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

[Bluefox]

WOW. A lot of info to digest. I will have to read that a few times to get my head round it all. Thanks very much for that.

 

[brokensword]

basic premise is very simple; build a box, line it, on bottom put in pipes with slits so water can rise, cover with round stone, plant plants on top. Water returns to pond via waterfall/weir along one side of box, which is higher than pond. Pump in pond sends water to bog via pipe. Voila! bog filtration (more properly Upflow Wetland Filter). There are details which can enhance/complicate, but building a bog is not--nature does it all the time.

 

[poconojoe]

Build a bog, you won't regret it.
My pond is about 1800 gallons, plus whatever water is in the bog.
My bog is 14 feet by 5 feet and has 12 inches of river stone. I made my walls higher, just in case there would be any expansion upward.

I have super clear water and just about zero maintenance and that's with way too many fish. They just keep multiplying!

 

[brokensword]

Hello everyone!!
I’ve been chewing on a lot of great information recently as I’m quite excited to put in a pond. 14-16’ stream into appropriately an 1800gal pond. No natual slope so will use the excavation of dirt to slope it as naturally as possible into my yard.
My concerns are winter and freezing as I live in southern Ontario. I’d like to make the water as clear as I possibly can with relatively minimal effort.
Im leaning towards pump in bottom of the pond so I can pull it out easily and make sure the lines are drained at the end of the season. Maybe external pump with an inline filter would be better?Perhaps have askimmer style basket filter for the larger debris that falls into it in the later months and have it pump directly back into the pond for added circulation/airation. Stream will have a wetlands off shoot to also help with filtration.
Would a smallish prefabed pond at the start of the stream with an up flow style bog system be a good idea? My thoughts there are I can attach a 2” drain to it to
1) clean sediment out of it
2) leave drain open so it won’t freeze up and crack on me in the harsh winter

It won’t be near the ratios I’ve been reading about volume/surface area but figured anything’s better than nothing to keep it natural.
Theres more to this than I’d ever thought and any thoughts are incredibly appreciated!!
I’ve a rough sketch sorted it that helps to take a look at and or even pic of where I plan to put it and some knowledgeable people could assist with the design ‍

I'd ask @addy1 to move this to a new thread as it's going to get lost here in hers.

 

[addy1]

I'd ask @addy1 to move this to a new thread as it's going to get lost here in hers.

done in the construction thread

 

[Magicno1]

Regards clean out pipes, how exactly are you cleaning out as in are you just cleaning the pipe work out or flushing water up throughout the bog?
Thanks

 

[poconojoe]

Regards clean out pipes, how exactly are you cleaning out as in are you just cleaning the pipe work out or flushing water up throughout the bog?
Thanks

Just flushing out the pipes that are buried under the bog gravel.
Some debris may build up over time which may clog some of the slits or holes in your manifold pipes. The flow back to the pond will slow down a bit.

Here's my take:
At first I was a bit fanatical about doing the flush. I would see that the water flowing back to the pond had slowed down, then I would do the flush. Afterwards I would get a lot more flow. Actual ripples and a distinct current flowing across the pond from the spillway.
I would do the flush maybe once a month, but sometimes sooner.

Then I realized that my pond water stayed crystal clear even without doing the flush. Sure, the return flow is not very strong, but the bog is absolutely doing it's job.

There's been talk on how slow the water should pass through the bog for efficient filtration. So, maybe slow is good, but how slow? Who knows?
My water looks like you can drink it. It's that clear, even with a way overcrowded fish population.

My pump is a 3600gph and I have a thin rope keeping it off the bottom to prevent it from sucking up any debris that collects down there. I use a net to get that out.

Here's how I do the flush:
Turn off the pump, open one clean-out stack (I have two), I jamb a piece of extra tubing into the stack to aim the water into my garden (good fertilizer), turn the pump back on and watch the black water shoot out for about 5 seconds. Then I shut the pump, close the clean-out stack and turn the pump back on. I then repeat for the second clean-out.

Hope this helps

 

[Magicno1]

Just flushing out the pipes that are buried under the bog gravel.
Some debris may build up over time which may clog some of the slits or holes in your manifold pipes. The flow back to the pond will slow down a bit.

Here's my take:
At first I was a bit fanatical about doing the flush. I would see that the water flowing back to the pond had slowed down, then I would do the flush. Afterwards I would get a lot more flow. Actual ripples and a distinct current flowing across the pond from the spillway.
I would do the flush maybe once a month, but sometimes sooner.

Then I realized that my pond water stayed crystal clear even without doing the flush. Sure, the return flow is not very strong, but the bog is absolutely doing it's job.

There's been talk on how slow the water should pass through the bog for efficient filtration. So, maybe slow is good, but how slow? Who knows?
My water looks like you can drink it. It's that clear, even with a way overcrowded fish population.

My pump is a 3600gph and I have a thin rope keeping it off the bottom to prevent it from sucking up any debris that collects down there. I use a net to get that out.

Here's how I do the flush:
Turn off the pump, open one clean-out stack (I have two), I jamb a piece of extra tubing into the stack to aim the water into my garden (good fertilizer), turn the pump back on and watch the black water shoot out for about 5 seconds. Then I shut the pump, close the clean-out stack and turn the pump back on. I then repeat for the second clean-out.

Hope this helps

Thank you so much for this info much appreciated!
I’m just a few days away now from filling the new pond and bog so I’ll keep you updated.

 

[poconojoe]

Thank you so much for this info much appreciated!
I’m just a few days away now from filling the new pond and bog so I’ll keep you updated.

That's great!

 

[addy1]

I am one of those that never flushes and has no clean out pipes. I do have a large bog, a lot of water flowing through and in 10 years no issue

 

[Magicno1]

Addy.
Could you cast your expert eye over my build?
I filled on Saturday and used filter gel bacteria in and chlorine remover.
As you can see from the pics I’ve planted a few plants in the bog.
I have 8 fish in a holding pool so how long before I switch them over?
Ammonia is 0. Nitrite is 0 and PH 8.2
Be gentle please
Chris

 

[brokensword]

Addy.
Could you cast your expert eye over my build?
I filled on Saturday and used filter gel bacteria in and chlorine remover.
As you can see from the pics I’ve planted a few plants in the bog.
I have 8 fish in a holding pool so how long before I switch them over?
Ammonia is 0. Nitrite is 0 and PH 8.2
Be gentle please
Chris

addy will reply, but I'll just get you going; you want to let the pond cycle (which you probably already know) and this can happen with time, with the addition of ammonia (search for ammonia cycling) or putting in just a couple of fish. I'd do the last, were it my pond, but I'm impatient, you know? The fish will do their thing and start the nitrogen cycle. Feed very sparingly and take your tests. Most say it takes about 4-6 weeks. I find it can happen quicker or longer, sort of depends on your pond/conditions. You may bet an algae bloom (GWS) but once your plants take off, it should dissipate. You probably should add some floating plants to further keep the algal bloom from happening. Doing so, you could put more than a couple of fish in. You don't need to add any bacteria to the pond (save the $$) as your pond will already have what it needs. The good bacteria will lag bioload production (fish poop process) that's why you don't overfeed; give the system time to colonize your bog and underwater surfaces.

Are you using well water? The pH seems high if not, but not high enough to worry; my water is from a well and it's about 8.4 and I'm doing fine. If you have well water, you don't need the dechlor upon filling/topping off. Don't worry re a high pH either; you want a STABLE pH, that's the key. If you're curious, get a KH and GH test kit; those will let you know if there's going to be an issue down the road.

So, add a couple fish, get a few floaters, sit back and start enjoying your efforts! Very nice looking pond, btw!

 

[Magicno1]

addy will reply, but I'll just get you going; you want to let the pond cycle (which you probably already know) and this can happen with time, with the addition of ammonia (search for ammonia cycling) or putting in just a couple of fish. I'd do the last, were it my pond, but I'm impatient, you know? The fish will do their thing and start the nitrogen cycle. Feed very sparingly and take your tests. Most say it takes about 4-6 weeks. I find it can happen quicker or longer, sort of depends on your pond/conditions. You may bet an algae bloom (GWS) but once your plants take off, it should dissipate. You probably should add some floating plants to further keep the algal bloom from happening. Doing so, you could put more than a couple of fish in. You don't need to add any bacteria to the pond (save the $$) as your pond will already have what it needs. The good bacteria will lag bioload production (fish poop process) that's why you don't overfeed; give the system time to colonize your bog and underwater surfaces.

Are you using well water? The pH seems high if not, but not high enough to worry; my water is from a well and it's about 8.4 and I'm doing fine. If you have well water, you don't need the dechlor upon filling/topping off. Don't worry re a high pH either; you want a STABLE pH, that's the key. If you're curious, get a KH and GH test kit; those will let you know if there's going to be an issue down the road.

So, add a couple fish, get a few floaters, sit back and start enjoying your efforts! Very nice looking pond, btw!

Thank you!
Good advice that so I’ll go down the floaters route see how we go.

 

[poconojoe]

Addy.
Could you cast your expert eye over my build?
I filled on Saturday and used filter gel bacteria in and chlorine remover.
As you can see from the pics I’ve planted a few plants in the bog.
I have 8 fish in a holding pool so how long before I switch them over?
Ammonia is 0. Nitrite is 0 and PH 8.2
Be gentle please
Chris

Absolutely gorgeous!
You did a fantastic job!
You were smart to do a bog from the get-go.
A lot of us learned about bogs years after building our ponds. I added the bog last year. Best thing I ever did for my pond.

 

[Magicno1]

Absolutely gorgeous!
You did a fantastic job!
You were smart to do a bog from the get-go.
A lot of us learned about bogs years after building our ponds. I added the bog last year. Best thing I ever did for my pond.

Can’t wait for it to flourish now!
We have had a few ponds locally stripped of fish due to otter visits so I’m a bit worried about how to prevent that