 14 Oct 2006, 10:16

Within the next 10 months we should be moving to OUR house, (as opposed to renting) and the one we are aiming for (and nearly have)has a swimming pool some 10m X 5m X 1.5m deep in need of serious renovation. It stands above the ground level and has portholes all the way round 3 sides. My other half has been persuaded to let me fill it with fish and heat it as the cost of rennovating the thing to swim in is just too much, and the beach is only 20 minutes away. So, my question is if anyone has any experience with such a project, or works in a public aquarium and can offer me some advice. I want to stick a glass/polycarbon roof on and turn it into an Amazon biotype, but I'm not sure if the visibility would remain clear enough, and if not I'll probably go with a rift setup. I plan to stock over a couple of years, and haven't got a clue where to start, do I introduce a species at a time in large numbers, start with the little guys and work up in size or do I need to try to set up an ecostructure from the start including larger fish? I plan to build the filter system and heating myself, but again need to know any pitfalls that may crop up that are unique to such a large project. Any help or advice gratefully received,

Tanis.

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 14 Oct 2006, 10:49

No idea how to go about this at all, but I would suggest running it for one full year before getting serious about stocking. You need to see how it reacts to the seasons and how expensive it is to run before you really spend money on fish and refinements. Could you put one of those dome greenhouse things on top of it?

Jools

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 14 Oct 2006, 14:51

To be honest if I hadn't seen this place while searching for a house I'd never have considered such a huge project. Once I saw it I was like "GOT to do that".The plan is to roof it using polycarb sheets for the roof and glass walls, that way I should be able to reduce the direct sunlight from above to control algae growth, while still allowing enough through to keep the fishes happy. I also plan to plant some stuff around the pool to give shadey and well lit regions. The polycarb is great insulation too. For heating I'm planning to use an under-floor heating system, basically a long hosepipe buried in the sub-floor with a thermostat controlled gas boiler and pump sat outside the tank....

I'm anticipating a two or three year set-up time, starting in about 10 months, which is why I'm asking now so I can be well prepared

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 14 Oct 2006, 15:17

Congratulations on your first home!

This sounds like fun, long-term project. Protection on the top will help against birds getting a free meal, too. What's the weather/climate like in this area?
Amanda

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 14 Oct 2006, 16:50

We get good long summers, from easter until sometimes november you can go to the beach on a good day, hot (28 to 38 degrees) from june to september. Winters get down to about -5 fairly regular from december to february, but with a south wind for a couple of days it can rise to the low 20's even during the coldest months. I was planning on roofing and walling it in to stop predation, invaders (animal, plant or chemical) and give me more climate control, aircon unit for summer and heating in winter to maintain at 26 degrees.I'm also going to bury the underfloor heating under the liner and substrate to heat the water from below when needed. Solar panels to power the pumps and aircon, being as how the EU gives you cash towards the installation of 'em

.

Post by **Shane** » 14 Oct 2006, 18:49

You say it stands above ground level. Does that mean it has a plastic liner? Many of these liners are treated with anti-algae chemicals that make them unsuitable for fish keeping. Make sure to try out a few fishes you can afford to lose for a few months before going all the way.
I look forward to the results.
-Shane

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 14 Oct 2006, 20:46

From what I could make out it was a concrete construction with tiled interior, the portholes are thick glass with a metal mount, couldn't see much on the inside of the pool as the water was a greenish brown, so I reckon algae does OK in there!

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 15 Oct 2006, 09:53

Can you post pictures of it ASAP? That will help us all visualise the scale of the project.

Jools

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 15 Oct 2006, 11:46

Photos will take a while, we've seen the house three times and now we're at the stage of finalising the mortgage and getting our offer accepted. We've been told that it'll take between 6 and 10 months to actually get into the house. I'm looking for basic info at the moment so I can get an idea how much more to ask for on the mortgage to pay for the project and whether the project is a realistic one. Anyway, the first chance I get will see photos posted here, I'm itching to get in and start playing about!

RoseFishWatcher · Post by **RoseFishWatcher** » 15 Oct 2006, 17:17

Check out monsterfishkeepers.com

There are some people there who have done this sort of thing.
Good luck!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 16 Oct 2006, 12:08

Sounds like a bit of hard work with a good potential outcome...

If you're covering it, make sure you do it in such a way that it doesn't get too hot in the summer...

--
Mats

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 16 Oct 2006, 17:56

@ RoseFishWatcher - Thanks! Great link

Covering I'm not 100%, but polycarb or glass seems the way to go. I've asked and I can build a 2m structure on top of the pool without the need for official permission, it's not in anyone's view. Anything bigger and it needs permission. I can build with any one of a range of "light" materials, wood, glass, plastics, corrugated sheets etc but nothing of brick or concrete, again, permission needed for those and in this area that's damn near impossible. The house is in a protected nature zone, so any new "permanent" structures are forbidden. I'm only allowed to plant autochtonous plants and trees, no pet birds or exotic mammals, no lizards outside of vivaria.... but the pool would be permitted if covered

PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn · Post by **PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn** » 25 Oct 2006, 17:24

any thoughts on what you'll stock.

personally i would go for an amazon basin type thing. oscars, pacu redtails various plecs.etc.

and if you like rotterdam zoo, could allways thow in some endlers guppies. allmost every tank had them in. piranhas, to alligators (well that was 1 of two piranha tanks)archer fish, some eel. they were everywhere.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 26 Oct 2006, 04:19

Put 100 Heckel discus and 100 zebra plecos in the refurbished pool.

Jojoyojimbi · Post by **Jojoyojimbi** » 26 Oct 2006, 07:43

don't use heckel discus, use alenquer reds, they're much cooler

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 26 Oct 2006, 13:50

I am a hard core wild discus keeper/breeder. All have fallen before me except Heckels. I think the last thing to try is the greenhouse covered swimming pool. Over 60 years of Heckel imports and still no purebred domestic Heckels are available. Alenquer's are nice but not hard to breed.

aquaholic · Post by **aquaholic** » 07 Nov 2006, 20:35

I have several small above ground pools in a fishroom and have a large inground pool too. Its not too difficult but recommend a UV filter if it gets direct sunlight to reduce green water. Unsure how long/cold your winters get but outside I use solar heaters (home made or aquaculture models if your not handy) and clear plastic covers (or bubble wrap) to get me through my short and relatively mild winter. Alternatively I house fish elsewhere (and run pool cold) or drop water volume greatly if the heating bill is not economically justifiable. You will probably have a bird problem though so a permament cover would be ideal.

I would use a trickle filter and not worry too much about mechanical filtration. Sounds like your setting up a natural biotype environment anyway. I would look at the bioload rather than water volume when planning filtration. At low enough stocking rates you almost dont need a filter at all in a pool/pond. If you really want high stocking levels and good pool/pond advice and ideas I recommend you search KOI pondkeepers and forums.

I love ponds!

Only have an old photo of some indoor tanks here. Besides the outdoor pool just looks like a pond.... :)

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 08 Nov 2006, 20:30

Thanks for the UV tip, been gazumped on the purchase but have convinced the other half to let me build one in the garden of wherever we buy, may work out better as I'll be building from scratch and thus can insulate to a much better level. Got 10,000â?¬ to play with for construction and stock, and my lfs has offered to get me fish at wholesale prices

The only diffuculty is that I want a viewing window in the side, and I'm not sure how to go about that.... Will be taking pics of the entire process, hope to be starting at the beginning of next summer so by this time next year I should be able to post pics of the job from start to finish

TheFishGuy · Post by **TheFishGuy** » 11 Nov 2006, 20:07

Why not post pictures and updates on this thread? You've wet our whistles and got us all excited now, so keep it going!

You've asked if anyone has experience in this type of thing... Well I kind of do. I guilt an 800 us gallon aquarium in my basement. Here's a link to its entire construction from the hatching of the idea to today.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=103294

aquaholic · Post by **aquaholic** » 12 Nov 2006, 16:40

Great thread/link Jonathan,
With each problem you had, I kept wishing I had known earlier so I could have offered some advice. Then again there are so many ways to do things.

Thanks for the read.

TheFishGuy · Post by **TheFishGuy** » 12 Nov 2006, 17:21

I pretty much over came everything that I had a problem with. The only regrets I have are not making it bigger. If I would have known that I was going to get my hands on 3/4" thick glass I would have just informed the family that the entire basement would be full of fish lol, that and I wish I would have completed the entire tank before filling it and putting fish in. On the other hand having it up and running helped me work out the kinks. Now I'll know what to do for the next one