Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat New pond - sanitize for kids

I’m having trouble finding information for my pond setup. I have a new .2 acre pond who’s primary purpose will be for my kids to swim and I’m wanting to sanitize/keep safe (as much as possible) for them. I’m not expecting swimming pool conditions, but wanting to try to prevent E. coli, rashes,etc.

The info I keep finding is mostly geared towards fish treatment and/or small koi type ponds.

Any tips on what chemicals I should use for this (or resources to check out)?

We might eventually have fish, but as of now we have no plans for them and aren’t factoring that in (something good for kids and fish would be great, but not a requirement) only other consideration I can think of would be downstream impacts if/when pond overflows

Redear sunfish are a good fish for swimming ponds, and they eat snails. Keeping water safe for swimmers is more about what is in your incoming water and keeping livestock away from the pond. You can always test your water for some piece of mind. My kids and their friends grew up swimming in our first pond, even with nibbling bluegill present. No health issues that we knew about, even for us and our adult friends that swam there. It is best to learn about blue-green algae and avoid swimming if/when it appears. Our dogs still swim in our 3 ponds and multiple wetlands.

A pond without fish would generate a lot of mosquitos.

Depending on the kids swimming, they might the the most likely source of E-Coli.

You might want to start a survey thread: "Has anyone ever gotten sick from swimming in your pond?" I don't expect a lot of positive answers, but we could see.

Forget about having a pond that you treat like a swimming pool, ain't gonna happen. The pond itself is the bio filter. Greenish tinted water (phytoplankton), weeds in the pond, Redear Sunfish to control snails which is part of the life cycle of swimmers itch, etc. Have an area that is cleared for a beach, and let plants grow in the rest of the pond. The plants will utilize nutrients that would otherwise get plentiful enough to create a toxic blue-green algae bloom over time, once the nutrients build up enough in the pond.

The only other way to do a swimming pond would be to have a wetland area that is the same volume as the pond, water wise, and have it filled with plants. Pump water in one end of the wetland and have it trickle out the other end to the pond. Put fatheads or Gambusia in the plant filled part of the pond, and some Redear Sunfish in both areas.

Here is some reading for you:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/g1146/natural-swimming-pools/?slide=4

We swim in our pond all summer long.
I expect the water is cleaner than what you would find in a public swimming pool.
If you're downstream from livestock you might want to have a water test done, just for peace of mind.
When we were kids we swam in the creek with the cattle and never thought twice about it.

I'm with Augie. My whole family swims in ours all the time. No one that I know of around here has ever had problems with it. Only problem we ever have is if you drop something its normally gone lol

Great pics, Rusto!

I agree with the other posters that there is no way (or need) to "sanitize" a pond.

The water in a pond will not be as "clean" as the water in a pool.

However, it is probably a LOT LESS likely to contain human pathogens, such as e. coli, compared to a public swimming pool with kids and babies in "swim" diapers.

Thanks for the replies - so what about something like Aqua-sphere or Koenders Nature's Pond Conditioner? useful or unnecessary if I have the right fish/plants

Don't seem to help in cattle ponds: "11. Conclusions and Recommendations
In conclusion, it did not appear that any of the treatments examined had positive effects on
water quality. The new Bioverse AquaSphere PRO product was no more effective than the
other three at improving water quality or removing contaminants in the treated dugouts. In
addition, the AquaSphere was significantly more expensive than the other three products.
Due to the ineffectiveness of all of the products used, combined with their individual costs
we would not recommend the use of these products in Saskatchewan dugouts."

http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/apps/adf/ADFAdminReport/20150371.pdf

Disclaimer: I am suspicious of any product that advertises itself as "organic" or "natural" because those claims attempt to appeal to emotions rather than provide any tangible benefit. If a product works, then there is no reason to use gimmicks to sell it. As far as I know, nature does not come in a plastic jug.