Bog filter starting to smell bad

[SaltLakeCity]

The good news is that the green water in the pond is no longer green! It is fairly clear except for tannins. Just but bags of activated charcoal in yesterday. The strange thing is that the bog has gone from having to odor to having a rotten eggs/sulphur smell. There is a good flow of water through it and the plants are getting more established. I am hoping it will all balance out, but want to make sure I am not moving towards a more serious problem. We have a honey locust tree that have been dropping matter into the pond and bog for a couple of weeks, but I doubt that could be the problem.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

4500 gallons, waterfall filler. bottom drain, skimmer, bog is 10 ft x 4 ft x 3 ft deep.

 

[Jhn]

Is there some type of prefilter on the feed pump to the bog, be it a skimmer, intake bay whatever. You don’t want to pump silt and mulm into the bog, also what size pump is feeding the bog?

Buid up of hydrogen sulfide in the bog from silt build up can cause that, also you say it is flowing ok. is it channeling, ie spots where the gravel pushes up?

 

[SaltLakeCity]

Is there some type of prefilter on the feed pump to the bog, be it a skimmer, intake bay whatever. You don’t want to pump silt and mulm into the bog, also what size pump is feeding the bog?

Buid up of hydrogen sulfide in the bog from silt build up can cause that, also you say it is flowing ok. is it channeling, ie spots where the gravel pushes up?

The water comes out of the bond through a skimmer and a bottom drain. Those two lines join before going into the pump (1/2 hp). The outflow of the pump splits between a bio falls and the bottom the bog. I am not seeing any channeling.

 

[Jhn]

The water comes out of the bond through a skimmer and a bottom drain. Those two lines join before going into the pump (1/2 hp). The outflow of the pump splits between a bio falls and the bottom the bog. I am not seeing any channeling.

Is there any type of settling chamber from the bottom drain?

You don’t want the bottom drain feeding your bog unless there is a settling chamber or some type of mechanical filter as it will load the bog up with silt and such quickly.

 

[Jagsfan]

Is there some type of prefilter on the feed pump to the bog, be it a skimmer, intake bay whatever. You don’t want to pump silt and mulm into the bog, also what size pump is feeding the bog?

Buid up of hydrogen sulfide in the bog from silt build up can cause that, also you say it is flowing ok. is it channeling, ie spots where the gravel pushes up?

is a prefilter required? Im currently building my bog and had just planned on running the pipe from the submersible pump straight to the PVC grid at the bottom. I am currently running a pressurized filter though, should I run the water through that before going into the bog? I thought you weren't suppose to filter the water before the bog.

 

[Jhn]

is a prefilter required? Im currently building my bog and had just planned on running the pipe from the submersible pump straight to the PVC grid at the bottom. I am currently running a pressurized filter though, should I run the water through that before going into the bog? I thought you weren't suppose to filter the water before the bog.

You don’t want to filter the water through a biological filter first with a bog, but you do want to run it through a mechanical filter, ie something to catch the mulm that can be in our ponds.

You want the nutrient rich water going into the bog, just not anything that can clog it up. Raising your pump off the bottom of the pond, or if it sits in a skimmer this acts as a prefilter with the net and a filter pad in it, will both do the trick.

 

[GBBUDD]

rotten eggs/sulphur smell

aS MENTIONED IS HYDROGEN SULFIDE That is highly toxic to your fish and not what you want to be in an enclosed space breathing either. This is common for any water that has a bio load in it when it sits long enough. no bog should ever smell that way if it does you have a lack of moment through that area of the bog. Can a bog smell very musty when digging it up yeah ok sure. but the hydrogen sulfide is a sign something needs to be adjusted /reworked

 

[poconojoe]

is a prefilter required? Im currently building my bog and had just planned on running the pipe from the submersible pump straight to the PVC grid at the bottom. I am currently running a pressurized filter though, should I run the water through that before going into the bog? I thought you weren't suppose to filter the water before the bog.

I just keep my submersible pump off the bottom of the pond. If it's sitting on the bottom it will suck in debris that collects down there.

 

[Tula]

We plumped a pump on the inside wall of our pond directly to our bog. I think our pump was too powerful as we had channeling and over time the pipe broke. We had the " rotten egg" smell when we opened the clean out lines and flushed all the gunk out. Maybe we should. have run the water through our skimmer before sending it to the bog. At any rate, our bog wasn't successful

 

[GBBUDD]

If you pipe broke that very well could explain why you got the smell .if all the water came up to one side and the other didn't get fresh water that could certainly be the problem

 

[poconojoe]

If you pipe broke that very well could explain why you got the smell .if all the water came up to one side and the other didn't get fresh water that could certainly be the problem

That makes sense.
If one branch or part of a branch in your distribution pipes clogged somehow, the muck might be trapped in there.