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Imagine Rudy, Allen Schnaak, Andrea The Pool Girl, and Frank Disher from The Deep End Podcast sitting around a table — the kind of table where coffee gets cold because the conversation gets that good. What starts as a friendly discussion about natural pools quickly spirals into a wild, brain-stretching rollercoaster of biology, engineering, and the eternal question: what exactly is growing in that water, and should we be scared of it?

Natural Pools vs. Traditional Chemistry:

Allen kicks things off like a Zen garden architect explaining why concrete is overrated. He breaks down how natural swimming pools rely on their own carefully engineered ecosystems — less like treating water with a chemistry set and more like teaming up with Mother Nature without letting her go feral. No chlorine tablets, no shock, no weekly “did my test strips lie to me?” panic. Instead, these pools operate as balanced biological systems designed to support themselves.

Biofilm: The Good, the Bad, and the Slimy

Then the conversation shifts — as it always does — to slime. Rudy can’t not talk about biofilm, and Allen’s ready for it. They dig into how natural pools intentionally cultivate biofilms as part of the filtration system. We're talking gravel beds with insane surface area, where microbial communities set up shop and get to work trapping nutrients and particulates. Think of it as a microscopic city of tiny workers… that you hope are the friendly kind.

But What About the Big Bad Wolf: Cryptosporidium?

Of course Rudy drops the hard-hitting question every health inspector has tattooed on their soul: “What about crypto?”

Allen stays calm. He explains that a single crypto oocyst isn’t going to ruin your day — the problem is w

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