Can I combine bog and waterfall?

[koshki]

My old pond was small (approximately 300 gallons) that relied on the bog exclusively for filtration. We also had a separate waterfall. The pump went to a Y to send water to the falls and to the bottom of the bog. The bog had a slow flow of water back into the pond.

We've moved and now I need to build a new pond. I recently saw a pond with a raised bog that had a much faster flow and a more dramatic waterfall effect. However, he also used other filtration systems, which I'd like to avoid.

Due to my limited space for this new pond I was intrigued by the idea of combining the bog and waterfall into a single system and still avoid additional filtration. I'm not sure how big I can go on the new pond, but I would hope to achieve 600-1000 gallons.

Can a bog/waterfall work as the sole filtration system?

BTW, I currently have 8 fish: 5 goldfish and 3 koi. The goldfish are quite large and the koi are getting pretty big too. I think they are all boys, as they haven't done the spawning thing in quite a while. I think they killed all the girls.

 

[addy1]

My bog is my ponds water fall. Almost all of the water from the pump flows through it and waterfalls back into the pond. I have no other filtration.

With the koi make your pond nice and big. 3 koi in 600-1000 gallons is not going to work well. They get big.

The waterfall in the background is my bog return waterfall into the big pond.

 

[Lisak1]

Same here - the bog on my pond feeds my waterfall.

Here's a recent photo. Everyone please enjoy the MASSIVE amounts of string algae that made this look more like a carpeted staircase than a waterfall... and know that now, three weeks later, that string algae is all gone. Also - those dead herons were victims of high winds. They've recovered now!

Anyway - for the purposes of THIS discussion - bog is top left and flows into the waterfall from two outlets:

 

[koshki]

My bog is my ponds water fall. Almost all of the water from the pump flows through it and waterfalls back into the pond. I have no other filtration.

With the koi make your pond nice and big. 3 koi in 600-1000 gallons is not going to work well. They get big.

The waterfall in the background is my bog return waterfall into the big pond. View attachment 151010

Does the rate of flow impact how effective the bog is? My original bog was very slow, but I'd want a faster flow on a waterfall.

 

[koshki]

Same here - the bog on my pond feeds my waterfall.

Here's a recent photo. Everyone please enjoy the MASSIVE amounts of string algae that made this look more like a carpeted staircase than a waterfall... and know that now, three weeks later, that string algae is all gone. Also - those dead herons were victims of high winds. They've recovered now!

Anyway - for the purposes of THIS discussion - bog is top left and flows into the waterfall from two outlets:

View attachment 151011

Haha, we've all had that magic carpet ride!

Combining the two features will certainly save me some space. Thanks for the picture!

 

[addy1]

Does the rate of flow impact how effective the bog is? My original bog was very slow, but I'd want a faster flow on a waterfall.

My bog is big, I pump in around 6500 gph into it. Get a good waterfall flow.

 

[combatwombat]

Does the rate of flow impact how effective the bog is? My original bog was very slow, but I'd want a faster flow on a waterfall.

You can split the flow and send whatever seems right to the bottom of the bog and dump the rest out on top. Both will combine on the top of the bog to create the waterfall.

 

[poconojoe]

You can split the flow and send whatever seems right to the bottom of the bog and dump the rest out on top. Both will combine on the top of the bog to create the waterfall.

This is what I was thinking.
You can have a valve on each branch so you can fine tune how much goes where.

 

[koshki]

You can split the flow and send whatever seems right to the bottom of the bog and dump the rest out on top. Both will combine on the top of the bog to create the

This is similar to my previous set up...although one side of the split went into a separate waterfall, and the other into the bog, which had a small inconspicuous point of return to the pond. The volume of flow through the bog was lower than through the waterfall. It worked but was frequently a source of frustration for my hubby to get the balance right.

I liked the original idea of 100% of the water going through the bog because it could (potentially) mean one hose, no valves between the pump and the bog. It would also simplify my design as I will be very constrained for space...no need for a separate waterfall setup.

My question is this: is a bog more effective if the flow-through rate is slower, or does speed not matter? Does the bog have enough time to work its magic on the water if it's going through at whatever the pump's GPH is?

 

[combatwombat]

It worked but was frequently a source of frustration for my hubby to get the balance right.

What made it difficult? Maybe we can help you with a better design this time.

no need for a separate waterfall setup.

You don’t need a separate waterfall set up if you don’t want it. The bog can return to the pond via waterfall.

is a bog more effective if the flow-through rate is slower,

It is for sure. Getting the right flow through it is a balancing act between size of bog, size of pond, and size of pump(s).

 

[poconojoe]

My question is this: is a bog more effective if the flow-through rate is slower, or does speed not matter? Does the bog have enough time to work its magic on the water if it's going through at whatever the pump's GPH is?

There has been some discussion about this and the general consensus is that slower flow is better than faster. It gives the bog a chance to "work it's magic " as you said.
But no one, that I know of, has determined how slow.
Can we say the slower the better? Maybe.

 

[koshki]

But no one, that I know of, has determined how slow.
Can we say the slower the better? Maybe.

Haha, reminds me of my grandmother's recipes. No measurements, just "until it looks right"!!

 

[koshki]

What made it difficult? Maybe we can help you with a better design this time.


You don’t need a separate waterfall set up if you don’t want it. The bog can return to the pond via waterfall.


It is for sure. Getting the right flow through it is a balancing act between size of bog, size of pond, and size of pump(s).

I think he had to adjust it each year to get the flows balanced because it was diverted after the pump to the bog and the waterfall thingy separately. I think if it fed into the same falls, it would be less difficult to get the visual water flow right since it would all be going over in the same barrel.

 

[koshki]

Oh, I just remembered part of the problem...sometimes the bog would back up and overflow the perimeter and escape out of the system if the flow was too much. We didn't create a high enough berm around the bog to stop that. Sending it all down the falls should probably avoid that issue altogether.