hot tub for pond??? now with pic

[electrikat]

We were given a 5 person hot tub that has major problems in the control panel. It's one of those big hex shaped ones that is purple/cream marble looking. It's been sitting in our back yard for nearly a year and will probably still be there next year. I was just skimming the photo gallery for the ponds and thought what a good idea it would be to make a pond out of the hot tub. It could be buried halfway in the ground. It has seating all the way around that would be perfect for setting the potted plants on and the deeper part would be underground so it would be protected from freezing in the winter. Any ideas or insights would be much appreciated.

 

[jaowl]

Last summer I had the same thought that a 'hot tub' would make a good pond. But I don't have one. My thoughts were to just leave it as is and not put any of it in the gound. Usually they have a pretty decent 'surround' don't they. I'd be curious as to how many gallons of water they hold.

 

[electrikat]

Ours has what looks like a redwood surround but it has a lot of water damage. We think we can bury half of it then surround it with those lanscaping bricks so we can cover those with plants. It's still in the "thinking about it" phase but I think it's definitely do-able. We think it's probably about 4 to 5 hundred gallons but haven't found a calculator for a hex with 2 different depths yet.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I would be hesitant because of all the chemicals associated with the hot tub.

 

[electrikat]

It's been sitting empty for at least 2 years that I know of. We won't be reusing any of the pumps or filters only the shell. I know they used muriatic acid and standard chlorine tabs. They gave us all of the chemicals with it. I was hoping that any chems they used would have dissapated by now. Any chem professors out there?

 

[jacktheknife]

i used to run a pool about 5 years ago-- muratic acid is safe for fish just as it is for humans, its only purposes are to raise alkalinity and decrease ph. chlorine goes away naturally which is why pools operators are always using it. if you filled the tub a week in advance you would not have to worry about chlorine at all. i would be more concerned about what kind of soaps were used in the tub.

i am told that a good bleach scrub would help remove leftover soap, and then you would just let the water set for a week as mentioned earlier.

i speak from experience as i just planted a converted hottub on saturday and hope to have good results. btw, we had to build a fire to thaw the ground enough to dig- fun!

 

[happyhillbilly]

Great idea. Please post the results.

 

[electrikat]

Well it's in the ground, full of water, lots of plants,snails, few fish,tadpoles. Got the filter built, building the waterfall. Started the landscaping around it. Will post pictures tomorrow of in progress project.

 

[electrikat]

I've added a picture to my gallery of the pond and the filter.

 

[tjfarms]

i had this idea take a above ground pool and cut the side wall and uprights in half and install it like that you can find them all over the place when people move then just get a liner then you can have a 15 to 18 feet round pool 24 to 36 in deep and if you are lucky to get the filter to nice big pond and you can swim with the fishes to

 

[virus]

that sounds like a fish in the pants