I would very much like to get a copy of that DVD, but I'm kind of confused on what I need to do to be in the running. Could someone please explain? Thanks much.
Also, I have a question for David. I've been looking into aquaponics of late and wonder if you could potentially combine a natural pool with aquaponics? I mean could you have food fish in the pond and food plants growing off the water from the pond? Thanks much and welcome.
Katrin Kerns wrote:I would very much like to get a copy of that DVD, but I'm kind of confused on what I need to do to be in the running. Could someone please explain? Thanks much.
Katrin - at the end of the promotion, Paul runs a bit of software to select ten posts at random from the green building forum, chosen from while the promotion was live. So the more often you post, the more chance there is of your post being picked. Paul then chooses the best two posts from those ten - maybe a good question, or a helpful comment or answer. The authors of those posts are the winners, and whoever referred those members to permies are also winners.
But there are a couple of hoops to jump through - you must be signed up to Paul's dailyish email and you must be using a name that follows our naming policy. Paul will email the winners and they must respond within 24 hours.
So check that your name looks real, make sure you're signed up for the email list, and get posting!
Oh, and posts in the welcome thread don't count - I usually move any questions posted here out to their own thread so that this thread doesn't get too cluttered and to make sure that they are eligible for the competition.
Hi Katrin,
sadly fish won't work with a Natural Swimming Pool. In order to keep the water clean and clear for swimming the nutrient levels have to be kept low. Plants then compete for those nutrients and suppress algal growth. The fish will have to be fed and fish food is a whopping great dose of nutrients being dropped in the water. Even if the fish just feed off plants in the pool, sediments will be introduced as the fish uproot the plants and it is those plants that are needed to condition the water.
Food plants - yes! I'm trying with water cress, mint, rhubarb and even water lily tubers (although I haven't eaten one yet because they are too valuable and are supposed to taste like potato)
Ever eager to explore potential new food from the pool, I gathered a bucket full of water snails, boiled and shelled them and fried the morsels with garlic. They were horrible. Like pieces of car tyre but grittier. I fed them to the chickens. It's a bit convoluted but those eggs were a yield from the pool.
Fish eat mosquitoes but they also eat the natural predators of mosquitoes.
A Natural Swimming Pool contains so many other creatures that predate mosquito larvae, dragonfly larvae, water boatmen, tadpoles, newts, the list goes on, that the mosquitoes don't stand a chance.
Strange as it may seem, a forgotten bucket of water will be teeming with mosquitoes within days, but the pool will be completely free of them. Indeed, I have not seen any mosquito larvae in any Natural Swimming Pool.
David Pagan Butler wrote:Hi Katrin,
sadly fish won't work with a Natural Swimming Pool. In order to keep the water clean and clear for swimming the nutrient levels have to be kept low. Plants then compete for those nutrients and suppress algal growth. The fish will have to be fed and fish food is a whopping great dose of nutrients being dropped in the water. Even if the fish just feed off plants in the pool, sediments will be introduced as the fish uproot the plants and it is those plants that are needed to condition the water.
Food plants - yes! I'm trying with water cress, mint, rhubarb and even water lily tubers (although I haven't eaten one yet because they are too valuable and are supposed to taste like potato)
Ever eager to explore potential new food from the pool, I gathered a bucket full of water snails, boiled and shelled them and fried the morsels with garlic. They were horrible. Like pieces of car tyre but grittier. I fed them to the chickens. It's a bit convoluted but those eggs were a yield from the pool.
Okay, thanks for the info. I don't actually have my own land to experiment on yet but I would have probably tried to do a combination natural pool/aquaponics venture on my own without any info.
I have read a lot of the threads here and am aware that having fish in the pool isn't a good idea, is there a way were I can connect the fish pond and the pool to maximize the oxygen levels, they are right next to each other, or is it better to make a new pond for the fish and ducks and just use the 2 tilapia ponds I have now as connected pools?
We swam in my grandpa's fish pond all the time... And then later on that day we'd pull out the fishing rod and catch some trout for dinner. It doesn't matter if the water is clear or not. A natural pool with fish is totally doable.
I'm trying to decide between a natural pool and an aquaponics greenhouse system in the old pool in the backyard of where I've moved (Hillsborough NC). The thought was if i go with the natural pool to have fish, and a place where folks can swim - now I need more info on what that actually looks like.
How best can the water from a natural pool be used for drinking in emergency, or is it best to have separate systems in place?
Thanks!
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