The biofilm begins

It is now a week since we started filling the pool. The water which started cloudy from the dusts and soil has cleared nicely. It is very clear. We have continued to plant into various planters and pots. We have a cumber of water lilies, the lotus, bull rushes, reeds, kana kong, iris, allcasia - all in the filter bed area. This is in addition to the plants in the shallow step area. Last night we had frogs calling from the pool, and this morning we have 2 egg masses in the shallow area, one under rocks and the other in a floating plant. There are also a few isolated tadpoles in there - goodness knows how that happened. There are many water boatmen. Today I saw dragon flies laying eggs among the floating plants. Yesterday I saw an adult female water dragon (P leseuri) and three very small baby dragons, all at the same time in the pool and on the surrounding rocks. But the most important development today is the beginning of the biofilm. This film of biological activity which forms on all of the surfaces of the pool is the engine room of water cleansing for a natural system like this. Not only is it forming on the walls of the pool but also inside the submerged filter system. We plan to leave it undisturbed except on the steps where it could become too slippery. Once the system settles down there should be a thin film of life but initially it could be quite significant, especially in view of our high phosphate levels. So we are watching the developement of our biofilm with interest. It is a very welcome sign that nature is taking over. Once the biofilm develops it will also sustain the insect life which we expect in and around the pool. There will be herbivores which feed on the biofilm, and then carnivores which feed on those. The first of these carnivores will ne dragon fly nymphs. These little critters are ferocious hunters of small insects. We will see their skins where they have crawled out on the water plants to hatch out as adult dragonflies and fly away. In the meantime we are enjoying the swimming.