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

[CountryEscape]

Sure looks pretty, House, and appears to be working out very well for you.

 

[addy1]

Very nice, anything with plants, gravel, flowing water sure helps a pond

 

[MariaTeresa]

I'm working on putting in a little bog, but I have a few questions. I'm using a piece of liner, 5'x 6.5' (it was my first little pond). Is it better to have more surface area and less depth, or more depth and less surface area? If the bog is 12" minimum...that's not leaving much room.

Also, I got confused with the pvc supplies. I have a 2" pvc pipe and a 2"-3/4" pvc bushing reducer (my hose is 3/4"). I thought the pipe would slip into the bushing, but it doesn't. So what do I get to connect those two? I got a male adapter to connect the bushing to the hose...but that doesn't work either.

If I overlap the bog liner over the pond liner where the bog will flow into the pond, will that work or will water wick up the underside of the bog liner?

This bog building stuff seems a lot harder than pond building!

 

[Lisak1]

I'll throw in an opinion - if I had to choose surface area over depth, I would go for surface area. More room for plants that way which is a big factor in a successful bog.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I'll throw in an opinion - if I had to choose surface area over depth, I would go for surface area. More room for plants that way which is a big factor in a successful bog.

I would try to find a balance between depth (at least 12', preferably 18") and surface area. More plants are great, but the important bio-chemical processes are happening in the plants rhizosphere (root zone). Too many crowded plants will not grow well because water flow to the entire root system will be restricted. The overall efficiency of the 'bog' will be compromised.

 

[Lisak1]

Agreed on all counts! We once visited a pond with a bog that was 6 FEET deep and about 2 feet by 2 feet at the surface. The guy claimed it worked great but I was like "hmmm...". I think, ideally, you want enough surface to grow a variety of types of plants as well, as some plants will root deeper than others. And some are real bullies (I'm looking at you IRIS!) and will crowd the others out if you don't have enough space.

I guess to me, when it comes to bogs, I would say build it as big as you possibly can with the space you have available. You can't have TOO MUCH bog.

 

[MariaTeresa]

One thing with a 12" depths that I was worried about is if the plant roots will grow down to the pipe and clog up the openings.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

One thing with a 12" depths that I was worried about is if the plant roots will grow down to the pipe and clog up the openings.

This is a definite possibility depending on the specie of plant. This is why 18" is considered the standard depth for any constructed wetland or similar project.

 

[MariaTeresa]

Is it best when planting the bog to leave some dirt with the plant? I've read in a few places (not gpf) to just knock the pot off and plant the whole root system with all the dirt. It said a new bog won't be able to support plants without dirt around their roots...but I'd really rather not put all that dirt in the bog.

Advice?

 

[tbendl]

I fully rinsed my plants before sending them to the bog.

 

[Lisak1]

I don't leave any dirt on my plants, even when my bog was brand new. My plants did well from the beginning. I don't think the dirt is necessary.

 

[addy1]

No dirt on mine, they did fine.

 

[MariaTeresa]

Great! I'll put them in minus the dirt and hope for the best.

 

[bobchapman]

Hi Addy1; this is great info that you have posted for the rest of us. I'm about to follow your lead on bog-building, but have a question (of course).

My plan is a bog of about 140 sq ft (7' x 20') x 15" deep, with a stream running down from it to a goldfish pond (no koi). I plan on just a few (6 or 8) goldfish for some color in the pond. The bog will be about 40% of the size of the pond. I plan on no filtration other than the bog and a skimmer with a leaf basket to catch the large junk (we have many trees).

In addition to GPF, I read Koiphen, which as you probably know is all about raising koi with a high-density of fish in the pond. There is almost no one on Koiphen who subscribes to any form of bog, claiming that you will very soon have a gravel bed filled with undesirable "stuff" in a big smelly mess.

Your experience seems much different from that. SO here are a couple of questions that I would love to hear you answer:
- how long have you run your bog without having to unload all the gravel and wash it out in some way? (I think it's some years now, right?)
- do you think that your successful experience with bogging is because you have a light load of fish in the pond?
-Could you tell me how many fish you support in the pond, and how big the bog is, please?
Thanks for any help that you're able to give. As a newbie to the whole fish "thing" it can be just bit confusing!
Bob Chapman

 

[addy1]

Your experience seems much different from that. SO here are a couple of questions that I would love to hear you answer:
- how long have you run your bog without having to unload all the gravel and wash it out in some way? (I think it's some years now, right?)
- do you think that your successful experience with bogging is because you have a light load of fish in the pond?
-Could you tell me how many fish you support in the pond, and how big the bog is, please?

I have never cleaned any of my bogs, this last one was started 2010, still running, pond water stays perfect. I have no koi
I have around 200 fish, around, they are hard to count, in the big pond, around 25 in the 1000 gallon pond, tons of frogs, tads, snails etc. I don't purge any fish, they seem to balance out just fine.
My bog is around 1/3 the pond surface area. approximately 25x4 feet,
The pond is approximately 26x15 to 20 feet. Plus 8 other ponds all in the water flow loop. From 1000 gallons down to around 100 (small stream pond)

Sorry this is sort of a short answer, totally exhausted, hands hurt to much to type a lot. Been busy. Any other ??'s please ask.