Natural Swimming Pool in Bali, Indonesia: (1st Video)

[@minthakaw]

This is incredible

[@oska-vant-hoff]

It's such a great addition to the lodge. Couldn't have been done better..

[@jedidiahdevon494]

InstaBlaster.

[@sezeryilmaz6113]

The Pool looks really incredible. Not only that it's natural but also the design is very nice. I wonder what kind of material the pools surface is made of ?

[@baliecolodge]

Thank you! Love the positive feedback we're getting. The surface is a blend of yellow and green smooth pebbles (1-2cm) sunken into a cement mix. The cement was poured in a single day to avoid cracks caused when drying. Here in Bali this type of surface is called 'batu sikat' and is made by knocking pebbles into wet cement.

[@sezeryilmaz6113]

@@baliecolodge Very nice..thanks so much for your reply !

[@itagakixxx]

@@baliecolodge hello sir, at minute 2:15 what's the name of the plant ?

[@baliecolodge]

@@itagakixxx It's a species of Typha (cattail reed).

[@thecoryanhealthcabanas]

I've been studying this type of pool for several years now, and yours is my new favorite!

[@baliecolodge]

That's great! Thank you :) We are working on another video now so please subscribe if you'd like to see more.

[@AlexandraCastro-t8w]

Hi! I think your pool is beautiful! I was wondering how deep it is and if you had to build it with reinforced concrete.have you had problems with cracks since? Best

[@baliecolodge]

Many thanks, the pool is 150cm deep, yes steel framed concrete, no leaks so far after 4 years. All the best!

[@scottloar]

Very well done indeed.

[@mysb13]

Been there to witness it myself, such simple and beautiful natural pool that works. And it looks inviting to swim in, unlike most natural pools in youtube.

[@baliecolodge]

Many thanks Marvin, we're very glad you liked it!

[@pirti1008]

Your pool is absolutely gorgeous thank you for sharing the information on how it works.

[@baliecolodge]

Thank you! We hope to make another video soon :)

[@StasKlugman]

Wow, it looks amazing. What is the structure underneath the concrete? Did you make a metal mesh underneath and then sprayed concrete?

[@baliecolodge]

Correct, galvanised metal mesh and poured concrete.

[@StasKlugman]

@Bali Eco Lodge thank you! Absolutely love how it looks. Will try to replicate it in my backyard. And what about the concrete itself? Was it all mixed with the stones or just the upper layer? Did you use any waterproofing?

[@baliecolodge]

@@StasKlugman Thank you for the praise, we appreciate it! Just the upper layer and yes waterproofing in the main cement structure as well as gravel. That sounds awesome, please get in touch if you need any help! We offer consulting/design services.

[@timgillman]

Looks great. Does it have a gravel bottom in the deeper part or is it all concrete? How is water moving from the pool to the plated area on the side?

[@baliecolodge]

No loose gravel in the pool, all concrete. Sorry, not sure what you mean by plated area?

[@timgillman]

@@baliecolodge It should have said "planted area". I think a pump is pulling from below and drawing water across the top. Is that correct? I like that ithe pool is all concrete.

[@baliecolodge]

@@timgillman Ah yes. That's right, the pump pulls water through this 'wetland' system which does have loose gravel in it as a filter.

[@alexiswilliams4769]

I am building one now in Santa Barbara California. Can you please tell me the name of the grass you are using in the wetlands filter? I love how you have them on rafts and and may try to implement that in my design.

[@baliecolodge]

Its name is Vetiver grass and is commonly grown for vetiver oil so you should be able to find some! It is a great solution for erosion control, and in this case, water filtration :) good luck!

[@valerieneal2747]

@@baliecolodge The s entry of Vetiver grass is wonderful😊 It's oil is highly prized for perfume making😍

[@alexiswilliams4769]

@@baliecolodge thanks for the reply. I’ll look for it. Great job on your pool and innovative design! Beautiful resort you have- Hoping to get back to Bali some day!

[@JustinHallRunningman1]

Well done Norm. That really looks like its up and running. Must have been a massive challenge with no guarantees but you and the family pulled it off. Perfect and zero impact...Love seeing the root systems. Jus

[@baliecolodge]

Thanks Jus! Come round for a dip anytime ;)

[@daniEllaSforza]

I have been searching to do this on my land in costa rica and wonder how on earth can I do it. I need to learn this!

[@shane6574]

Its very nice, what size pump are you running? How many litres per day are you cycling?

[@baliecolodge]

Don't have that on hand but we have 2 separate pumps running on timers throughout the day. Feel free to come check it out if you're in Bali.

[@litoid]

what material is the pond made of ? i mean the ground and walls.. looks like tiny gravel pasted with concrete... let me know! amazing project!

[@baliecolodge]

Yes you're right. They are brushed pebbles pushed into concrete.

[@ThennikaCreations]

Hi Norm, How do you guys clean the waterfall system? And how often would that be necessary?

[@lisalu8477]

Absolutely lovely!!!

[@TonyVov]

Looks great, thanks for sharing, we are in the nervous throes of building our own natural pool down the hill from you here in Bali. Following pretty much the same concept as yours. The decision to use our not a sand filter is a tough one, glad to see yours seems to function beautifully without one. Hope it keeps on doing so for years to come. A pool as an integral part of the ecosystem chances there landscape totally. Well done.

[@baliecolodge]

Cheers Anthony! We are still fine tuning our design/maintenance but we are now beginning to offer natural pool design and existing pool conversions across Bali. Feel free to come up and have a look anytime, we have dozens of fish, frogs and birds in and around the pool all the time. Ecosystem is coming to life. All the best with your new pool!

[@ertfgghhhh]

@@baliecolodge why didnt u show the fish? What type of fish do u have in pool and why those particular type?

[@baliecolodge]

@@ertfgghhhh Hi there. We have 2 species of native free swimming fish (predators) and 2 species of algae eating Plecos. We will show them in more detail in our next vid!

[@ertfgghhhh]

@@baliecolodge thanks

[@jojoojedajr502]

love it..

[@dennistafeltennis1190]

Cats love it too meeoow

[@prophetesstaunyaraffle811]

It looks amazing.. I am curious do the mosquitoes 🦟 bread in the water an lay there eggs? Or does the suffer rock help or ?

[@baliecolodge]

No we have no trouble with mosquitoes. The water is circulating/flowing daily which isn't ideal for mosquito breeding. We also have small fish in the water which will eat up any small insects in the water.

[@leilaleila5853]

Hello, thank you for sharing, I know this videos is 2 years old now, I hope I can get a response about the flooring of the pool. I would like to know the name of the material used to make the pool. It looks like sand. Gorgeous ❤️

[@baliecolodge]

Hi Leila. The material is brushed pebbles set into cement. Also we have a much newer video on our page if you would like to see another update. All the best.

[@jonathanfontilla2235]

Inspiring! Would love to have one in my country (Philippines)

[@danharris7190]

I am building on now. I am in Ilocos Norte

[@aegbuildingprints600]

@@danharris7190 could you also possibly share your creation soon?

[@danharris7190]

@@aegbuildingprints600 I have a few videos and I'll put them together soon. The pool is built and I have been letting the plants establish and we'll be filling it in the next week to test the water flow etc. Exciting stuff!

[@joannadayrit8121]

@@danharris7190 Hi! Hope we can learn from your work soon or are doing more pools...

[@shanehopper100]

@@danharris7190 hi Dan how did u go with your pool in the Philippines

[@glenpryce]

I love what you've achieved there in Bali because as you said, there's not a lot of info available on natural pools. I have one question i hope you havent already answered before. How many times do you turnover the pool water in a day?

[@baliecolodge]

At least 1 full turnover is ideal. Running pumps through the night is also important.

[@glenpryce]

Thank you

[@mellow_magyar]

Hello 🙂 My wife and I LOVE your pool! We’re planning to create a DIY bio pool in our garden this summer. I have some questions about your filtration system: 1) did the vetiver grass work out for you? I mean didn’t it grow extremely long roots? 2) What kind of gravel rocks did you use for the waterfall system? 3) what kind of filter do you use in the circulation system? (Apart from the mentioned limestone) I hope it’s not too much bother for you, but we really want to do well on our first try and avoid having to reconstruct. Many thanks ☮️💟

[@baliecolodge]

Hey there. All the best with your project! 1) We found the vetiver to be inconsistent. At times it would die off, perhaps due to lack of nutrients. Most reliable plants are some papyrus varieties and water bamboo. 2) We used coarse road grade rock gravel. Something that won't breakdown or leach nutrients into water. 3) We don't use any filter apart from the two systems discussed in the video. If you need more help with design or commissioning feel free to send us an email. Cheers

[@mellow_magyar]

@@baliecolodge Thank you very much for your prompt and helpful reply. I will definitely keep you posted about the stages of our build :) I sent you a PM to your website’s contact with the Subject: Turkish bio pool Forever grateful 🙏

[@carob.9891]

Hello, wonderful. How long has it been running now? Any alguae problem?

[@baliecolodge]

It has been running for 15 months now and no problems with algae.

[@Nick-vl7lk]

I was a little skeptical when I first saw the small vegetative area compared to pool size. But that waterfall wetland filter with the separated zones is an excellent design. Not sure if you designed that yourself or found the idea somewhere online. But a first for me, and I've designed a few natural pools. Are the waterfall pools a series of plastic or concrete tanks clad in rock? Also this should help silence some of the naysayers regarding tropical natural pools.

[@baliecolodge]

Hi Nick. Thanks for your comment. Yes I did design the waterfall system (to reduce the space needed for wetland) Water travels upwards through gravel to each waterfall. Gravels can be flushed from the pump room. In the future I'll consider using waterfall systems only. Note, our pool is at 700m with a lot of cloud cover. At lower elevations, in the Tropics, shade sails will be important to reduce water temperature and insolation, in my opinion.

[@baliecolodge]

PS Yes the waterfall pools are concrete tanks clad in decorative stone.

[@user-tj4vs8uj6d]

That is an amazing pool and very inspiring design, congratulations and thanks for sharing! I want to replicate your pool in southern Europe. A small instruction set would be very nice :) For example, how did you do the water isolation under the pebble lining? How do you clean the gravel tanks? How do you keep mosquitoes away? etc.

[@baliecolodge]

Thank you, and good luck with your pool! We are hoping to post another video soon and it might answer some of your questions. For mosquitoes we have several species of fish and shrimp living in the pool which eat any larvae.

[@user-tj4vs8uj6d]

@@baliecolodge Thank you! I am especially curious about gravel cleaning because I am thinking of building an infinity pool with a large overflow area that I can use for gravel filteration and planting.

[@alexiswilliams4769]

@@user-tj4vs8uj6d I built an infinity edge and will be using the catch basin for filtration along with a separate regeneration zone that overflows into the pool and then overflows into the infinity edge catch basin. Hope it works!!

[@joannadayrit8121]

This looks amazing! And nice to see this is working for a tropical climate as well. May I ask how you did and decided on waterproofing/the pool finish? Have been seeing mentions about epdm but a cement or concrete finish looks nicer.

[@baliecolodge]

We used cement with brushed pebbled pushed into cement. It is important to pour cement in one go to avoid leaks along the joins of separate pours.

[@agustoplaza3383]

@@baliecolodge congratulations , Pool looks amazing. Understand there’s no liner under the cement, live in a seismic area , can you advise how thick the cement layer is ? Or what kind of structure ? Would you share some pictures ? Lots of love from Chile

[@normvanthoff]

@@agustoplaza3383 Thank you for your kind comments. We are also in a seismic area but according to civil engineers, they don't do anything special to protect in-ground structures. The concrete is 10-12cm thick with a final waterproofing layer of plaster using a SIKA product. We used galvanised weldmesh for reinforcing, there is no conventional re-bar. The galvanised mesh can be bent into curved shapes and it's much less likely to rust if water gets into the concrete. We also poured the walls and floor in one continuous pour. This requires more work with the formwork but it means you are pouring one integrated structure instead of trying to join the walls to the floor after it's dry. If you go to my Facebook: Norm van't Hoff, then message me, I'll send you pictures of the construction process ;-)

[@baliecolodge]

@@agustoplaza3383 Hi Agusto. Thanks for the interest! We also live in an earthquake prone area so we made sure to strengthen the foundation of the pool. Because the pool is curved we chose to use galvanised steel weld mesh, similar to what is used in heavy fences. This was layered down in the cement formwork before cement was poured. Cement is approx 10cm thick. Hope this helps, all the best.

[@sugiartostudio455]

awesome ❤🎉

[@anibaldamiao]

bali have some fun animals that love water :D

[@baliecolodge]

For sure, it's such an asset to have amazing habitat for wildlife in the middle of our lodge!

[@TheAntipedy]

LOOKS GREAT NORM

[@warungasia6759]

Hi broh looking fantastic. been wanting to do this for my mum new home in anto sari. You will see me soon. Beautiful job top notch.

[@baliecolodge]

Hope to see you soon, been very long!

[@CrisAnderson27]

Love this! Do you ever have to add bacteria? Many of the 'natural pool' experts here in the US claim you'll need about $5k in bacteria for yearly post swim season maintenance. This doesn't seem logical to me...but I thought I'd ask someone who's invested in ecologically responsible methods...that clearly work!

[@nacho-man1063]

Question?? How long and how much ?

[@designdoctor247]

I Could not get to the website either 😒

[@RyvnMusic]

do the gravel filters get clogged over time? how do you deal with that if that happens?

[@baliecolodge]

After nearly 2 years of running they haven't clogged or turned green and nasty. We have emptied the filters and hand washed some of the gravel, but this was more out of interest and to assess whether the system could bounce back from disturbance. It was back to normal after 2-3days. One of the reasons for this is our design allows the waterfall filters to be flushed simply by opening a tap. We do this whenever we feel it's necessary. Perhaps once every few months.

[@barat4779]

Wonderfull indonesia

[@lunark2440]

Absolutely love this natural pool- it might be a favorite of mine, and I've been looking into building one for sometime now and have watched countless videos and spent time researching/looking at all different kinds of natural pools.. As long as we clear the local permits and the HOA, we plan to build within the next month using a simple pool filtration system (minus the chemicals) alongside a bubble filtration system, and finally a handmade waterfall. I'm beyond excited, it's a dream of mine. I would love for my family, esp my kids to have an experience like this growing up. Question- is the water solely rock and cement, or is there some internal liner? Also- is it made by hand, and if so, how long did it take? Dimensions?

[@baliecolodge]

Thank you, this pool has been running for over 3 years now and we are all more than happy with the results. Generally when constructing a pool using this method you would create a water tight 'shell' using cement and waterproofing before adding the finishing layer. It is made by hand, no machinery used for this pool and it is about 10m by 5m at the widest point. Wishing you success with your pool!

[@shanehopper100]

Hi am looking to build one of thes in the Philippines, please help me

[@dimask77]

I am just wondering if there would be any mosquitoes larvae?

[@baliecolodge]

Hi Ken. We have 4 species of fish and native shrimp living in the pool which eat up any larvae. Also as the water is flowing much of the time it's unlikely mosquitoes would lay there, they prefer stagnant small bodies of water.

[@hotrodavery]

Beautiful

[@car6120]

why sulphur rock ?

[@baliecolodge]

It has anti fungal properties and we the water benefits from small doses.

[@dinhhai1108]

How is the area of the pool?

[@baliecolodge]

It is approximately 8mx3m

[@dinhhai1108]

@@baliecolodge thanks so much for your reply

[@westindiescottage2383]

I did not understand why a rock inside the filter of the skimmer.

[@baliecolodge]

The rock is sulphur, which has anti-fungal properties. We figure the system benefits in some way by having small amounts of sulphur.

[@francus7227]

I'm sure most people are worried about mosquitoes. NOT me. I'm worried about frogs because frogs bring SNAKES. Do you have jungle snakes visiting? I'm moving to a Thailand rice village. I don't want to be known as the westerner that brought vipers to the village. Thank you for the nice clip.

[@baliecolodge]

Hi Francus. That's right, mosquitoes are not an issue. We do have frogs living in the pool and as you'd expect we see the occasional snake nearby. But we haven't seen a dramatic increase in snakes around our property after building the pool. Hope that helps ;)

[@francus7227]

@@baliecolodge That HELPS. Thank you.

[@gingerteddy618]

Wouldn't it attract unwanted animals such as toads, frogs and snakes?

[@baliecolodge]

The animals you mentioned are usually more frightened of us than we are of them. So if the pool is being used frequently they will generally stay hidden. That being said we don't mind if they're there, it's a new habitat for the native wildlife to benefit from :)

[@aw-tw3fq]

The yellow acrylic consequently untidy because aluminium kinetically harass circa a parsimonious space. disillusioned, imperfect sailboat

[@SignatureStagers]

Do you guys do projects internationally?

[@baliecolodge]

Hi, Please contact by whatsapp [phone]