h2o clarity, test levels and the bog

[addy1]

I have been reading a bunch of posts, here and a different forum against bogs. I do not really care if anybody wants to use a bog or not. The type of filtration a person uses is based on what they want to use, build or have read is the best.

But in saying that I would like to post a little information on how my pond is currently doing. I have no filtration except the bog.

I do not have koi, but most likely 300 plus gold fish. Ranging from fry size then the majority 3-4 inches to some at 6-8 inches. Tons of tad poles, just found three more egg masses, they are everywhere lol.

Very few water changes done, minimal water mainly just adding for evaporation, I try not to because our well is so acidic.

I have not had to clean the bog by draining power washing etc. It is still working great.

I have had no issue with green water, string algae, murky water even when the bog was just getting running after being off all winter.

The test levels have never been anything but zero, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. Except for one short period of time when my ph went to 10 the ph has been sitting at 7.6 or so.

I read on a thread that within 6 months the pea gravel would stink to high heaven. I turned off the bog, dug down in one section to a depth of approximately 18 inches no smell except normal pond water smell. I turned the bog back on took a stick and stirred the pea gravel in one area to see if a stink would come out, nothing but pond water smell.

My bog has been up and running for over a year, the first summer we had just 120 gallons per hour going through the pea gravel just to keep it wet, for the sake of the few plants we had in it. This year a 4200 gph flow.

This is a glass measuring cup with water dipped right out of the pond, I pulled it to test the water. Was just curious as it has been quite a while since I have checked anything but ph.

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A view through the side of the measuring cup

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The water in a white large pitcher.

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The bog as it is today

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[ComputerGuy]

Water looks great, fish look great, plants look great, numbers look great, I'd say no matter what other people say, you're doing great.

 

[koidaddy]

Thats Crystal Head clear. Looks great addy. :bouncycig:










My favorite top shelf.

 

[addy1]

lol very nice top shelf! and crystal clear!

 

[stroppy]

pond and bog is looking really good addy .. i think that huge bog you have helps, maybe a smaller one wouldn't do so well, if i had room i would try a pond with a bog :bouncycig:

 

[j.w]

I'd love to have your bog addy and it looks as tho it is working great and the water is so clear you could drink it...........hey maybe you should market it

 

[addy1]

Laughing jw...............natural bottled pond water. The ppm is less than what our well gives us!

 

[KennethO]

Looks great as always. I think it comes down to what you stock personally. If you had 300 koi instead of goldies then the waste would be way higher. You'd have to have one hell of a bog with a load like that. I think that is also when it starts to smell. When the waste output is higher than what the plants can use and it builds up and smells.

A WELL DESIGNED bog is always worth adding. Addy runs a skimmer and I think that is a reason her's hasn't clogged. Once you start dumping in a good amount of larger debris is when it starts to clog.

 

[addy1]

Lol kenneth, the skimmer is still not plumbed in..........it will be before the leaves begin to drop, my honey wants to do it for me. We need to drop the pond level, cut in the weir and then attach the plumbing at the pump. We have the lines run, he eventually will do it.

Yep the waste would be higher with koi, when I was reading up before building this bog, the monster fish keepers used bogs,some of the koi forums. Even though I have made them before, I researched to make sure there were not any neat new ideas out there.

 

[KennethO]

Ah. Knew it was plumbed but swore it was hooked up. My bad lol.

 

[addy1]

Ah. Knew it was plumbed but swore it was hooked up. My bad lol.

no biggy, I can hardly keep my life straight let alone all the ponds on the forum! I would have it done by now, but honey really wants to do it for me, so patiently i wait and wait and wait lmao.

 

[KennethO]

When he starts. Don't rush him. That's how mistakes happen!

 

[addy1]

When he starts. Don't rush him. That's how mistakes happen!

Never couldn't rush the man even if I wanted to. He does good work, just at a different pace then I do things.............. We will need to clean the liner well before we cut to put in the weir.

 

[CountryEscape]

Thanks again, Addy, for great pics and more proof of the bog use. Mine is VERY small in comparison to yours, so maybe that's why my pond remains green. I'm being patient, though. Fish seem very happy, and that's what really matters. The plants in the bog are doing super, and the ones floating on the pond (hyacinths) and lillies and lizards tail on the shelf of the pond are doing much better. I'm hoping things are starting to get settled with the bacteria. Time will tell.

 

[addy1]

It takes patience and time. We did have our pond full for over 2 months before we even tried fish, but due to our ph .........very low.........I wiped out those poor feeders last year.

Well when my honey bought me the tractor and said build whatever size of pond you want, I researched what size of bog you would need for a pond for koi or goldies. I made mine bigger than you would need for goldfish.

I did follow those guide lines, sort of, I wanted the area for plants, the bog ended up that size due to the fact the lower edge of the pond was at ground level, did not want the pond wall to be supported by a 6 foot high dirt berm, instead the bog wall is supported by a 4 foot dirt berm. I still had room to drive the tractor between the bog to be and the fence.

So just mainly due to the shape of our slope we ended up with a bog that works great for our pond and fish.