Bog building, also called upflow filter, eco filter, wetland filter

[addy1]

I like liners, preforms, tanks etc are a pita to get level and I don't like formed edges. I do have two stock tanks, two preforms. One preform is being removed, it keeps giving me issues with overflow, a tiny amount of junk in the outflow and next thing I know it is draining the water out and down our slope, so in the next week or so it is being drained and yanked out, a liner put in the hole.

 

[taherrmann4]

I would go with a liner. I also like that you can shape it how you want and make it look a bit more natural.

 

[CountryEscape]

Plus with the liner, you can make it however deep you want it. You could have part of the bog shallower, part deeper, depending on what you want to grow. Remember, you can have pea gravel at the surface in part, water flowing in another part. I think T'Mann is the one that had a bog with what looked like a stream running through the middle of it, am I remembering correctly, T'Mann? You can get creative, but one thing I found, whatever you "decorate" your bog with before the plants grow, will disappear once the plants fill in the area. Remember that, too.
I'm going to expand my bog on the koi pond this summer. I have a small one now, maybe 3'x8'. I want to make it minimally 4' wide by the length of the pond, which is about 19', if possible. Going to depend on whether I can fine a liner piece reasonable then I will design the bog based on that.

 

[rebelangel_3733]

Thanks! I'm leaning more towards a liner I think. Just have to bring in a bunch more dirt because the dirt we dug out of the new pond is all over the yard (filled in holes) and some to the side of the pond. Then I'll have to dig it out again to form it for a bog. Well that's the plan...I have 3 days off and only one day is going to be nice enough to do anything and I'll have to make a 80 mile round trip to get a liner. Thanks again!

 

[CountryEscape]

Why so far for the liner, Rebel? All the lumber stores around here have the EPDM liner, it's used for roofing, same stuff. If it makes you feel better, rinse it off before you use it. I used it in both of my ponds. Going to check with my local lumber yard and see if they have any "scraps", pieces 12-14' long, and 20' wide. Figuring that will be ideal size for the bog I want to build. Bigger would be better but ... I'll take smaller if the price is better.

 

[rebelangel_3733]

Thats where menards, lowe's and home depot are lol

 

[CountryEscape]

I, and I see now that you said 80 miles "round trip". Not as bad as I first thought, but still far. Good luck!

 

[brandonsdad02]

I have bog made with a liner from Menards. Has worked out good so far. Mine is a above ground bog and has been going just fine for 2 years. I leave mine running year round and while it does get a ice cap on it, it still has running water all winter long.. After what I saw addy1 did with her bog and how clear her water was, I had to make one too. They really do work amazing and require very little work once they are up and going.

 

[addy1]

Glad to hear Ryan, I am so tickled with mine. It takes very little work on my part, except pulling plants that over grow.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

So addy, I'd like to know if I'm understanding the bog correctly. I'm thinking of doing a small one but not sure at this point, but I'm still interesting in how it works. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's basically a liner filled with pea gravel. A pvc pipe sends the water to the bottom, so the water then rises through the pea gravel and plants, and flows into the pond. Am I missing something or is that how it works?

 

[Lisak1]

We have a liner bog, too. Ours is fed into the bottom through what I believe is correctly called a manifold (I called it "the thing will all the slits"). The water is then forced up through the layers of gravel of graduated size, from golf ball sized cobbles up to pea gravel, which comprises the top foot of the bog. We have added a more decorative gravel to the top- wasted effort, as the plants quickly cover the surface in the spring! Our bog has anywhere from 1-4" of water on the surface, depending on pump speed. The bog then flows over into the waterfall which spills into a small upper pool and then into the pond proper. We love our bog! It's home to many smaller frogs that wouldn't last a day with the two big bullfrogs who rule the lower pond!

 

[Lisak1]

(I should change my user name to LoveMyBog!- ha!)

 

[JBtheExplorer]

We have a liner bog, too...

seems simple enough! I'm definitely considering adding one, maybe this spring. Actually, if I don't replace my stream this year, I could turn it into a bog.

 

[brandonsdad02]

Mostly, the pipe needs to run the length of the bog with slits cut in it facing down. They can be facing up but if your pump would ever need to be shut off or the power goes out, there is a chance the gravel could get into the pip or clog the holes.

 

[addy1]

So addy, I'd like to know if I'm understanding the bog correctly. I'm thinking of doing a small one but not sure at this point, but I'm still interesting in how it works. Correct me if I'm wrong. It's basically a liner filled with pea gravel. A pvc pipe sends the water to the bottom, so the water then rises through the pea gravel and plants, and flows into the pond. Am I missing something or is that how it works?

Yep that is it in a nutshell.