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

[addy1]

Doubt they will ever run city water out here, not enough houses to justify the expense. Same with sewer, we like it as it is and no street lights!

 

[tbendl]

CE I have never tested my water since I don't have fish. I never thought I had to. Meyer was kind enough to give me some advice on using my pot as a mechanical filter of sorts so I'm going to try and get the filter media this weekend. Fingers crossed.

 

[snoozer]

I have a question about the size of a pump needed for a bog. I have 2- 3000gph pumps in s skimmer that feeds the header pond for the waterfall and stream. I know the next pump I need to buy is a sump pump to replace the one that failed and turned the finished basement into an indoor pond but back to the original question. The mess in the basement has cut into the money I had for the bog. The bog will be 9x16 or as big as I feel like digging and I want to be sure that I have enough flow but need to watch cost. What size can I get by with?

 

[CountryEscape]

Do you need both of those large pumps for your waterfall and stream? If not, that should be large enough for your bog. Just make sure to have an outlet where you can flush the bog couple of times a year. I have a 4200 gph pump running my bogs, but that's more water flow than is necessary. The other issue is IF you need to go larger eventually, you can always swap out the pumps.

 

[snoozer]

I was thinking of splitting one of them off. The first spill stone is 3 foot for the waterfall and the stream side is 2 foot wide so splitting one off would reduce the flow. i should have never taken my son to Niagra Falls when he was little. He still thinks there should be more water flowing.

 

[CountryEscape]

Well, you could maybe "temporarily" have less water flowing over those areas, to save on the cost of another pump. OR, watch sale sites in your area, or on Ebay, for a used pump (lots of people have ponds that they put in then take down, don't want, lots of pond parts).

 

[Huckleberry12]

I have what seems like a bit of a dumb question but how does one plumb in the capability for backflushing a bog? It seems that there are a number of configurations possible for feeding into a bog:

• if bog is above grade, then going up and over the wall and down to the bottom
• or going through the wall with a bulkhead fitting
• or if below grade, then bringing the hosing in at grade-level and down to the bottom
• or if half-and-half as mine is... well, I'm appreciating the advantages of a straight-run with a bulkhead though nervous about leaks.

In any case, I really don't see how one could readily flush out if the hosing coming in is not level. And even if it is all level, what sort of fitting does on use? Where does it flush to? (My bog will be small, just 5' x 32" x 12".)

 

[addy1]

I put in a line that comes out of the bottom of my bog, used it once in 5 years, that was just to drain so I could fix something. I have never needed to back flush it, but then again my bog is huge.

With our slope my bog just flushes down the slope into our woods.

 

[Huckleberry12]

I just realized that to flush out the bog, I should be able to just disconnect the hose going into the bog and hopefully that activity won't compromise the bulkhead fitting.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

To truly 'Flush out' a constructed wetlands (bog), the water flow should be reversed. In other words, the CW should be flushed from the top down while a pump removes the resulting mulm from the bottom.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I have a question about the size of a pump needed for a bog. I have 2- 3000gph pumps in s skimmer that feeds the header pond for the waterfall and stream. I know the next pump I need to buy is a sump pump to replace the one that failed and turned the finished basement into an indoor pond but back to the original question. The mess in the basement has cut into the money I had for the bog. The bog will be 9x16 or as big as I feel like digging and I want to be sure that I have enough flow but need to watch cost. What size can I get by with?

For a Constructed Wetlands (bog) to function at peak efficiency, the flow rate should be kept low to allow for ample resident time so that the plants and micro-organisms may properly 'clean' the water.

 

[paintguru]

Okay still attempting to plan my bog/pond build. I think I've decided to follow the directions and install a PVC pipe at the bottom of the bog with slits. My question revolves around the clean out pipe. Is this just a vertical pipe coming up from the pipe at the bottom of the bog? What is the point of this pipe exactly? Looks like you just open it up and let water rush out to flush any stuff that may have collected inside the pipe. What do folks use to cap that pipe? Ball valve? I don't think a PVC cap would hold unless it was glued, which defeats the purpose .

 

[CountryEscape]

Paint I have what you described in your last post. It's PVC that comes up vertical just in case something is clogging the slits and the line needs to be flushed. I remove the cap (it is just pushed on, and since the pipe is flush with the top of the pea gravel, I put a rock on top of it for added security), add a fitted flexible hose to the pipe, turn on the pump, and let it flush to the outside of my bog. I wish I could have done the bottom drain in the bog, but 1) I was not wanting to cut the liner, and 2) I don't have much slope in my yard at all. So, this works for me. I only flush the bog once a year, more if it appears to be running slower. Black gunk comes out for only a short time then back to clear. And, IMO, if you use too small of a gpu pump for the size of your bog, it may get clogged more often than not. That's from my experience with my two bogs. Good luck!

 

[addy1]

It is just a pipe at the end of your pipe run sticking straight up. The water goes out the slits no/low water pressure by the time it hits the top of the clean out. A just pushed on cap will work fine, or you can get a threaded joint and have the cap glued onto a piece of piping that you screw down onto the clean out pipe.

If you needed to use it you would stick a garden hose down into the clean out and back flush the piping.

I have yet to need to clean out my piping, but I have a leaf basket before my pump and do not draw from the bottom of the pond. Minimal large debris gets drawn into the bog.

 

[CountryEscape]

I have the cage on my pump to collect anything large, and the pump is on top of a milk crate, so it also is not drawing from the bottom of the pond. Almost never need to clean off the cage pre-filter on those pumps.