My Fantasy Tank, plausible or terrible terrible idea?

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majorhavok

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 7, 2012
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Left Coast
Ok so this may sound silly so if you feel suddenly angry by this post and want to really lash out, let me reply in advance: Go Bite it!

Anyway, this is something I've thought about repeatedly and I honestly don't know how reasonable it would be. I'm an avid scuba diver and the main reason is I really enjoy swimming with fish and interacting with them. I really enjoy feeding the schools out at catalina frequently and find it to be extremely relaxing.

Anyway, I'm about to buy a house here in SoCal and it seems there are a TON of houses with swimming pools. I think it would be extremely cool to convert that into a massive outdoor pond and start adding additional hayward filtration as well as plants etc to aid in bio-filtering.

I know I couldn't manage to heat the thing to tropical fish level, and obviously there are serious cost issues associated with chemicals (how about a routine multi thousand galloon water change? )

So I guess the big question is, has anyone ever done this and what were/would be the other drawbacks. Is it completely unrealistic to want to swim with the fish at home too?
 
majorhavok said:
Ok so this may sound silly so if you feel suddenly angry by this post and want to really lash out, let me reply in advance: Go Bite it!

Anyway, this is something I've thought about repeatedly and I honestly don't know how reasonable it would be. I'm an avid scuba diver and the main reason is I really enjoy swimming with fish and interacting with them. I really enjoy feeding the schools out at catalina frequently and find it to be extremely relaxing.

Anyway, I'm about to buy a house here in SoCal and it seems there are a TON of houses with swimming pools. I think it would be extremely cool to convert that into a massive outdoor pond and start adding additional hayward filtration as well as plants etc to aid in bio-filtering.

I know I couldn't manage to heat the thing to tropical fish level, and obviously there are serious cost issues associated with chemicals (how about a routine multi thousand galloon water change? )

So I guess the big question is, has anyone ever done this and what were/would be the other drawbacks. Is it completely unrealistic to want to swim with the fish at home too?
Click to expand...

Actually, heating a 1,000 sq foot pool to 78 degrees is only around $800 / year in a climate like SoCal. I think you're good to go.
 
There's always natives.... no heat needed as for the water change, if you cleaned the filter regularly it would probably be enough if it was bare bottom...

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I would LOVE to be wrong, but I think your math may be mistaken. Lets say a given swimming pool was about 20k galloons.. You think about $67 a month would keep it around 78? That seems unrealistic. My in-laws have a pretty average so-cal pool and to heat it to 80 degrees for a WEEKEND from ambient most times of the year is going to run around $100. I have heard that that's a typical monthly cost for a hot tub. Granted thats a much higher temp but a dramatically smaller volume and easier to insulate.

Again, don't get me wrong.. I would absolutely love that and I really wouldn't know if the temp and type of fish was feasible until I figured out an actual pool volume and heating method/cost but what about the actual pool/fishkeeping idea?
 
majorhavok said:
I would LOVE to be wrong, but I think your math may be mistaken. Lets say a given swimming pool was about 20k galloons.. You think about $67 a month would keep it around 78? That seems unrealistic. My in-laws have a pretty average so-cal pool and to heat it to 80 degrees for a WEEKEND from ambient most times of the year is going to run around $100. I have heard that that's a typical monthly cost for a hot tub. Granted thats a much higher temp but a dramatically smaller volume and easier to insulate.

Again, don't get me wrong.. I would absolutely love that and I really wouldn't know if the temp and type of fish was feasible until I figured out an actual pool volume and heating method/cost but what about the actual pool/fishkeeping idea?
Click to expand...

http://www.ehow.com/way_5506596_average-cost-heat-pool.html


This was using a 1,000 sq foot pool uncovered, which is substantially larger than 20,000 gallons. A smaller pool would be cheaper. 76 degrees would be cheaper. Covered would be cheaper.
 
Drstrangelove said:
http://www.ehow.com/way_5506596_average-cost-heat-pool.html


This was using a 1,000 sq foot pool uncovered, which is substantially larger than 20,000 gallons. A smaller pool would be cheaper. 76 degrees would be cheaper. Covered would be cheaper.
Click to expand...

This is sounding better and better for a house with a "pool".

Anyone have a guess as to filtration requirements for this type of setup? I'm just guessing, but without the chlorine a standard pool pump would be completely insufficient. At the same time I'm not sure that I would need aquarium level filtration. There is no way I would have the same fish to water ratio as a standard aquarium.
 
Side note: I did find this story on the subject. It comes from a very earth-friendly eco author but at least shows theres some possibility here.

http://permaculturenews.org/2009/07...biologically-active-and-attractive-fish-farm/

The bio-filter is a must in my eyes. I don't want a giant opaque brownish pond in the back yard! I want to see the fish and swim in it. I think a gravel/sand structured as a waterfall would be a cool way to add oxygen and filter the pool. Maybe even some in-line washable drop-in filters that are in the flow.

Also, I know a lot of plaster pools surfaces are pretty porous but rather than drain, scrub with vinegard and refill I couldn't help wonder about just letting it go for a while without chemicals and actually adding an appropriate dosage of dechlorinator. I would worry if it would continously dissolve from the walls and poison the fish.
 
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