My goldfish pond

[Tula]

Keith, I refer to my bog as a "baby bog ".....you could have a " bump out " bog down by your sedges

 

[CometKeith]

Keith, I refer to my bog as a "baby bog ".....you could have a " bump out " bog down by your sedges

Thank you for the suggestion. It would have to be in the pond as my wife wants to maintain the area around it for plantings. Today I added some dirt on one side to prep it for what we will be planting there. I did add some ground cover between the flagstone and put some inpatients between some rocks in the water. The sedges are set on shelves so that works out pretty well. I had just put a Lilly in the area between the two sedges but I could move it pretty easily. It is in a basket that is strapped to the top of a plastic milk crate. The area between the two sedges is about 40 inches deep on average. The only thing I can think of would be to set a preform on some sort of base to raise it up. Does that make any sense? Hmmm.... I wish you could buy a pre-made bog with all the tubing already done. I don’t mind trying to build one but this way I know it would work perfectly from the beginning!

 

[Lisak1]

I wish you could buy a pre-made bog with all the tubing already done.

Sounds like a great business idea for someone! Although pre-packaging a bog might be tough as every pond is so different.

Thinking outside the box... or, well the pond I guess... how would your wife feel about adding a bog to the area around the pond if she saw how they really are just another place to grow pretty things?

 

[Tula]

Build an Active Gravel Bog Filter | Nelson Water Gardens and Nursery

nelsonwatergardens.com

We used this site for information when building our bog. Not sure how deep your pond is by the sedges, but the portion of this article on "partition bogs" may be of interest.

@Lisak1 , you make a good point and depending on what Mrs. CK wants, might just work

Another idea is to just create more shelf space ( using milk crates - or another member made selves from PVC ) and rest more potted plants within the pond.

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks Tula. I actually read a very long article she wrote last night. She is an excellent source of information but of course our very own Addy is the best! She mentioned her bog was in her pond and it worked out nicely. I’m thinking of making mine in the pond also but my biggest issue is it probably wouldn’t be large enough. I’ll need to measure but I’m guessing 3x4 may fit in the area I have in mind which will probably be only 10% of the surface area. I’ll need to look for something in plastic that would support the bog. I want it not to be solid so small fish can swim through it. I took this picture tonight. I planted some ground cover and impatients yesterday. We might have a landscaper look at our yard to make suggestions. We need to finish the right side of the pond. My wife wants to do the same thing as the back but I would like something different.. maybe a climbing hydrengea and some other things. Also we are thinking of getting a tree for the grassy area left of the pond. At one time I wanted to build a waterfall but that idea got shot down!

 

[CometKeith]

Build an Active Gravel Bog Filter | Nelson Water Gardens and Nursery

nelsonwatergardens.com

We used this site for information when building our bog. Not sure how deep your pond is by the sedges, but the portion of this article on "partition bogs" may be of interest.

@Lisak1 , you make a good point and depending on what Mrs. CK wants, might just work

Another idea is to just create more shelf space ( using milk crates - or another member made selves from PVC ) and rest more potted plants within the pond.

Hmm.. just found “Easy Pro” Res-cubes on line. They are basically fancy milk crates but are built specifically for ponds and for high weight loads like rocks in waterfalls. They come in different sizes and you can also stack them to go higher. This would be perfect to set my bog on. Now I just need to find a 12 inch high container!

 

[addy1]

Happy wife, happy life! Well same with happy hubby.............. Your pond does look great and very nicely groomed............not like mine lol.

I am so non fussy about the "look" good thing ow our our yard would drive me crazy. What grows gets to grow except darn poison ivy, the tons of vines that can take over. Those I fight aggressively. My hands control what I can do now. They hate pulling weeds, the grab and pull kills them.

Sure hope you can figure out a way to add a bog I think it would really help your pond. The partition bog works I had one at one time years ago in AZ a small pond.

I was lucky to be able to build ours as big as I did. It did take some dirt berm wall building due to our sloping yard. It sure works just love the thing. We do have quite a bit more land than you do Keith!

 

[sissy]

I don't now much about filters but found that the more air and circulation i added to my pond the less problems I had with water quality .I have 1 pump that I put pvc on besides going to the filter and the pvc pipe sits on the bottom and has holes drilled in it .I keeps junk off the bottom of the pond and aerates the water .

 

[Tula]

I don't now much about filters but found that the more air and circulation i added to my pond the less problems I had with water quality .I have 1 pump that I put pvc on besides going to the filter and the pvc pipe sits on the bottom and has holes drilled in it .I keeps junk off the bottom of the pond and aerates the water .View attachment 128783View attachment 128784

Good idea @sissy to put a pipe with a hole in it to keep debris off the bottom of the pond. I use a long handled pool net on occasion, but wonder how I'll continue to do that once I hang the new net?

 

[sissy]

It has several holes in it and you have to decide on size of holes to still allow water to go to your filter .I aloowed enough water for filter ,spitter and the under water set up I just used clamps on the sump pump hose that goes over the thin wall pvc .1 sump pump hose goes to the the pump and other goes to the filter and then I used a screw in pvc pipe for a small hose that goes to the spitter

 

[callingcolleen1]

You are absolutely right @sissy about circulating the pond, the more circulation the better water quality. That's what I always say..

 

[Dbarr1575]

Interesting conversation here. Keith, I don't know if you saw it posted somewhere but I'm from the Chicago area (loosely defined), Ottawa, Illinois, but I visit Chicago regularly, have several friends up there. Last time I visited I went to a Sox game, go SOX!

Your pond is really nice! Beautiful fish. How many gallons is that? It looks huge compared to my little mud puddle. Some day I'll have one of those.

 

[CometKeith]

Happy wife, happy life! Well same with happy hubby.............. Your pond does look great and very nicely groomed............not like mine lol.

I am so non fussy about the "look" good thing ow our our yard would drive me crazy. What grows gets to grow except darn poison ivy, the tons of vines that can take over. Those I fight aggressively. My hands control what I can do now. They hate pulling weeds, the grab and pull kills them.

Sure hope you can figure out a way to add a bog I think it would really help your pond. The partition bog works I had one at one time years ago in AZ a small pond.

I was lucky to be able to build ours as big as I did. It did take some dirt berm wall building due to our sloping yard. It sure works just love the thing. We do have quite a bit more land than you do Keith!

Addy. We have a “huge” Chicago lot that is oversized compared to the average lot. When I tell other people the size they are usually astounded! It measures 35’x137.5’! The normal lot is 25x125 ft so we are 50% larger. It may seem small to you but where we live land is at a premium and the extra 12.5 ft long and 10’ wider allowed me to have room for the pond. When we bought the property we were happy to have the extra yard space. We actually live on the border of a historical area of Chicago that is over 100 years old. There are some really beautiful homes that are really interesting. It was a nice change from the “suburbs”. Some day when covId is over we will be able to enjoy the neighborhood again! I’m pretty sure I will go ahead with the bog. I don’t see how my wife could complain if it is inside the pond itself. I have also thought about an island bog but I think it would be too hard to maintain.

 

[CometKeith]

It has several holes in it and you have to decide on size of holes to still allow water to go to your filter .I aloowed enough water for filter ,spitter and the under water set up I just used clamps on the sump pump hose that goes over the thin wall pvc .1 sump pump hose goes to the the pump and other goes to the filter and then I used a screw in pvc pipe for a small hose that goes to the spitter

Sissy. That’s really a great idea. I have two water pumps going besides the outflow from my biological filter with it’s pump plus I have a koi air mini air pump. It seems like experienced ponders know you never have enough water flow. I was looking at mine today wondering if I need to increase it.

 

[CometKeith]

Interesting conversation here. Keith, I don't know if you saw it posted somewhere but I'm from the Chicago area (loosely defined), Ottawa, Illinois, but I visit Chicago regularly, have several friends up there. Last time I visited I went to a Sox game, go SOX!

Your pond is really nice! Beautiful fish. How many gallons is that? It looks huge compared to my little mud puddle. Some day I'll have one of those.

Thank you. It’s about 3000 gallons. I always like showing off my pond so feel free to contact me if you come to Chicago. So I started in 2008 with a small150 gallon all in one kit from Menards. It was another “crisis” at the time because I was a builder and the market tanked and hit us pretty hard. My pond was definitely my release. So my original goldfish that has been with me over 10 years is in the middle of this pic. It’s mostly red and has a little white close to the tail and then one more red spot. It’s just above the black and white spotted Koi. I still remember thinking how lonely it looked when it was the only one left in my old pond.... not any more!