Converting Swimming Pool

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Hi Schuan and everybody,

Can anyone tell me what would be required to convert a swimming pool into a "fish tank"?
I suppose one would need to add a pool thermostat?
How can one change the pool filter to be suitable for filtering aquarium water?

What else would be needed? :(
Can anyone shed some light on this? :whistling:

Kind Regards

Bryn
 
U needs lots and lots of $'s .. thats the main thing :whistling:
 
My uncle let his pool turn green and before he knew it, he had goldfish... A year later they were 20cm long. So its definitely possible but for Tropical fish it will be difficult? You would need lots of heat and massive UV fiters, but its definitely a possibility, if you look at the pond filters, they have dome filters just like the pool pump. With enough cash, anythin is possible. I'd be careful with all the solar flares though, the UV rays are gonna get seriously bad, make sure you have shelter for your fish, most are bred in tanks indoors or under shade nets where they are protected from the harsh sunlight.
 
Welcome Nightwalker how I wish I could dream about a big tank like the one you are thinking about. Wishing you all the best and lots of pleasure.:1::thumbup:
 
just converting a pool into a Koi pond, is not really effective. Koi fish produce a lot of waste. And only way to have an effective filter system is to have bottom drains.

Then also on a standard pool, the slope of the floor is not enough, so leaves that fell into the pool, and even the fish waste will to float down close to a bottom drain. It should be 30 degree or more angles to be really effective. That also forces you to use multiple bottom drains, spaces over the bottom of the pool. So no, it will not work.

Using 50mm pipes on the bottom drains, will also not work. They will block up, as the flow speed is not enough. Must be at least 110mm pipe.

Another thing not taken into account on Koi ponds. The filter system should be gravity fed. Water flow out of pond, via filter system to last chamber where the return pump must be. Should not use a pump in the bottom of the drain to pump water to the filter system. Why smash up the leaves into tiny bits with pump impeller, then try to take that particles out with your filtration. Its ok on smaller ponds maybe, less that 2square meter surface. But still, not a good idea to use pumps between pond and filter, but rather on return between filter and pump.

Even with gravity fed systems, and using 110mm bottom drain pipes, the system can still block up. So how do you flush the bottom of the pool? Must use standpipes inside a weir. That is a deep pit between pond and filter. So you suck the weir dry, pull the standpipe, and the empty weir gets filled rapidly by strong flow from one bottom drain.

So you see, there is one hell of a lot of changes you need to do to be able to convert a swimming pool into an effective koi pond.

OK, as this is a marine forum, what must be done to convert the pool into a marine environment, with enough water flow for corals, preventing detritus, keeping rainwater and other groundwater out, nutrient removal,.... Damn, its a complete rebuild to convert it into a Koi pond, never mind even contemplating a marine rock pool.
 
I would much rather spend the moolah on a proper full blown indoors reef tank. The "marine-pond" has never appealed to me. But to each his own!

You will probably need a MONSTER skimmer tho!
Monster AquaMedic Skimmer - Marine Aquariums of South Africa

EditMonsterSkimmer005.jpg
 
I am with Riaan on this one....

a pool and a koi pond need completely different building methodologies, yea a pool can be converted but you will compromise all over the place, same with a marine pond, it can be done but again you will compromise

to give you a very very basic idea of what may be involved in converting a pool to a marine pond

a HUGE skimmer as shown above
a huge DSB and Macro algae fuge for nutrient export.
serious heating capabilities for the winter months
enourmous amounts of live rock.
many pool pumps circulating the water
for it to look like anything worthwhile, literally hundreds of thousands of Rands worth of corals and even more on fish
Huge CARX and carbon reactors
facilities to do massive water changes
ability to deal with salinity changes when there is heavy rain

those would be some of the basics you would have to consider
 
It would be best to build a shelter over the pool.
 
Take a average 20 000L pool.
To have 20 times turnover, you look at 400 thou liters of water to be moved per hour.

Take Seio M2600 that pumps 10000L/h and you need 40 of them. Ok, you should get a nice discount ordering 40, but at around R1000 each, you need to put down 40K just on circulation. And that is only for 20* turnover. And where are you going to stick them up? Forget about the magnets. OK, so normal powerheads will not work. For 40 times turnover, 80 pumps and 80K. Your LFS would LOVE you. Imagine the electrical multiplug setup to plug in 80 points.

Multiple swimming pool pumps, then again, you need to bash holes into the pool to fit all these extra outlets and suction points. Then those suction places should be such that it does not suck in your fish, mince them up and give your other livestock really fresh food.
 
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