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

[qclabrat]

For everyone who started a new pond with a new bog, how did yours cycle? Did you have algae, how long did it last, did it go away on its own? Just wondering what I could expect.

Mine took about 2 months then poof water cleared up. It was a new pond

 

[Lisak1]

Ours was new, too. We had string algae most of the first year, string algae came back the beginning of the second year and then one day - gone. Been clear ever since!

 

[Molly1]

Thanks for that info! This morning I realized the fuzz on some of the rocks is indeed string algae. My husband just keeps telling me it will clear itself up once the plants start growing more. I cleaned some out today, its not really too long yet though. It had been fine but I have a tree thats just finished dropping its seeds and im positive this really lead to a heavy load. I spent a lot of time pulling them out of the sides and out of the little crannies of the stream.

 

[addy1]

My pond took about a year, but part of that was I was still building. No real pump flow until the second year. We put fish n the first year, little feeders, they all died quickly. That is when I found out our water had a ph of 5.3. I waited a year before I added more fish. By that time the plants I put in, running the pond water through the bog the Ph settled down. It stays right around 7.6 now.

Now I never have a string algae attack in the big ponds or green water. You can see the hornwort growing off the bottom, this is in the 5 foot deep area.

 

[j.w]

Beautiful fish and clear water!

 

[qclabrat]

My pond took about a year, but part of that was I was still building. No real pump flow until the second year. We put fish n the first year, little feeders, they all died quickly. That is when I found out our water had a ph of 5.3. I waited a year before I added more fish. By that time the plants I put in, running the pond water through the bog the Ph settled down. It stays right around 7.6 now.

Now I never have a string algae attack in the big ponds or green water. You can see the hornwort growing off the bottom, this is in the 5 foot deep area.View attachment 111497

that black and white one on the bottom of the pic is one handsome devil

 

[qclabrat]

I filled up the bog tank last week with pea gravel but no noticed that there is significant bulging on the one free side. Don't feel it will hold out well for the long run much less a full season. Ideas on how to prevent the tank from bursting? Don't have a new picture, but the long side looks really stressed

 

[addy1]

Can you pile some dirt or rocks around the tank? I have some stock tanks in use, for fish ponds, but they are partially buried.

 

[qclabrat]

Can you pile some dirt or rocks around the tank? I have some stock tanks in use, for fish ponds, but they are partially buried.

I think that will be the route to go and also take out some gravel to lighten the load. The bottom has a clean out hole I want to keep accessible so wanted to avoid a fixed wall. So tired of moving gravel and rocks this spring...

 

[Ronfire]

Wow what a long thread, almost read it all.
I am concerned with freezing plumbing for the winter with the pipes going into the bog over the top as there will be water in the pipe at the top of the bog.
I have a back yard that has some tiers and plan on 2 levels of bog above the pond. Would like the lower bog to have deeper water and only have lotus (if I can get then to grow ) and/or lilly and floating plants. Is there a problem having a bog that has 18" of water on top? Or have just an upper bog and make the next bench a pond.
Not sure yet if I will have the top bog flow into and out of 1 end of the lower bog or have it flow into 1 end and out the other then down into the pond for Koi.
Could also place a few goldfish in the lower bog.
I like the idea of using the plumbing vent/ valve to stop the siphon of water when the pump shuts off instead of a check valve that can fail and add restriction.

 

[Ronfire]

Was thinking about the clean out on the end of your feed line. When you assemble the plumbing you could test run it to see if you get much water coming up in the clean out. If you do then cut more slots to reduce the back pressure and increase water flow.
Also once the bog is running the clean out will be an indicator if the bog is getting clogged, the water would then flow out of the clean out. This works as an indicator for the sand/ gravel filters built in a drum that others have used.

 

[addy1]

My pond/bog lines retain water over winter and are exposed, we are not as cold as you, we do freeze. I pull my external pump, leave the lines open, they have never frozen and cracked.

 

[carolinaguy]

You won’t want to do this, but just for information our bog concept is hydroponic rather than soil based. There are other ways to do this.

 

[Tara]

This is a great thread. I will be building a bog for next spring, this information will come in handy.

 

[Lisak1]

our bog concept is hydroponic rather than soil based. There are other ways to do this.

What do you mean @carolinaguy ? My bog is gravel filled - is that what you consider hydroponic?