Ponds in their suburban areas today are equipped with many summer residents. In most cases, such artificial ponds play a purely decorative role in the garden, planted with beautiful marsh vegetation and populated with spectacular fish. But sometimes in the suburban areas their owners dig up ponds of a special type - swimming. The technology for arranging such reservoirs, of course, has some of its own characteristics.
Main stages
The swimming pond on the site may have different sizes, shapes and depths. If desired, in the garden you can equip both a very small pond of this type, designed for one person, and a large one, with the convenience of which many people can swim in comfort at the same time. In any case, the creation of such a pond on the site will include the following steps:
Pond project: where to place
First of all, the summer resident, who decided to equip such a reservoir, should decide where it will be located on the site. The pond in the first place, of course, should harmoniously fit into the surrounding landscape. Such artificial ponds look very beautiful, for example, next to the Alpine hills, fountains and spectacularly designed arbors.
The depth of the swimming ponds at the dacha is usually not very large - up to 1.5 m. However, it is still worth taking into account the level of groundwater occurrence when arranging such a pond. If they soil moisture begins to penetrate into the pit of such a hydraulic structure, the water in it in the future will most likely be too cold for swimming.
For the same reason, such a hydraulic structure should, of course, be located in a well-lit area. Under the trees, there is no need to equip the swimming pond also because in this case it will subsequently become clogged with fallen leaves in the fall.
Of course, you should not have such a pond in the immediate vicinity of the foundation of the house or any outbuildings. In the case of a breakthrough waterproofing pond can cause destruction of the foundations of the structure.
When choosing a place for arranging a pond, among other things, one should also take into account the features of the relief of the site. Very often, such ponds are located in natural depressions in the garden. But to choose such a place for equipping a swimming hydraulic structure of this type, of course, is only worth it if the underground water on the site is not too high.
How to make a swimming pond with your own hands: choose a form
Usually ponds for swimming in suburban areas are divided into two zones: decorative and equipped specifically for swimming. The choice of the shape of such a pond and its size depends solely on the preferences of the summer resident himself. A round or square pond on the site will be the easiest to equip. But it is better to give such a hydraulic structure some kind of somewhat intricate original form. In this case, the pond in the garden will look much more natural. A photo of an organic-shaped swimming pond, for example, can be seen below.
Cleaning methods
When choosing the location of the reservoir and its configuration, the owner of the suburban area should pay attention to another very important point. Ponds, including swimming, in summer cottages are usually decorated with beautiful vegetation. And therefore, you cannot use any reagents to clean them. At the same time, requirements for the composition of water in ponds of this type are increased. Indeed, in the hydraulic structures of this variety, people will later bathe.
Summer residents usually solve the problem of cleaning swimming ponds by arranging a bioplate. This is the name of the special shallow water zone (or adjacent separate small pond), in which beneficial microorganisms and various plants trigger special regeneration processes.
It is believed that for effective water treatment it is necessary to create a bioplate whose area will be at least 15% of the size of the pond itself.
What materials will be required
To equip a swimming pond in a suburban area, you will need to prepare:
Formwork for pouring all kinds of concrete structures, the owners of suburban areas are usually made of boards. Such a form for arranging a pond, of course, is only suitable if it has a rectangular or square configuration. For the manufacture of formwork when pouring ponds of complex structure, you can use, for example, tin. From such a material, it is possible to bend the filling mold for absolutely any configuration.
Of the tools for equipping the pond, you will need:
In addition, the owner of a suburban area, who decided to fill in such an artificial reservoir, will need to prepare a tape measure and level.
DIY swimming pond: digging a pit
Once the place for the arrangement of the pond is determined, you can begin to carry out excavation work. Before digging a foundation pit using pegs and a cord, marking is performed on the selected site.
Experts advise to dig a man’s pit under a pond only when its area does not exceed 10 m 2 and its depth is 1 m. Otherwise, excavation work when arranging such a reservoir is best done by renting an excavator.
In any case, digging a pit under a pond should start from the deepest design point. In the process of excavating the land, it is gradually necessary to move to the shores. Since the bottom of the reservoir will subsequently be concreted, the pit should be dug with a depth of about 30 cm more than planned.
Concrete pouring
Decorative reservoirs in suburban areas are usually waterproofed with PVC film. But for the construction of a swimming pond, this method of laying the bottom and walls, of course, will not work. Indeed, in the process of swimming, the film will soon be torn.
The bottom and walls of such a pond are finished with concrete. The film can be laid only in the decorative zone - where spectacular swamp plants will be planted. In the bathing area after digging the pit:
- pour sand to the bottom;
pour a footing of 3 cm;
waterproof it with a film;
mount the bottom reinforcement with the conclusion of the frame on the wall;
put the formwork and fill the bottom of the pond;
mount the formwork for the walls so that the reinforcement subsequently appears in the thickness of concrete;
fill the pond walls with cement mortar.
In the decorative zone of such a pond, the walls and bottom can be laid with geotextiles with overlap on the edges. Such material should be covered with PVC film.
How to equip a swimming pond
After the walls of the concreted foundation pit gain sufficient strength, when arranging a swimming pond with their own hands, they need to be decorated with rounded stones, putting them on a solution. At the same time, of course, it is better to lay the area of the entrance to the reservoir and its bottom with previously washed river sand. Instead of the natural material of this variety, you can use artificial to lay the bottom. When using such sand, the water in the pond subsequently will always be guaranteed to be clean, without turbidity.
Of course, pebbles need to be put in the decorative area of the swimming pond. Here you can place both small flat stones and large boulders. Of the marsh plants, reeds, horsetail, calamus are well suited for the design of this zone of such a pond.
How to make a bioplate
This cleaning part of the pond is usually equipped at the place where water flows into it. It is a bioplate usually a small swamp with a depth of not more than 50 cm. For its arrangement:
Further, a pipe is laid from the swamp into the main pond. If desired, the spout can be issued in the form of a brook. At the final stage, the swamp is planted with ornamental plants. A photo of the swimming pond in the country house with a bioplate is presented below on the page. Such swamps, as you can see, can actually look quite attractive.
How to equip a treatment plant
The water supply to the bioplate is organized from the main pond using a pump. Equipment of this type should not be chosen too powerful. The water should circulate from the bioplate to the pond and vice versa rather slowly. Otherwise, natural cleaning processes will not start in the swamp.
Experienced summer residents recommend planting the following types of ornamental plants in the bioplate of a swimming pond:
broadleaf cattail;
Calla Marsh;
black sedge;
air.
Wingfly will be a good decoration for a swamp. Rogoz and calamus, among other things, differ in bactericidal properties. Black sedge belongs to peat-forming plants and is also able to improve water quality.
Plant representatives of the flora in the bioplate should be directly in the pebbles. Plants are usually located at a distance of 30-50 cm from each other. Of course, for a greater effect on the area of the swamp, you can also decompose beautiful stones, and directly place, for example, water lilies and lilies in the water.