Shanghilu

[GaryD]

Hi Shanghilu,

In aquaponics circles, having a spare swimming pool is an enviable position to be in.

From a personal point of view, I can't think of a better use for a swimming pool than to turn it into a fish tank. What better end for a resource-hungry drain than to become a food production unit.

Give me a few days for my envy to recede and I'll help you in any way that I can.

Gary

[damien little]

I think you will find that a swimming pool is too big for an aquaponics system. Your nutrient levels will take ages to build up with such a large body of water and you will have lots of algae problems especially if the pool is in full sun. You may have success with it, but short term, I would reccommend starting a bit smaller first. Best of luck:)

[GaryD]

Hi Shanghilu,

Can you provide more information about the size of your swimming pool and some idea of the amount of space that you have around it?

I disagree that a swimming pool is too large for Aquaponics.

It just requires a bit of lateral thinking.

Gary

[shanghilu]

Thank you to everyone for your comments. Its certainly great to know that your not alone and the encouragement is exciting.

To Gary D the pool is sort of kidney shape, approximiately 8m long, 4m at its widest point and 2m at its narrowest. It ranges from 1m deep to 1.7m. If I was to guess I would say about 25000 litres.

There is a small pool that is fed by a small waterfall that spills over into the larger pool. I thought that this may make an ideal breeding pool. there is a reasonable amount of space around the pool and as no one really goes out in the area it does not have to look real pretty. Practicality is more the key.

The pool experiences full sun most of the day although there is some shaded areas provided by surrounding palms. I can post a photo tomorrow if that is helpful. I was curious reading the two e-mags "What is the ideal growing position for a system? Where should one place it for maximum results.

Thanks once again to all who have responded:

[Murray]

Hi Shanghilu, I would recommend that you start with something small before taking on a project as big as a swimming pool.
As Damien rightly points out, there will be some real issues to deal with there.
It would take a lot of fish to produce a meaningful amount of nutrient from a pool of that size. You would then need a very large matching grow bed volume. It could all get out of balance very easily, or never get to cycle properly at all.
If you start with something small then scale up to the pool you will enjoy more success I feel.
Anyway, it is up to you.
One thing is for sure, Aquaponics is a load of fun and is very rewarding.
Muzza.

[shanghilu]

Thanks for your advise Murray. It was always my intention to start on a small scale with the pool being the ultimate goal. They say time spent in preparation is never wasted so I saw:cool: the small scale farm as part of that preparation.