Bog Filter

[addy1]

My pond never gets drained in the spring or fall, never gets water changes. I do now and then scoop the bottom seldom get anything off of it, except trapdoor snails. It appears that any vegetation is consumed by the plants wanting nutrients. Seldom get anything in the net. My pump is external. My draw for the water is about a foot from the bottom.

Maintenance, pulling plants the bog, trimming lilies now and then, feeding the fish now and then, fighting water snakes lol . We are on a well our ph is 5.3 doing a large water change could kill the fish off. It took a year of being fishless for the pond water to be at a decent ph for fish. It gets fresh water when it rains, or if I need to fluff the level due to evaporation etc.

 

[poconojoe]

I want to clarify my weekly water changes consists of 10 to 20% otherwise it's drained 40% to 50% for opening in Spring. Curious as to leaves and other plant debris, are they left to rot in the water and how do pumps avoid becoming clogged causing possible damage. I could never imagine ignoring these issues unless the pond is maintained by professionals or utilizes a natural waterway which mine is most certainly Not. I get more enjoyment from maintaining my pond and taking an occasional dip with my fish rather than for my viewing pleasure nor impressing my neighbors otherwise to each their own.

As stated, I never do water changes.
This is one of those opinion subjects.
It's best to do what you feel is right for your pond and you.

I feel my pond is now almost self sustaining as far as the water goes.
The only maintenance I do is pull tropicals, trim the winter hardy plants and slowly scoop the bottom with a net in the fall. I also put a net up to prevent the leaves from getting in the water.
In the Spring I slowly scoop the bottom again for any possible debris build up.

You have to be careful when doing water changes. Things like temperature and the parameters of your home's water supply come into play. Plus, all that liquid gold you are throwing out contains all kinds of beneficial bacteria, microorganisms, etc. that are part of the pond's natural ecosystem.

I also, I keep my submersible pump off the bottom so it doesn't suck up any debris that may have settled down there.

 

[combatwombat]

Present in the pond., making regular water changes deleterious to the stable environment provided by a correctly designed and constructed pond.

I really enjoyed that use of the word deleterious. I'm going to start throwing that in my daily conversations.

 

[Jhn]

I want to clarify my weekly water changes consists of 10 to 20% otherwise it's drained 40% to 50% for opening in Spring. Curious as to leaves and other plant debris, are they left to rot in the water and how do pumps avoid becoming clogged causing possible damage. I could never imagine ignoring these issues unless the pond is maintained by professionals or utilizes a natural waterway which mine is most certainly Not. I get more enjoyment from maintaining my pond and taking an occasional dip with my fish rather than for my viewing pleasure nor impressing my neighbors otherwise to each their own.

My current pond is roughly 20000gallons, (with probably 150-200 fish) my old pond at the previous home was around 5000 gallons. Never did water changes on any of them, don’t lose fish to poor water quality issues, now predation is a different story.

Pumps don’t clog if they are in intake bays and skimmers, or kept off the bottom. Not everything is skimmed out of the pond, but cleaning out the intake bay and skimmers keeps the pond clean, aquatic plant debris I wade into the pond and pull it out.
You aren’t ignoring issues if the issues aren’t there to begin with. If one enjoys maintenance and water changes then more power to you. Not crapping on anyone that does water changes, just saying they aren’t necessary.

As I said why are you doing water changes? reducing methane and hydrogen sulfide build up is not a reason to do it. Can be a reason to clean pond bottom if necessary but not a water change.

Water changes are done to maintain water quality, if water quality is being maintained via proper circulation and filtration, it eliminates the need to do them. Doing water changes to just do them, without understanding whether it is necessary, what is in your source water, can be just as dangerous not doing them.

@LuvKoi to be clear I am not telling you not to do them, I am saying understand why you do them. Is it necessary for your pond IDK maybe it is, is it necessary for my ponds no it isnt.

 

[Jhn]

I really enjoyed that use of the word deleterious. I'm going to start throwing that in my daily conversations.

Haha I aim to please, at least sometimes.

 

[GBBUDD]

10

Wow! I must be in the minority surrounding water changes. Before adding the bog filter we consulted with our local nursery which installs ponds as well. They recommended weekly water changes for optimal health and pump maintenance. A few of our neighbors does this as well. We built the pond ourselves with the bog filter above ground if that could be the difference.

If anyone could share your bog filter experience, I would definitely appreciate it.

NOT ALL WATER SOURCES ARE THE SAME. SO it maybe needed in your area hard saying not knowing

 

[bagsmom]

It seems like one of those preference issues - much like whether or not to rock the interior of a pond.
I don't do water changes or big clean-outs. But I net the front yard pond in the fall to reduce leaf debris and I also have a skimmer in that one. The new backyard pond is filtered solely by a bog and it has only been running a few months. I don't feel like I have enough experience with this one yet. But so far, the bog seems to be working GREAT!
I have an intake bay that pulls debris into it, much like a skimmer. I am hoping that this will help prolong the life of the pump and serve as a sort of pre-filter, keeping some of the solids from making their way into the bog.
I did build the bog with kind of a hybrid clean-out set up. It has a homemade centipede and snorkel, as well as a standing clean-out pipe. In a year or so, I will see how it all works.

 

[mrsclem]

Over the 25 years I've had koi ponds so many things have changed. Used to feed 4-5 times a day, .15% salt maintained, water changes. I used to do a large water change in the spring to clean out the leaves, etc on the pond bottom. Now it's no water changes, no salt and twice a week feedings! I meant ponds in the fall and spring to keep leaves, etc out.
Whatever works for you- go with it!

 

[Faebinder]

I'm in the camp of I don't need to change water due to my bog unless there is an infection or contaminant. Before the bog the water was greener. This the job of the bog, consume nitrogen. My job, feed the fish and cut off the dead plants in the winter. Maybe trim the crazy irises.

 

[addy1]

Maybe trim the crazy irises.

I yanked a whole bunch of iris, dug a trench stuck them in the land. Said good luck. They were taking over the far end of the pond.

 

[cas]

our local nursery which installs ponds as well. They recommended weekly water changes

The two pond stores around here also recommend water changes. And total cleanouts each spring. I was glad I found this site and to read that others did not do this.
My pond is 18 years old and all I have ever done is vacuum the bottom of the pond in the spring to get any debris out. In the beginning I took more water out when than necessary (20%) when vacuuming because I believed, like you do, that I was removing bad water that had developed over winter. Once I improved circulation at the bottom of the pond I stopped excess water removal. And now that I have a better net, less leaves are getting into the pond. I very rarely vacuum now. Any water that is added to the pond is due to water evaporation. I have very little filtration - just a biofalls box, and I have fish that are 17 years old. Just wanted to share to give you another option.

 

[Lisak1]

I think a lot of pondkeeping “wisdom” came over from aquarium keeping. In a small volume of water, a water change might make sense. But in a large pond that’s outdoors I don’t believe it improves anything and in fact may keep your pond in a state of constantly seeking balance.

When we first built our pond an old time pond guy told us “aged pond water is like fine wine. Treat it like gold. It’ll take you about three years to get there, but then leave it be.” So that’s what we did and it seems to be working great 12 years later.

We did get a nice “water change” on Sunday - 4 inches of rain! The only “water change” our pond gets!

 

[LuvKoi]

The two pond stores around here also recommend water changes. And total cleanouts each spring. I was glad I found this site and to read that others did not do this.
My pond is 18 years old and all I have ever done is vacuum the bottom of the pond in the spring to get any debris out. In the beginning I took more water out when than necessary (20%) when vacuuming because I believed, like you do, that I was removing bad water that had developed over winter. Once I improved circulation at the bottom of the pond I stopped excess water removal. And now that I have a better net, less leaves are getting into the pond. I very rarely vacuum now. Any water that is added to the pond is due to water evaporation. I have very little filtration - just a biofalls box, and I have fish that are 17 years old. Just wanted to share to give you another option.

Thanks

 

[fishlips]

Bog filter is the only filter I will use. I do feel water changes are needed. If you google "growth inhibiting hormone in fish" you can dive deep into the science. I found this page that is short and sweet. https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/

My preferred method of water changes is " trickle in trickle out". I just set a small flow in to the pond just more the what evaporates and the over flow goes to waste. I have started a rebuild and will put the waste to marginal plants.

 

[YShahar]

I really enjoyed that use of the word deleterious. I'm going to start throwing that in my daily conversations.

Indeed. Doing so should be salubrious to the efficacy of your quotidian interlocution.