This is your video platform for swimmteichs. Natural pools were “invented” in Austria - Free of technology, free of chemical substances - and without any plants. This way of DIY-building is called the “Teichdoctor”-system, according to its inventor. With this channel we want to develop a community of people•Who already have a swimmteich and want to share questions and experiences with others•Who are building or planning to build a swimmteich and are looking for support•Who are dreaming of having a swimmteich in their own garden. In our teichstory-videos we introduce various Teichdoctor-Teichs and their owners and share their experiences with you.The teichtalks provide you with interviews with experts, above all with the Teichdoctor himself.In our teichvlogs we share our own experiences and knowledge with you. With our videos we try to inform, we try to inspire and sometimes we just want to entertain you. Ines and Christian von Teichschwimmer
Thanks for the video! I think the stains went because you rinsed the pebble, thus eliminating extra detritus. Maybe that could explain it? Quick question. I assume you could make a swimteich without liner, using the normal construction procedure. Can the walls be straight then? If not, what is the reason for that?
Hi Joan, the walls should actually not be straight. Because the conic shape supports the natural water circulation (together with the thermic flows because of the depth)...... Best, Ines
@@teichswimmer6746 not if you put them in bags. In case that you recirculate water with a surface skimmer, you could also fill a reactor or pressurized pond filter with such inexpensive phosphate absorbers. I studied your videos and books, and believe that the method used by Teichdoktor which is based on bacteria in porous stones is similar with the diffusion filters of Dr. Novak, Prof. Jaubert, and of Joachim Mundt.
My dear, congratulation - please keep us updated!!!!! Sorry for my late answer anyway. The wooden boxes are not fixed anywhere - but you are right: if you just put them into place as they are (just boxes) you may risk that, with time, the gravel that pushes from the swimmteich-edge down might push the boxes towards the swimming zone. That is why we recommended Christoph (who was the "inventor" of the wooden boxes) to add "legs" to the bottom frames of the boxes. On those "legs" he laid gravel bags (invisible after filling in the gravel). And then he started filling the boxes up with gravel (after installing the drainage pipes, of course). In some spots he put some rubber pieces under the frames to even out the level where necessary. We would be grateful to hear about your project! - Maybe you could send us some pictures ? info@teichschwimmer.com Wish you all the best for your swimmteich-project, Ines
Thanks for the question, Ann! Actually, we had a little argument about that....... Christian wanted to do it without gravel, I insisted ON gravel. But I let him try without because I knew it wouldn't work. As our "step" is not totally even the stepping stones cannot stay in place without sitting in gravel. You know what I mean? - If you then walk on them they will always wobble somehow. Best regards, Ines
Quite difficult. But we know that one project, where a swim pond with plants that kept beeing turbid was transformed into a swimmteich. It was only 2m deep. The rest was like a swimmteich. But in this case, it's obligatory to install a skimmer, I guess. They did that and it worked. The water has been clear for nearly a year now. But we would not advise it. The deep zone really has an important function.
I am considering a swimteich in Ireland and this size would be perfect. What is the full size from the border of the gravel. Also, can you share the contact information of the liner installation guys?
@@teichswimmer6746 Hi Ines, thank you so much for getting back to me. I would love to work with a team that has already installed this kind of organic pool. If you know of anyone in Ireland (or even the UK) that would be great. I have purchased your book and that is very helpful but it is always good to have someone who has had hands on experience. I would like more info on installing the steps and also the run-off piping around the edge of the pool.
Salut Inès, merci pour tes vidéos, je passe un bon moment à chaque fois que je les regarde. J'apprends plein de choses et c'est vraiment un divertissement relaxant. J'espère un jour faire pareil que toi dans mon jardin. Des bisous de France
I don't understand how the nutrients finish. When the algae dies they decomposes and become nutrients again. Also all the bugs and leaves that live and die in the pool add to the nutrients of the pool. A stagnant pool in nature doesn't suddenly become crystal clear. Can you help me understand how this works? And what's the disadvantage of adding plants?
Bacteria that live on the rocks of the regeneration area eat the nutrients, so over time as the water stabilizes, only bacteria can survive in the water. There's not enough food for anything else.
You are right - it doesn't affect the system as long as enough gravel stays under water for the microorganisms = bacteria to survive. During a hot summer the water level in a swimmteich sinks up to 15cm. The way of construction allows that sinking of the water level without harming the water quality.
Hi there, that was clay! - He plastered the walls of his swimmteich with clay. If all the walls and the bottom are smooth (plastered) it is easier to install the liner without a lot of folds...... - And therefore also easier to maintain!
Sorry for the late answer, Andrew! It actually depends where you live. I would not go too far to get your stones. - But of course, if you are planning a design like Franz, you should keep in mind that you want to build a wall with them. - So, not too small and not too big. Good to handle. This is what I would look for. Best regards, Ines
Hi - interesting question. For the function of a swimmteich it would not matter. The problems you have to face are: - How will you dig that hole, that deep? - How are you going to install with that depth? - How will you maintain it? - Well - that's probably the easiest part because you can just dive down to get the detritus out..... Best regards, Ines
In Australia there is a game for children called "bobbing for apples" It can be played in a swimming pool or in a bucket and you "Bob" (move head upand down) to bite the floating apples to capture it, with hands behind your back. You could play this game too it seems 🙂
I just don’t get how these are built without reinforcement to the walls. All the DIY pools I’ve come across use concrete walls. Wouldn’t this potentially have structural issues in the future?
@@teichswimmer6746 Thank you very much. Can you please give me the specs for the underliner padding material? i am planning to build my own natural swimming pool like yours
It is material that is used for shading tennis courts, e.g. We explain all about it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AzEqQj56Dq8.html
bad bacteria and viruses have no chance if there is enough "good bacteria" in natural pools in general. - The same for "accidents" of little children. But of course, you have to kind of "trust" natural water in general. Do you swim in a lake? - Then you will enjoy the water of a swimmteich as well. If you don't like swimming in lakes you should rather install a chlorine pool. - It's just a matter of taste..... whatever you prefer.....
What are the grey walls in the beginning made of? Also you say you don’t think it can be done smaller? Why is that? I am building one 6’x12’and 5ft depth but trying to decide which method to use for interior walls/filtration…also, have you ever done a waterfall with one of yours?
Did you end up finding out what type of linear material you're going to use? Currently trying to source material to Texas. Will be building something that is probably around 10'x15' w/ 5ft in depth.
Waterfalls are not difficult to install, but pls keep in mind that anything that adds oxygen to your water (like a water fall) can encourage the formation of filamentous algae...... the grey walls are just covered with geotextile......
Can we construct a natural pond (not for swimming) with clay lining having length 24m, breadth 12m and depth 1.1m using this method and have desired water clarity?
Sorry, no way. You cannot have clear water with a depth of 1,1m. Unless you install filters. - you will find sediments in every natural water. Sediments sink to the ground and do no harm. But if you have a depth of only 1,1m, those sediments get stirred up every time you dive in or just swim. So the water will be turbid whenever using it......
I think that if you have no rain you could use DI water, this implying a potent Inverse Osmose system. Of course, one can implement a Schwimmteich also with saltwater. In this case one should of course keep an eye on salinity, as seawatar aquarians do. Doying ICP analysis once in a while would also help.
Yes, you can use both sizes. It does not influence the function. - Christian and I discussed it for a while..... It's quite difficult to decide which of the two options is the better one. 11/22 is quite small, nice to work with, nice to walk on. But it has the disadvantage that these small pebbles trickle more easily into the depths. 20/60 is okay, but it is not so easy to get smooth levels (to set stepping stones on). And the pebbles/rocks are not as nice to walk on as on the smaller ones. So these are the criteria that can help you decide. May we ask where you are located?
There is enough life in the water that feeds on mosquito larvae - that is why there is no problem with mosquitos. And, as there are no plants, mosquitos do not really like our natural pool...... I can assure that we do not have more mosquitos than before installing our swimmteich.
Hi Martina, thanks for your interest. As this system works without pumps and power, the drainage pipes support the natural water circualtion going through the "gravel case". - In the pipes the water can flow through the gravel case and like this the organic stuff that sinks down through the rocks has no chance to become anaerobic material...... On the other hand, sediments that get into the pipes (through the perforation) drip down into the swimming zone (and then further down into the deep zone).
So has Austria....... Well, I think that toads and frogs prefer "ponds": water with a lot of plants and grass to hide. As we do not have any place for them to hide, we never face that problem!
Pity the commentators can't be bothered to correctly pronounce the word teich. Not difficult if you take the trouble. 2 Germans. One speaks with an American accent, the other with an English accent. To annoying to keep watching.
Sorry you didn't like it. But to be more precise: Both of them are not German, but native voices generated by am AI..... In future we will make sure that they have the same accent, thanks for the hint!
I have a question regarding the regeneration zone. 1) can the gravel reach the water surface (in your book the presented cross section shows gravel and stepping stone is about 25cm below water surface), 2) can the regen zone be covered with wooden walkway (which would mean the regen zone is blocked out of sunlight. Does sunlight have any meaning for the regen zone?) Best regards :)
Dear Michael, thanks for the questions! 1) You have to differ between the reg zone and the "stepping stone edges". You are right: the stepping stone edges' level is about 25cm below the water surface. The stepping stones in the reg zone are deeper - that level is about 70cm below the water surface (before laying the pond bags and stepping stones). I assume you mean if you could have the stepping stones at the edges at a higher level? - No, you shouldn't because underneath the stepping stones you have the layer of pond bags filled with gravel. And those pond bags should not get dry. So they should be at a level that you can deal with a dropping of water level of about 15-20cm...... 2) It wouldn't matter that the reg zone is covered against sun-light. The sunlight does not have any meaning for the reg zone. BUT: you cannot cover it because you must be able to maintain it, meaning you have to rinse it once a year. If you cover it with a wooden walkway or whatever, leaves and other organic stuff would get stuck underneath and you would not have a chance to remove it. That is the reason why the reg zone cannot be covered..... I hope, you understand my explanations! Best regards, Ines
Does the pool design use Biochar for the microorganisms? I know that microorganisms love biochar, but also biochar is in itself a filtration for water.
hello Madam, thanks for sharing, your videos are always so informative! I think I am missing something and It would be great if you could find time to answer my questions. (1) When you state that there are no pumps, how does the water flow through the gravel in the regeneration zone? (2) how do you prevent harmful bacteria so that the pool is safe for people (3) are there specific rules to follow by law (in Austria)? I am in Italy and I think there are are guidelines to follow (only in South Tirol) such as water analysis every week. (4) I am still in the decision phase. I am divided between your system or a pool with plants. In case I should decide for a system like yours, what is your expertise, I mean you sell the design, you help with start up, with material, and is there something else? Thanks again and a big CIAO from Italy (Verona)
Hello and thanks a lot for your interest! I will try to answer your questions: (1) It's the natural water circulation that makes the water flow through the gravel. This natural water circulation is supported by the way of construction (round corners in the swimming zone, conic walls) and the depth (..... thermal flow....). And everything/-one that moves the water supports it as well (swimming, diving, maintaining,.....) - and, of course, the wind... (2) What harmful bacteria could that be? It's clean and I regularly take a sip of the water while swimming...... (3) There are no laws for that concerning private pools. You only have regulations for public pools. I would be surprised if that were different in Italy! (4) I do not quite understand what you mean. We do not sell our expertise. We sell our book that helps people build. And we have a shop where we sell equipment. teichschwimmer.com/shop But if you have detailed questions, you can also write us an email: info@teichschwimmer.com Warm regards to Italy, Ines /Teichswimmer
@teichswimmer6746 I know this system is not supposed to involve technology, but if the owner is unwilling to remove the leaves regularly there will always be too many nutrients for algae to feed on and the beneficial bacteria won't keep up.
Hello, I am curious what type of pump you are using, that is capable of passing all that debris. Can you share the brand? Thanks and we really enjoy your videos.
In video is said that you need 2 m regeneration zone to protect micro organism from uv radiation. Could you have eg about 1 or 1.5 m deep zone coveret eg by underwater wooden deck / steps to protect from uv radiation? Will micro organism survive there?
No, I am afraid not. I think the gravel is necessary for them because it gives them a lot of surface, too. But fact is, nobody has tried so far.... who knows?
@@teichswimmer6746 I asked wrong question. I was meaning deep zone. Dose this need to be 3.5 meter deep? Could you just have eg 1,50 swimming zone covered by 50 % with underwater deck and swip dirt under so want be disturbed until you do 1 year maintenance? Why deep zone needs to be so deep?
Ines, hi! Thanks for the video, just a question. Why do you use gray liner in all your bio pools? Why not use blue or white? Is there a rational reason for this? Maybe that way the bottom sediments are less visible? Please explain)
Hi, dear, thanks for your question! The colour of the liner makes the colour of the water, right? - So, people who take the grey liner want to have their water appear as in a swimming pool. - Yes, although a swimmteich is a natural pool, most people prefer that "unnatural" colour. Personally, we have chosen "patina green", because they said that the water will look like that of a mountain lake. In fact, we have different colours all the time. When there is no biofilm on the liner and the sun is shining, our water reminds of the caribean sea. If it's cloudy, it looks like a lake. If the liner is "dirty" (covered with sediments or biofilm) and the sun is shining, it looks like a lake again. And if it's cloudy it looks like a natural pond. And of course, there are many in-betweens! If you want to minimize the visibility of the sediments you should choose an olive-green liner. We know a few families who actually went for that colour for that reason. We do not know any project using a white or blue liner. - I have no idea what colour the water would have in that case. If you know anyone or try yourself - please share with us! Best regards, Ines
