AquacultureGeneralHow toNatural Swimming

Converting a Swimming Pool to Grow Fish

Aquaponics is becoming an increasingly popular method of permaculture, probably because it can start with a backyard swimming pool. While creating an ecosystem on one’s own may seem like a daunting task to many, one of the most appealing aspects of aquaponics lies in the fact that nature can do most of the work.

For suburban couple Les and Annette Mulder, the first step to farming one hundred fish in their yard was to stop pumping chlorine into their pool. While neighbors looked on with skepticism, the Mulders encouraged algae growth, welcomed the appearance of mosquito larvae, and even made use of a children’s pool to grow water chestnuts.

Convert-Swimming-Pool-Aquaculture

The bacteria and other organisms that began to grow in the pool played an important role in the cycling of the aquaponic system. Introducing a source of food for bacteria is crucial in establishing a stable aquaponic structure. Various methods for this cycling include using dead fish, feeder organisms, urea fertilizer, and even urine as a source of ammonia. The Mulders did not take up the so-called “peeponics” method involving urine, but instead used small Pacific blue-eye fish for their system.

The couple also utilized the filtration ability of aquatic plants such as papyrus, taro, and Louisiana swamp iris, growing them in three bathtubs filled with gravel. Just as the plants provided clean water for the fish, the fish provided nutrients for the plants in turn. Filtered water cycled through the “growbed” tubs and back into the pool with the help of a 60-Watt pond pump, which reduced the consumption and costs of both electricity and water, providing the couple with an added economic benefit.

Just five months after converting the pool, the silver perch that the Mulders decided to grow were completely capable of feeding themselves, living off of insects, plant shoots, and algae. Since Les expressed a desire to “get to the point where… it becomes self-cleaning and self-regulating,” he never feeds the fish himself. In letting the Perch thrive on what nature provides, Les and Annette’s 55,000-liter pool yields between 30 and 50 kilograms of fish each year. Les even thinks that the fish are developing at a faster rate than those fed with fish pellets for commercial use. But it’s not just the fish that benefit from natural food sources. Healthy Omega-3 fats will likely be passed on to the people who eat the fish, as some algae contain high concentrations of the fatty acids.

The appearance of the emerald-spotted treefrog was perhaps the biggest surprise in the Mulder’s aquaponics system. The couple was excited to find the frogs, “a species [they] never had around here before,” in the grow beds one day. This increase in biodiversity was yet another sign that the pool had become a successful ecosystem.


Geoff Lawton visits aquaponics system.

Aquaponic systems like the Mulders’ do, of course, benefit the fish, but are also advantageous to the plants and humans involved, as well as the environment as a whole. Commercial fish and plant farms are often unsustainable and can produce pollution in the form of pesticides, herbicides, and excess food, none of which play a part in aquaponics. Homegrown fish feed off of naturally produced zooplankton and algae instead of synthetic pellets, and are not overcrowded, which is often the case on commercial farms, where fish are more susceptible to parasites. Many larger farms also exist in the open ocean, where waste can lead to algae blooms and hypoxic dead zones.

Aquaponic systems like Les and Annette’s act as a hybrid of hydroponics and aquaculture, eliminating the nutrient cycling issues faced with the other two systems of sustainable agriculture. Growing fish and plants locally ensures that the owners can control and oversee all the farming processes, producing healthy fish in a sustainable manner. Between the financial benefits of energy conservation and the environmental benefits of sustainable growing, it’s really no wonder why aquaponics are gaining prominence in the world of modern permaculture.

The Permaculture Research Insitute

PRI Zaytuna Farm functions as a model farm (in development) and permaculture training facility. Geoff and Nadia Lawton, world-renowned permaculture educators and consultants, lead the project. Much of Geoff and Nadia’s time over the last few years has been spent away from the Institute, consulting and helping set up projects in diverse locales around the world. Seeing the worldwide demand for knowledgeable permaculture consultants and teachers increase exponentially, as fuel and fertiliser prices skyrocket and the effects of climate change, soil depletion and water shortages begin to hit hard, priority and focus is now shifting back to the Institute, where growing the training program will increase the output of quality teachers to help fill the growing need for them.

11 Comments

  1. Hi, I also have a pool which I do not use because I do not like chemicals and would love to have a natural pool. The vinyl liner broke and the first that needs to happen is to replace the liner. So my first question would be with what do I line the pool ?
    I live in Ontario and out winters are cold. Vinyl seems to get britle if the is no water in the pool. I would like tpo use rain water to fill it and that would take a while. Any advice ?

  2. I have wanted to use an old swimming pool for this purpose for some time now. Be careful of the lining material so it doesn’t leach chemicals into the water and fish.

  3. We livein the hinterland behind the gold coast at 500m above sea level. We are splitting our pool into swimming pool and aquaponics. Will have 12m by 2 metres by average depth of 1.8m(around 40,000 litres). Where can I buy aquatice plants and at what depths? also do I need to line the current concrete/lime based surface? Thanks Tom

  4. I want bild fish pond from our swiming pool that fish we can eat fishe farming.
    please advise me to how to build.

  5. try to do more wih the old swimming pool in perth wa mossie breeding house please little more info please thanks mike

  6. I am very interesting to convert my pool to fish farm. Can you help? or , provide more detail way to do it.

  7. I have an old disused swimming pool with cement walls and floor. I would appreciate any ideas on how to convert it into a pond for urban fish farming.

    1. Hey John, just getting to the start up process for our converted pool. We ended up pouring two walls near the deep end of the pool. The stock tank at 5′ tall x 16 x 8″ thick so we could get more grow area out of our pool. It holds around 5000 gallons. The other wall is 2.5′ x 16′ x 8″ thick and is 3′ away from the other wall. This acts as the settling tank from the terraced bathtubs that use bell siphons to cascade down the three levels of two courses. We have 6 bathtubs holding 2 yards of black 1/4″ lava rock that filter the water and convert the ammonia to usable fertilizer for the plants. These beds hold about 50 plants. We have 3 levels of NFT rails 20′ long x 5 across giving us space for 300 plants with a max of around 800 when our maturation rails are installed. The pool is entirely covered with a 2′ stem wall and 2′ high modified gambrel truss system allowing for about 7′ in clearance at the entrance of the pool at the shallow center. Nearly 90% of the construction materials including bathtubs and 4″ PVC pipe for the rails are reclaimed or recycled materials. The entire build has taken nearly 2 years… Just harvested our first trimmings from lettuce this week.

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