Koi pond advice. New to all this.

[Daemonshi]

So, tomorrow I am starting the bog box. The prev homeowner left 3 prefabricated ponds, so I plan on using one of those. Thinking the one on the right is the best one for this. The one on left would fit nicely, but there isn't much room in the bottom part for the pipe, and if the fall was at the dip it seems most filtration would take place in the middle. The right prefab can take a longer pipe and would permeate the bog better. All I'd have to do is build a frame to set it in. Planning on feeding the pipe all the way through, and cap off the other end to use as a cleanout. Can seal the 2 holes with either caulk or silicone, not sure which would be better since it would be inside the garden. Or just seal it on the outside.

 

[addy1]

How big is it? hard to tell with the pics.

You could just have the pipe come up and over the edge so you have no holes in the tub, less chance of a leak. I don't have any clean outs in mine, I can drain it, did it once to see if junk came out. Nope just clean water. So in 9 years have not cleaned it once.

If my pond area, I would dig down a bit like a foot or so, use the dirt to build up the edges, a berm, use a liner. Drop the edge of the liner a bit, put a nice flat rock there for the water fall. Have that edge over the pond edge a bit so any dribbles go right into the pond.

To me the bigger the better for bogs.

 

[Daemonshi]

It is about 4ft x 3ft, 1.5ft deep. I dont have a lot of room to work with next to the pond. It is concrete, and on the other side of where the bog is going is the overflow puddle, also concrete.

 

[GBBUDD]

you want a min of a foot of gravel on top of water pipe and another 4 to 6" on top of the gravel so that when the plants grow and start to clog the bog your water doesn't leak over the sides. pic 3 looks more like the wider bottom giving you the deeper area for the bog

 

[addy1]

Yes make sure you have extra room over the gravel as it settles as the plants grow as it filters well the water over the gravel can get deeper.
Mine, even though big, I had to raise the downslope edge by 4 inches. Over a few years the water over the gravel got deeper.

 

[Daemonshi]

I have this piece. It's not too big; that thing in there the size of a brick. My plan was to cut out the fall part, cut a gash in the prefab and glue the fall piece in there so there would be a proper fall instead of just cut-out. But I would be unable to move it in that case. I could leave more of the fall intact, and just set it on rocks or something so it hangs over the edge of the prefab, then I could raise it as needed later on. Unless there is something better to do, but that's where I'm at so far. Got all my measurements and am about to head to Lowes to spend some money :/

 

[GBBUDD]

I have this piece. It's not too big; that thing in there the size of a brick. My plan was to cut out the fall part, cut a gash in the prefab and glue the fall piece in there so there would be a proper fall instead of just cut-out. But I would be unable to move it in that case. I could leave more of the fall intact, and just set it on rocks or something so it hangs over the edge of the prefab, then I could raise it as needed later on. Unless there is something better to do, but that's where I'm at so far. Got all my measurements and am about to head to Lowes to spend some money :/

talk to your local koi dealer they must have epdm 45 mill build a box with pressure treated and line it make it any size you want the bigger the bog the better your pond will be able to handle what you throw at it . I have never seen anyone disappointed and say they built the bog to big and the water is too clear or not clear enough. but build to the minimum and overstock the pond and you will probably be rebuilding it down the road

 

[poconojoe]

talk to your local koi dealer they must have epdm 45 mill build a box with pressure treated and line it make it any size you want the bigger the bog the better your pond will be able to handle what you throw at it . I have never seen anyone disappointed and say they built the bog to big and the water is too clear or not clear enough. but build to the minimum and overstock the pond and you will probably be rebuilding it down the road

This is a good suggestion. Build it the size you want with PT lumber and cover with a liner.

It's suggested that the size of your bog be about 30% of the surface area of your pond.

 

[Daemonshi]

Maybe I should just build a box. I wasn't planning on using that small piece shown above as the bog, only for the waterfall. I was going to use the prefab below as the bog; it is 5 ft long and a little over 3 1/2 ft wide. I am limited on space because the pond is in the middle of a gazebo, is made from a concrete slab, and on the other side of the bog is the pond runoff puddle which is also concrete. But, if I just build my own box instead of using the prefab, I could probably add another 3 or 4 feet to the length, not so much more to the width though because I will already be covering half that runoff puddle as it is. Pic #2 shows what space I have to work with. End to end that space is 10ft 3in, and I gotta say in my head it looks much better just building a box using the entire space. With the prefab I will have space left on both ends that I won't know what to do with. Also a box that big would take a lot of gravel, idk how much it is yet but cost is another factor. I'm on a budget :/ New house and all, money been flying out the window since we moved in.

Edit: So, new measurements. If I went the full length, it would be 10ft long, anywhere from 2-3ft wide, and up to 3ft high. That would leave almost half of the runoff puddle exposed. I would need some small 2x4's to help support the bottom, since the puddle would prevent the 'floor' of the box from laying on the ground. This seems doable, and would look pretty nice when done. I can always sell one or two of those prefabs...

 

[Daemonshi]

10x2 with 1 foot gravel Pea gravel at $5 per .5 cubic foot will run around $400. Way out of my budget

Back to the drawing board...

 

[addy1]

Are there any stone yards around? I bought mine from a stone yard, 38000 lbs, don't remember the price but not toooo horrible.

You could also start with a small amount of pea gravel and water, make it a bog/plant filter. I have three ponds that are nothing but plants, one has kitty litter in it for the lotus, they help filter the pond. The small ponds have parrots feather, hornwort, lilies etc in them.

Add more pea gravel as you can.

 

[GBBUDD]

I'm guessing your talking about pricing from lowes or the home depot for your stone ... look around and as the saying goes you get what you pay for

 

[GBBUDD]

Heres why we are pushing bogs i did an experiment half way through the season last year and here is the results https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/going-for-it-phase-one-12-000-gallon-pond.22563/page-35
The mass of roots in my test is an easy example why a living spounge filter of roots blows away man made ... i am sold on the bog FOR KEEPING MY WATER CRYSTAL CLEAR.

 

[Phaewryn]

Of those 3 preformed ponds, use the one that has the most deep area. I actually use that kidney one for my actual pond. It's not very big, only 60 gallons, and of the deep part there's only like maybe 2-2.5 square feet of deep area (18" deep, if I recall). If the others are bigger or have more deep area, I'd use whichever is deepest/biggest to make the bog. That connecting pool is 9 gallons, and it's got a flowing weir, not a fall type weir. It could work, but you won't get a lot of aeration since it's not a fall type of fall, but more of a gentle flow-over weir. I cut and heat moulded mine to make it into a fall, it doesn't work as one unless you modify it. Better to just build your own weir I think. That preform #2 pond you have has a long bendy side you can make lower to pour into the main pond, I'd be tempted to just give that a try and see how it works, just bury the whole thing level but drop that one pointy end closest to the camera deeper and over the main pond and let it pour out over the lip. It's super easy to drop those little shallow lippy ends lower than the rest - I know because I accidentally had mine lower and had to go in and add more fill under them after filling the pond and those being the low points. Like so (don't mind my late night photo editing skills, lol):

 

[Phaewryn]

Also, don't limit your search at Home Depot to in stock items. There are lots of cheaper options that you can buy online and have "shipped to the store" for pickup. That's how I got my pea gravel. I bought it a few bags at a time over a period of a few months as I could afford it for $4.48 per bag. I also found a cheaper gravel that's sold in bigger bags in the concrete isle that worked for some of the construction. I would think you could mix in some less than optimal gravel in the middle layer and be OK, topping it off with more pea gravel as you can buy a few bags here and there until it's at the level you want, but pea gravel is the preferred size and shape. The construction gravel is very silty, so rinse it before throwing it in and be very careful on the preformed liner if the rocks are jagged/sharp. That's another reason to use pea gravel that's been tumbled at least on the bottom and sides: it won't poke through your liner like the cheaper construction gravel can.