August 2008...

Here I sit, broken-hearted. Tried to...uuuh, yeah...

Here I sit, looking at a half full(2 years ago it was half empty) swimming pool, once again. Summer coming to an end and I have done all I can to stop the leak(s). I replaced all the seals, repaired broken pipe, patched a hole, replaced the skimmer faceplate, and I'm done. It's me or the pool, one of us is going.

I had several options(and me leaving wasn't one of them). Fill it in and redo the landscaping, make an underground "Cold" storage, a fish pond... Hmmmm, a pond? My first thoughts were that it wouldn't be much different than a swimming pool. High maintenance and big money for maintenance and to keep it clean. So I started looking at options for ponds. I came across some biological filters that seemed to work without chemicals. But still it seemed not to be a great solution as far as cost and benefit. It would still cost too much and consume too much of my time. So I pretty much let the pond idea go.

Well about a week later I was browsing the internet and came across "Aqua-Ponics". It is basically the combination of "Aquaculture" and "Hydroponics". Alone, the two systems require a lot of chemicals and/or large amounts of water that ends up as waste. But if you put the two systems together they can sustain each other indefinitely. The fish provide nutrition for the plants and the plants clean the water. There is no waste, little, to no chemicals, and both benefit from the other, ultimately to your benefit. This sounded like it was too easy to be true. So I did a lot more research and saw some amazing results. There are commercial systems right now that produce large amounts of fish and huge organic vegetables. I built a small system to see how easy it was.

By mid winter I had broccoli, garlic, and was watching flowers bloom in December. Nine goldfish provided most of the nutrition. Supplemental nutrients were provided by foliar feeding a couple of times with Miracle Grow. A solution for the pool was found.

I started looking for anyone who might have done this with a swimming pool. I had no luck. All systems to this point have used tanks of some sort. So I started designing my own system. I created a way to introduce soil/compost to provide extra nutrition for vegetables that require other nutrients than what the fish can provide, without killing the fish or clouding up the water. If it works, and I am positive it will, I will have a huge food source in my own backyard that can pay for itself in just a few years. Now that is a solution that can benefit anyone with a backyard. Quite possibly helping to feed hungry households as resources get thin.