Bog Filled Up?

[poconojoe]

I thought those tadpoles would grow into frogs or toads by now. It's been quite a while and they pretty much haven't changed much.

 

[Nevermore44]

Sunshine... so do you have a prefilter on the bog? or is it acting as you mechanical and bio filter?

 

[Sunshine]

Sunshine... so do you have a prefilter on the bog? or is it acting as you mechanical and bio filter?

No, I do not have a pre filter. I have a separate bio filter on the other end of the pond.

 

[addy1]

I thought those tadpoles would grow into frogs or toads by now. It's been quite a while and they pretty much haven't changed much.

Green frogs/bull frogs over winter as tads. The tree frogs and toads convert the same summer.

 

[Nevermore44]

So that might be an issue compared to others who are running bogs but are prefiltering out the bulk of material before it goes to bottom of a bog. Your bog is running as both mechanical and bio filtering unit.

 

[addy1]

I don't prefilter anything except what a leaf basket catches, ie big stuff, I have dirt on the pea gravel. I do pull water from the mid level of the pond. Not off the bottom.

 

[Timothy]

I don't prefilter anything except what a leaf basket catches, ie big stuff, I have dirt on the pea gravel. I do pull water from the mid level of the pond. Not off the bottom.

We don't prefilter anything either. We do however draw from closer to the bottom of the pond - about 6" from the bottom. My theory here is the "dead" water on the bottom gets lifted into the bog, gets aerated, and the return from the bog to the surface creates a vertical circulation as well as the skimmer/waterfall creating a slow horizontal current. This theory may not be viable, but it hasn't seemed to hurt.

 

[brokensword]

In all the years I've had this bog, it never had that brown on top. Algae, yes, but never that brown. That's why I was wondering if a bog can get full of the sludge. I had an elephant ear in there for the past 3-4 years, this year I couldn't find one so I put potted plants in there.

you could also try and put more pea gravel in your bog and make it higher than the water level. If you're getting 'fly-in' mud/etc, it shouldn't collect like it might if pushed up through the gravel. You might see no 'mud' at all if you raise the level of the gravel. If you do, you'll probably also see your bog mis-performing in that the water might be channeling then to the edges where the resistance is less.

My own experience is this; I put in a 4'x4'x40" deep bog as my ONLY filtration (orig pond was about 2200 gal). Worked fine for about 3 years. About the 4th, I started to get this channeling and since I was a newb when I built my pond+bog, I didn't leave enough liner around the perimeter and had this 'channeling' happen such that I started losing water. Took me a year to figure this out and I then figured my bog was 'filled' or at least clogged below. Did one of the worst things I've ever had to do and dug up the whole thing, cleaned it thoroughly, and put it back. Miserable 2 days of my life. I also found out in this process that I didn't understand exactly what my 'cleanout/snorkel/vault' was for or how to work it. I tried using house hose pressure to 'backflush' and had my aux pump in my vault, but it didn't seem to do much, so that's when I figured I had to dig.

So, short answer is yes; a bog can clog/fill. Mine never exhibited what yours is showing. I'm assuming you have a good return to your pond and the 'mud' is there but the pond is clear. I didn't have that. Anyway, I found out I should have angled my bog walls to a V so as to make any backflushing (with a completely different, large gallonage pump) that occurred would take all the debris to the lowest point and then angle the bottom to a single point--the vault. So, a learning experience.

Along about this time, I was asking Meyer Jordan for his opinion and he felt it a necessary/good thing to have a prefilter before the bog. I did that and I don't expect to have the same problems.

In my case, both 'old' and 'new' bog are more or less higher than the water level so I don't get much except some algae, sometimes, growing there. I've never had this 'muddy' look but I certainly did find a lot of 'mud' when I did the clean out!

Oh, and I used to draw my bog water from the pond bottom but now it's about 12" up.

Sorry to ramble on...

Hope this helps.

 

[Sunshine]

I was going to ask if the pea gravel should be higher than the water or lower. When we built it, people said it didn't matter. The pea gravel was higher than the water except in the middle in front of the spillway where the birds take a bath. This year, I took a bunch out cause the algae was all over the gravel and it was hard to pull the algae out cause it was stuck to the gravel. So, basically I was pulling out the gravel with the algae. Now the gravel is below the water. And there are quite a few dead spots of no water movement. My pumps don't sit on the floor of the pond, they sit on big plastic milk crates. Do most bogs have gravel higher than the water level?

 

[poconojoe]

Some have the gravel above the water, some below and some in between. So, I guess it doesn't matter.
Mine is kind of in between with parts having the gravel higher, but an area with the water higher. The water is always flowing though. There's no standing water.
I made it so the area with water is kind of like a very shallow river heading toward the pond. I have water lettuce growing in that very shallow water. By growing the water lettuce in the bog, my ravenous fish can't get to their roots. They love to eat the water lettuce roots.

 

[brokensword]

I was going to ask if the pea gravel should be higher than the water or lower. When we built it, people said it didn't matter. The pea gravel was higher than the water except in the middle in front of the spillway where the birds take a bath. This year, I took a bunch out cause the algae was all over the gravel and it was hard to pull the algae out cause it was stuck to the gravel. So, basically I was pulling out the gravel with the algae. Now the gravel is below the water. And there are quite a few dead spots of no water movement. My pumps don't sit on the floor of the pond, they sit on big plastic milk crates. Do most bogs have gravel higher than the water level?

It really shouldn't matter re bog performance, but if lower, you can get algae growth and it can be unsightly. I've had both without any real negative effect. The only issue I can see is if you think your bog might be clogged so function is negated. I'd probably dig down and see how 'dirty' everything is. It's how I found out my own problem with bog v1. The idea is that if you DO have a lot of silt/mud/etc, then channeling IS occurring and you're not getting full performance. Plants that are aggressive and massive will have the same effect as they clog the gravel, but from the top, hence why you'd thin the herd periodically. Best, almost, to have a shallow rooted bog grower that will still let the water through while doing their job. I tend to have both but like the various iris too much to play by those rules for long. I just thin and re-locate somewhere else, typically my yard.

And as PJoe said; you should have flowing water. If you have shallow exposed spots and it's not flowing, no doubt you have some channeling somewhere. Eventually, you might have to clean/backflush as I had to.

If you don't have a cleanout/vault/snorkel/drain, you can dig down into the gravel and create a low spot where you can put an auxiliary pump. See how dirty this shallow hole water becomes. It might give you an idea if cleaning might not be a good idea.

And, IF you ever have to dig out the bog for some sort of cleaning, install a vault/drain to make the job easier next time. Plus, consider a prefilter, as Meyer has suggested and I have done.

 

[GBBUDD]

Nice elephant ears... they look happy up there. How big is the pond, what is the fish load, and do you feed them?

I know you all with the bogs are happy with them (I don't have the real estate for one) ... but I still don't get the long term physics of them. The bog filtration system is a closed loop system, but your are constantly having matter added in via fish food, debris blown in, and dead plants/roots. Do you all have pre-filters on your pumps to remove the bulk of matter before it hits the bog? They aren't acting as your only filtration method are they?

So far tge only filter I have are basket filter for Kaffe sediment . but i made tweto chambers in my bog the first being a 24 inch culvert pipe to allow any large debris to settle and ROT before it moves upward through 4 to y inch rock then to aqua blocks. where any remaining fines will settle to the bottom and only nutrients should be left in the water column.

 

[addy1]

Some have the gravel above the water, some below and some in between. So, I guess it doesn't matter.

I have a bit of all, above, below and right at water level. The places with the gravel above water level moss grows, no mud layer. The areas below water level I get a layer of dirt on the gravel, just don't worry about it. The main thing I need to remember is go out and yank plants every now and then.

 

[Nevermore44]

So far tge only filter I have are basket filter for Kaffe sediment . but i made tweto chambers in my bog the first being a 24 inch culvert pipe to allow any large debris to settle and ROT before it moves upward through 4 to y inch rock then to aqua blocks. where any remaining fines will settle to the bottom and only nutrients should be left in the water column.

24" pipe! now that's a bog! so do you have to periodically pump out the sediment that settles?

 

[Sunshine]

I might have to add more gravel than. Except where the birds bathe. The pic shows what it looks like now. I just pulled algae out about 5 days ago. Planted Creeping Jenny in there hoping she would take over the algae. UGH it's becoming a losing battle.