Waterco products support natural living
Specialised solution for natural pool
" It’s important to use the best equipment for natural pools in order to achieve the perfect results"
From a surge in health and wellness blogs, to the trendy inclusion of earthy elements like stone and wood in interior design, a return to natural-style living is definitely growing in popularity.
Its reach even extends to the water treatment industry, with natural style and chemical free pools rising in popularity across many areas of the globe.
When the team at the UK’s FTS Aquatics, which supplies pond and landscaping products, were asked to use their expertise in creating a high-end natural pool for Hampshire couple Richard and Emma Oliver, they tackled the task of blending the pool’s design into the backyard landscape with ease.
Having already designed and constructed countless natural pools all over the UK, Mick Caffyn-Parsons, owner of FTS Aquatics, along with specialist engineer Tim Gunning, also knew which water treatment equipment he needed to utilize for such a project.
“It’s important to use the best equipment for natural pools in order to achieve the perfect results,” says Mick. “That’s why we always use and recommend the Waterco range of specialised products for natural pools.”
The Olivers live with their children in an idyllic country village outside of the town of Winchester in Hampshire, England, and therefore requested the pool design match the serenity and natural beauty that surrounds their home.
With this in mind, FTS Aquatics and Tim Gunning constructed a brand new concrete, natural style pool measuring 40m3 featuring a black liner and dual spill over into the gravel filtration bed, which in turn was planted with a variety of water plants.
For this project, a range of Waterco products were selected. These included an Aquamite 1.0HP pump, a 702 Exotuf Pond Professional Bead filter, and a MultiCyclone pre-filtration device.
Exotuf Pond Professional Bead filters are designed for ponds and water gardens. It provides mechanical
and biological filtration in a compact single vessel.
Clean and clear, low maintenance
Tony Fisher, Waterco’s Division CEO, North America & Europe, says all three of the products used in this installation are designed to minimize maintenance while ensuring the clarity and quality of water remain top notch.
“These were the perfect combination to ensure continuous high water quality without the use of chemical treatments,” says Tony.
“Firstly, the Aquamite is a low energy pump with the correct performance for good filtration and backwash. And the Exotuf bead filter is compact easy to use and maintain, with an excellent level of performance, while the MultiCyclone is an ideal solution to remove the finer particles prior to entering the primary filtration system.”
This Waterco equipment works well in conjunction with the gravel bed filtration already built around the pool edges. This sort of filtration is also known as ‘regeneration zone’, and is an effective method through which natural pools are kept clean and free from threats from algae invasion.
“Though the gravel bed takes principle position in the filtration system, it is a great advantage to include a bead filter and MultiCyclone in the system,” says Tim.
“This will help reduce the interval at which sediment is laid down and does seem to reduce the formation of string algae - this is of great importance in a recently established regeneration zone, as the water plants may take two or three years to establish to a point where they can remove nitrate efficiently.”
Gravel filtration beds are not only perfectly suited to a natural pool installation such as this in a practical sense, but also aesthetically. The gravel has been planted with a variety of plants, including white arum lilies, umbrella grass, sedge, marsh marigolds and water hawthorns, which are a beautiful complement to the already stunning natural pool design.
40m³ Natural pool, featuring a dual spill over into the gravel filtration bed, which in turn was planted with a
variety of water plants.
“Richard and Emma are extremely happy with the final result and regularly use the pool, as do their children,” say Tim and Mick. “Since installation, the water quality has remained high and the pool weathers all the natural elements that it is exposed to very well.”
http://www.ftsaquatics.co.uk
At a glance
The Aquamite is an ideal pump for swimming pools and small recirculation systems including ponds and small water features. It’s available in 0.33hp, 0.5hp, 0.75hp, 1.00hp and 1.25hp single phase and protected by a patented secondary seal. Other features include a 0.9 litre strainer basket and 50mm/1 ½ inch quick connect unions for ease of installation.
The award-winning MultiCyclone is a pre-filtration device that works on the basis of centrifugal water filtration. It uses the most advanced hydro cyclone technology to ensure high water quality and clarity, and is designed to capture up to 80% of the incoming dirt load prior to the main filter. This significantly reduces filter maintenance and saves backwash water, not to mention improving water circulation. Only 15 litres of water is required to clean it, and it’s easily cleaned by simply opening the purge valve.
The Exotuf Pond Professional range of Pond Filter Packs have been specifically engineered for pond and water gardens. Pond Professional provides mechanical filtration, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) reduction in a single housing that includes a specifically engineered lateral and slotted collector system.
