Hi! We inherited a Dimension One swimspa with the house, and man, we loved that thing! However it is twenty years old and got a short. Despite everything else running like a champ, we cannot replace the shorted chip.
We don’t want to just make waste, so we want to convert it to a pond with a bog filter. If this works out for us and we can maintain it, we plan on really leaning into the pond, or perhaps turning it into a natural swimming hole.
To start with we are adding an elevated bog a little over 10% of the surface area and 12% dry volume.
We plan to use a submersible pump (but may convert to an external down the road). We plan to bottom feed our bog.
The bog is in partial shade in south Texas. It faces north and is under a tree with morning light, some afternoon light. It will get 4 to 6 hrs of direct light and even the shady spots burn my Persian shield. It gets over 100*
We plan to plant:
*Cardinal flower in the sun
*papirus in the shadier spot
*horsetail reed between
*bog bean
*marsh marigold
*water forgetmenot
*marsh milkweed if we can find it
*fairy lily
For the bottom of the pond (about half the total surface area and 3+ ft deep) we are adding 3 inches of 1-3 inch gravel and planting maybe 10 plants of:
*vallisneria
*mint Charlie
*lemon bacopa
Where the seats and stairs are we are thinking of adding a foxfire and pink hardy waterlilly (1 each) and maybe some arrow arum, an iris, and a pickerel rush.
For animals we are thinking a bullfrog tadpole (other tadpoles will come naturally), mosquito fish, and maybe after the pond has found its equilibrium 3 to 5 comets for the baby.
Only naturally occurring snails.
Does this sound doable? Will these plants filter enough water?
The water pump can filter the whole pond 2 to 2 times an hour. I worry that we will have a bit of a high nutrient old with falling leaves, but won’t get a skimmer for one to two years.
We are worried that the steep sides and sharp 4 inch lip between water and edge will trap some wildlife, so we will install those floating wildlife rescue pads that let them rest and escape. We don’t want to invite them to their doom.
If it goes well, a second bog made out of a screen of horsetail reeds might be used to turn it into a natural swimming hole.
We don’t want to just make waste, so we want to convert it to a pond with a bog filter. If this works out for us and we can maintain it, we plan on really leaning into the pond, or perhaps turning it into a natural swimming hole.
To start with we are adding an elevated bog a little over 10% of the surface area and 12% dry volume.
We plan to use a submersible pump (but may convert to an external down the road). We plan to bottom feed our bog.
The bog is in partial shade in south Texas. It faces north and is under a tree with morning light, some afternoon light. It will get 4 to 6 hrs of direct light and even the shady spots burn my Persian shield. It gets over 100*
We plan to plant:
*Cardinal flower in the sun
*papirus in the shadier spot
*horsetail reed between
*bog bean
*marsh marigold
*water forgetmenot
*marsh milkweed if we can find it
*fairy lily
For the bottom of the pond (about half the total surface area and 3+ ft deep) we are adding 3 inches of 1-3 inch gravel and planting maybe 10 plants of:
*vallisneria
*mint Charlie
*lemon bacopa
Where the seats and stairs are we are thinking of adding a foxfire and pink hardy waterlilly (1 each) and maybe some arrow arum, an iris, and a pickerel rush.
For animals we are thinking a bullfrog tadpole (other tadpoles will come naturally), mosquito fish, and maybe after the pond has found its equilibrium 3 to 5 comets for the baby.
Only naturally occurring snails.
Does this sound doable? Will these plants filter enough water?
The water pump can filter the whole pond 2 to 2 times an hour. I worry that we will have a bit of a high nutrient old with falling leaves, but won’t get a skimmer for one to two years.
We are worried that the steep sides and sharp 4 inch lip between water and edge will trap some wildlife, so we will install those floating wildlife rescue pads that let them rest and escape. We don’t want to invite them to their doom.
If it goes well, a second bog made out of a screen of horsetail reeds might be used to turn it into a natural swimming hole.
