Goose Pool - Somewhat Finished

There's a couple of things left needing doing: trim the pond liner, better rock/step setup, clean up the work site, and arrange the pumps/hoses/rocks in a more aesthetically-pleasing manner. Beautifying aside, the goose pool is complete.

Spouse came up with a three part system to keep the water clean. A large flat filter that lays on the floor of the pool, a pump that pulls water through the flat filter first, then pushes the pre-filtered water to an outside canister filter that has a UV purification light. Everything but the flat filter was from recycled equipment. The canister, for example, has a filtering system as well, but certain parts are busted. The UV light still works however, and should help keep the bacteria in check. The pump was another piece that we used to use, but often had to tweak because the goose feathers and such would clog it up. We must have burned out three pumps last year. With the flat filter as the first medium the water goes through, this pump shouldn't have any problems with large particles & clogging.

The bottom of the pool is lined with cement pavers to keep the dogs nails from punching through the liner when they dig in the water.

The water stays nice and cool in the shade. Geese and dogs love it alike. I don't have to replace water every day, saving a good chunk of time and effort. Win!

Lessons learned:

1. Need more surface area. It's a snug fit for the seven geese, and I still want to get a few more females for the harem this Spring. Our next goose pool will be much larger.

2. Pond liners are not impervious to gnawing. The geese have already chewed & frayed folds in the corners. Next goose pool will either be a metal stock tank set into the ground, or rebar mesh with concrete liner. I'm leaning more towards the latter, as we can create slopes and steps without having to buy & arrange pavers and rocks. Hmm, I wonder if we can rebar/concrete this pool as well?

We have a backhoe/loader rented for the upcoming weekend to start on the next pond, and to dig test holes around the property for the next installation of orchard trees. We've also a permaculture consult this Saturday as well. Another busy/exciting weekend coming up!