Converting an in-ground pool to a garden pond

[addy1]

I wouldn't be surprised if the visibility was the whole length of the pond. Amazing.

wooo hooo! good to hear!

 

[Timothy]

I too did not find the story too long. I enjoyed it. Would love to know how the bog is working for you. If it helps your water clarity. Great place to grow plants.
A bog is on my to do list as well.

Sorry Haver, I posted to Addy's response before I saw your post. Thank you. The bog is more than worth the effort as far as I'm concerned. All natural, and as you mentioned a great place for additional plants with the added feature of a little diversity.

 

[Timothy]

Happy June 1st to everyone!
We dug everything out of storage and placed it around the pond. Did some new planting, and are about to settle in and see how everything goes. Our area had the warmest, driest month of May on record, and most of the plants had a rough start. We were several inches of rain behind where we should be for this time of year, but the last few days have brought some very much needed rain to the area, and with the water catchment system from the roof the pond is topped up and things are beginning to blossom.
I've attached a few photos from earlier today. If the bog images are compared to previous ones in this thread, it's amazing how well the plants are doing. The underlying reason being of course the bog isn't rain dependent. The only thing that clouded the water for a couple of days was pollen. The wind was blowing and every once in a while a gust would come through and the pines looked like there were wisps of smoke coming off of them the pollen was so thick. Hopefully, the wind and recent (current) rains will have expended the pollen and things will settle down a little.
In the last image the box on the end of the bog is what I was alluding to in post #24. The hinged lid allows me to check the flow of the bog return into the return sluice.

 

[ZmanArt007]

This is awesome I want your pond. It's so big. What do you have for fish?

 

[addy1]

your bog is growing in great! The first green plant looks a lot like sweet flag.

 

[Timothy]

.................. What do you have for fish?

Thank you Zman.
As for the fish, nothing really special. Comets, Veil tail, and Shubunkins, but they're all growing to fit their environment and a few are quite large. For reference, that model tug is 26" long.

 

[Nepen]

I love your story, you are good at telling story Love the pond and it's beautiful. I have a bog too but still need to fill more than half of it. We bought the pea gravel in a big 1000 lbs bag and used the dingo to lift it over the bog and cut the bottom of the bag, a lot easier than getting the load and having to shovel it in the bucket and transfer it to bog! but we couldnt' clean the pea gravel, that's the only problem

 

[Timothy]

Thank you Nepen. The image in your avatar resembles a map of a place I've been.
I don't know your water situation, but before you totally fill your bog with pea gravel, can you block off the return, semi-fill your bog while stirring up the gravel, and syphoning off or pumping off the muddy water?
After I "washed" my pea gravel a couple of times, the amount of silt didn't seem to diminish a lot, and I couldn't afford to pump too much water through mine because of being on a well. ( One inch of water on my bog's surface equals 44 gallons.) I eventually just let the pond pump push pond water through the gravel, and although there was an initial "cloud" it cleared up pretty quickly (24 hours +/-) and the bog began to trap it's own sediment providing clear water through the return. When the bog has been "seasoned" for a while the water on the surface will be clear as can be. If you disturb the surface of the gravel you'll get some fine particulate in suspension, but it'll settle right back out very quickly.
I am very pleased with my bog's effectiveness. I have a Fishmate filter running at the same time, and last year I had to backwash the filter every three or four days and the effluent would be nearly black for several moments. (This is excellent for watering plants!) With the bog running I have backwashed the Fishmate twice and the color of the water both times has been tea color and not worth the backwash. I keep it running because it's in the loop for the water fall which is part of my aeration system.

 

[rodsboys]

This is such an awesome idea. I could never do this if I moved to a house with a pool. My wife is so selfish she would think pools are for people.......lol

 

[Timothy]

This is such an awesome idea. I could never do this if I moved to a house with a pool. My wife is so selfish she would think pools are for people.......lol

Thank you!
Pools are good if you've got kids around and a climate that is more pool-friendly. I'm just basically lazy (read "old") and got tired of maintaining a crystal clear pool with the associated costs, chemicals, and hours of maintenance to use three or four days a year. The pond certainly isn't maintenance free, but the returns are far more gratifying. When you maintain a swimming pool, it's to an end reward. For me, maintaining the pond is it's own reward, then I get to watch the results too. Not to mention it's a great place to hang out in the evening with a little "sedative" on crushed ice! Win, win, win.

 

[Timothy]

I've discovered another advantage of having an above grade bog. When we are transplanting, or putting plants "on hold" until we are ready to place them, the bog comes in very handy as a nursery. I built up an area with pea gravel that is just barely below the surface of the water. It's easy to just set a plant there for a day or two until they are needed and the "wet feet" keep them from drying out.


I am also experimenting with some ground cover that was growing in one corner of the garden. I don't know what it is, but it's thriving in the bog and is an excellent asset to trap surface debris the falls into the bog from the surrounding trees. It traps the floating stuff in the leaves, but allows the water to return back to the pond without restriction. If any one recognizes this, I'd like to know what it's called. Thank you.


And one more.........maybe two. And yes, in the last photo that is a kitchen type thermometer, yes, she did notice it was missing, I was deemed untrustworthy, but have re-covered my lost points by replacing it with a brand new one.

 

[michey1st]

That ground cover looks to me like Creeping Jenny. I use it around my pond edge (I try to keep it in the water, but it likes to hop over to the soilier side of things). I do try and keep it out of the bog because it totally takes over and gets its roots in everything -- i'm worried it will smother things if left to its own devices in gravel. It does very well for me growing in between rocks in water, partially submerged, etc.

 

[Timothy]

Thank you! I know it spreads rapidly on the ground, maybe it's not such a good idea in the bog. Guess I better rethink my "surface strainer"
Thank you!

 

[addy1]

Thank you! I know it spreads rapidly on the ground, maybe it's not such a good idea in the bog. Guess I better rethink my "surface strainer"
Thank you!

I have it in my bog, in my stream, in the ground. It actually has not taken over the bog, everything else grows right through it. so no smothering going on. The plants seem to share the space. I do have to pull it from the stream now and then, as it does grow too darn well.

Mine is covered with yellow flowers right now, so pretty.

 

[Timothy]

I have it in my bog, in my stream, in the ground. It actually has not taken over the bog, everything else grows right through it. so no smothering going on. The plants seem to share the space. I do have to pull it from the stream now and then, as it does grow too darn well.

Mine is covered with yellow flowers right now, so pretty.

Our's hasn't flowered yet, but everything seems to be a week or so behind schedule this year.
Maybe I'll just keep an eye on it and see what happens. Michey1st did give me a couple of ideas as to where some could be very beneficial.
Thank you!