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

[snoozer]

I’ve never worked with EPDM. Is it like a little princess that needs babying? I just can’t relate to this intense worry about a 1/2 pipe culvert cutting my RPE liner.

If it’s a real concern, just put 2 extra strips of fabric down to pad it. Or place a layer of gravel first and place the pipe on that.

I can overthink and worry with the best of ‘em, but this one seems totally overblown.

But again, I don’t know EDPM well.

I am not worried about the liner being damaged or cut, both that i will have are tough to cut. The water coming into the bog through the PVC manifold isn't a worry either. What I worry about, is building a bog over the 15 year old flex PVC pipe that goes from the skimmer to the header pond being under a couple ton of pea gravel. That hose runs underground by only 4 inches or so about 15-18 inches from the pond edge. If for some reason it fails and i need to get to it to replace or splice it would be impossible. Of course at that time i would probably say, screw it and have the pond filled in.

 

[snoozer]

The 30% is a suggestion, even smaller it will still help. You can make it simple like mine, or complex like others have. Mine works fine, theirs work fine.

Thank you. Simple it will be.

 

[elpalito]

anyone have pictures handy of how they transitioned the bog to the pond? My bog will be right next to the pond, but I'm having a brain cramp on how to design the stream/waterfall -- it's a small pond and a small bog, so no room for a long stream or big waterfall. (size being relative, a "big" waterfall is over 2 feet and a "long" stream is..well, longer than 2 feet. lol)

 

[bagsmom]

anyone have pictures handy of how they transitioned the bog to the pond? My bog will be right next to the pond, but I'm having a brain cramp on how to design the stream/waterfall -- it's a small pond and a small bog, so no room for a long stream or big waterfall. (size being relative, a "big" waterfall is over 2 feet and a "long" stream is..well, longer than 2 feet. lol)

I'm kind of in the same boat. I am in the process of rocking from the bottom up. Waterfall from the bog to the pond will be last and I am already stressing. I want everything to look natural -- but it isn't natural. I'm not sure the rocks I have will work for the look I want. I need to go look at some photos and videos to inspire me!

 

[poconojoe]

anyone have pictures handy of how they transitioned the bog to the pond? My bog will be right next to the pond, but I'm having a brain cramp on how to design the stream/waterfall -- it's a small pond and a small bog, so no room for a long stream or big waterfall. (size being relative, a "big" waterfall is over 2 feet and a "long" stream is..well, longer than 2 feet. lol)

In the second picture you can see I used a Fernco rubber coupling to transition between flex PVC and ridgid PVC. The Fernco has held up fine, but I would suggest a pvc union instead.

I went over the wall with the flex PVC. I didn't want to make any holes in the liner. I covered most of the black flex PVC with rocks. You can only see a short part of it coming out of the water in the last picture.

All my plumbing is within the pond and bog. No water can escape the system if there's a leak.

Oh, that's an HDRPE liner. My pond is EPDM.

 

[addy1]

Lol wait 12 years and a bit of liner showing no longer matters

 

[addy1]

Beautiful job @poconojoe

 

[poconojoe]

Beautiful job @poconojoe

Those pictures are from April 2020, if you recall.
So, two years now and still doing great!
The best thing I did for the pond (and me).

And again, all inspired by you Addy!

 

[poconojoe]

I prefer simplicity.
Basic manifold(s) covered with gravel.

I think, if you have a very large pond with a large fish load, then you might want the more complex version with centipede, Aqua Blox, etc. However, I do think the simple version would be fine in just about any situation.
Case in point: @addy1 bog serves multiple ponds and has been in service for over a decade.

 

[DanielleB]

@poconojoe could you give a bit more detail? pipe sizing you used? any clean out ports? Simple seems the way I'll have to go

 

[elpalito]

Thank you @poconojoe Very much helps!

 

[poconojoe]

@poconojoe could you give a bit more detail? pipe sizing you used? any clean out ports? Simple seems the way I'll have to go

My pond is about 1800 gallons and way overpopulated due to the fish multiplying.
My bog is 14 feet X 5 feet and 12 inches of gravel.

My pump is a submersible type that is rated at 3600 gph. It has an 1-1/2 " outlet size.

I ran 1-1/2" black schedule 40 flex PVC from the pump to the bog. I ran the flex PVC over the wall between the bog and pond. At that point I increased it to 2" with standard ridgid schedule 40 pvc pipe. There's a wye fitting that splits it into two 2" pvc manifold pipes that are 10 feet long. I cut slits in the pipe 1/3 through and spaced at 1-1/2" apart. I faced the slits up, but some others prefer them facing down. I did that because I was thinking that if there ever was any accumulated muck, the slits would not get buried. There are good reasons for both ways of doing it.

I believe the clean-out stacks are needed.
I have 90 degree elbows at the end of each manifold pipe sticking slightly above the gravel. They have screw caps on them.
When I see the flow of the return water reduce, I utilize those clean-outs.

I shut the pump off, open a cap, shove a scrap piece of flex PVC in there to direct it away from the bog and turn the pump back on. (I was thinking I might add a male fitting to that scrap piece to get a better connection.)
Black water shoots out for a few seconds. I shut the pump off, close the cap and repeat for the second one. After that the flow returns to normal.
I do this every few months during the summer, but more often during early Spring until the ecosystem recovers from winter.

My pump is held up off the pond bottom with a string to prevent it from sucking up any debris that may settle down there. Plus the string helps when I want to pull the pump for maintenance.

I run the bog 24/7/365. I'm in zone 6b northeastern Pennsylvania. The pond freezes, but the flow from the bog keeps an opening in the ice. I do keep a deicer floating nearby, just in case.

My pump is situated on the other side of the pond, opposite of the bog.

If you haven't seen it already, heres my add-on bog build:

My add-on bog build

I finally did it! I joined the bog club! The bog is approximately 14 feet by 5 feet and about 12 inches deep. I know my 1600+ gallon pond has been overpopulated due to my fish reproductive rates! Last year the water never cleared up to my liking. I figured my two pressure filters and my...

www.gardenpondforum.com

Hope this helps

 

[addy1]

I go against the grain, no clean out pipes, have never cleaned it. Did open a drain once nothing but clean water came out, have not done anything since. two 2 inch pvc pipes x 26ish feet, pea gravel 2.5 feet deep plus minus.

Mine is large, I draw water from a foot off the bottom, therefore no large debris gets in the bog.

 

[DanielleB]

@poconojoe and @addy1 Thanks so much for the input. It really helps with designing my own.

 

[GBBUDD]

I am not worried about the liner being damaged or cut, both that i will have are tough to cut. The water coming into the bog through the PVC manifold isn't a worry either. What I worry about, is building a bog over the 15 year old flex PVC pipe that goes from the skimmer to the header pond being under a couple ton of pea gravel. That hose runs underground by only 4 inches or so about 15-18 inches from the pond edge. If for some reason it fails and i need to get to it to replace or splice it would be impossible. Of course at that time i would probably say, screw it and have the pond filled in.

IF you have flex pvc and not kink free. And it was buried and back filled properly " no rocks " placed against the pipe it should last for decades. The fact that it is buried under tons of gravel means little ANY round object buried under fill is in far greater jeopardy of failing with only a small amount over it . As the amount of gravel grows the weight is drastically reduced around the pipe as it is disbursed like a triangle where tge most I'd at the surface but lessens quickly as you go deeper. In other word take a 2 " flex line bury it under say 3 inches. The drive over it the pipe won't stand a chance make it under a foot of fill and the pipe won't even know you were there.