My goldfish pond

[Tula]

Keith, this sounds basically like a big sand & gravel filter.....sand being a misnomer as it actually uses granite grit. The S & G filter has 4 different sizes of stone with the bigger ones at the bottom...and finishing with the granite grit at the top. It does a great job polishing the water.

I worry about rotting stuff in the bog. We used the clean out lines in the bog the other day and a lot of gunk came out. I think I'll clean those pipes regularly. Next Spring I plan to divert the stagnant bog water from the pond when we first start it up.

I think it sounds like you got some great advice !! Looking forward to following your Fourth of July Bog Build

 

[addy1]

I worry about rotting stuff in the bog. We used the clean out lines in the bog the other day and a lot of gunk came out. I think I'll clean those pipes regularly. Next Spring I plan to divert the stagnant bog water from the pond when we first start it up.

I don't, but I also don't draw debris into the bog. The spring start up there is no stink, no rot, not even really dirty water flowing from the bog. In a few days the pond is back to crystal clear and I basically can ignore it all summer, except yanking plants that are growing too well.

 

[Tula]

I don't, but I also don't draw debris into the bog. The spring start up there is no stink, no rot, not even really dirty water flowing from the bog. In a few days the pond is back to crystal clear and I basically can ignore it all summer, except yanking plants that are growing too well.

Our pump pulls pond water from about a foot down into the pond, so not pumping solids from the ponds bottom. Our slits are facing UP, which might be a factor...not sure. Plants are really taking off and the pond looks great. I still pull out algae daily from the bog, but the water flows clear in it. If I disturb the gravel, it's dirty....but settles soon.

I noticed today that this same spot is " spurting" water in the bog. I want to test a theory I have that it does this when it's a bit clogged, so I'll open the clean out pipes tomorrow and check it out.

Overall we're happy with the bog, it's very pretty and the pond looks great !

 

[addy1]

Might be, my slits are down, I was worried about the tiny bits of pea gravel getting stuck.

If I get ambitious I will open our bog pipe drain, see what comes out, but don't count on it! Hitting the 90's again!

 

[Tula]

Might be, my slits are down, I was worried about the tiny bits of pea gravel getting stuck.

If I get ambitious I will open our bog pipe drain, see what comes out, but don't count on it! Hitting the 90's again!

Hubby opened the bog pipe without me this morning ! Darn ! Anyway, he said a medium sized clot came out....not a huge one like last time.

I see what you'll mean about Pennywort ! It is very pretty , but literally taking over the bog! I'm going to trim some back when I plant my Forget me Nots, which arrived in today's mail.

 

[rubyduby]

Hubby opened the bog pipe without me this morning ! Darn ! Anyway, he said a medium sized clot came out....not a huge one like last time.

I see what you'll mean about Pennywort ! It is very pretty , but literally taking over the bog! I'm going to trim some back when I plant my Forget me Nots, which arrived in today's mail.

Tula, may I ask who you are purchasing the forget me nots from? I was disappointed with my last order.

 

[Tula]

Tula, may I ask who you are purchasing the forget me nots from? I was disappointed with my last order.

I ordered from William Tricker. This is my second order from them this season and I've been very pleased.

Tricker's® Aquatic Plants & Outdoor Decor - Water Gardening & Outdoor Decor

www.tricker.com

 

[BKHpondcritters]

My forget-me-nots did very well in the fast moving water of my main waterfall. They died a quick & miserable death in the slower (MUCH slower) moving waters of our upper pool area. The ones that survived have reseeded themselves pretty much everywhere, and bits of plant which have been weeded out & tossed aside have continued to grow & flourish in the ground anywhere they have landed.

I guess my advice is... get them happy & they'll take over your pond/yard/home/neighborhood/county...... (only slightly exaggerating, here)

 

[CometKeith]

So many great posts about bogs! Thank you! So my wife spent over an hour trying to talk me out of it this morning... her thoughts were too much work for one person. Originally I was going to have a laborer with our construction crew help me and also have him pick up some gravel from the yard I buy materials from but he is off for the long holiday. Another thought everything needs to be perfectly planned out and materials all on hand before I start, another thought because of the holiday what if we invite friends to social distance in our yard and it’s a mess... another thought next week would be better.. the List goes on and on.. she was also worried about my fish if I take half the water out to do the work. I tried to explain that this is a fun project that I would enjoy and I don’t mind the extra work it might take if something doesn’t go perfectly. Also that I have three days off with little to do. Anyway she called me an hour later and gave me the green light. Our oldest daughter is having a baby in a few weeks and we will be babysitting a 2 year old for a week to help her out. If I put off the project there is no guarantee that I could do it the following week or ever! I got a few more free cement blocks today. They are solid so they are really heavy. I’m guessing around 50-60 lbs. Im going to use these for the bottom of my bog wall. So this is my plan. First Im going to drain the pond so the water is only 2 ft deep. The fish should be okay if I do that. Then I plan to place the heaviest blocks at the outline of my new bog wall. I think it may be a little tricky because I don’t know how flat the bottom is and if the sides of the pond are straight. It’s going to take some adjusting them to get everything as straight as possible. Everything will go over the existing liner as I’m not planning to do any digging. Once I have the base blocks down I plan to use the remaining blocks to build up the walls a little. I have both white and dark gray ones. I’m planning to use the gray ones closer to the top So they don’t stick out as much. I plan to top them off at some point with limestone I have. Once Im happy with the outline Im going to measure what I need for pvc and how much stone I’ll need. I’m hoping to buy everything I need tomorrow. Next I plan to make the pvc fittings. This will probably be on day two. When I’m happy with what I made I’ll put the new liner in my bog. I have New liner from another pond build so I will use that. When I figure out how to put the new liner down over the old one and Ill probably need to weight it down with stone to keep it down. Next I plan to put down the pvc and test it out. I have some old pumps so I think I can reuse one of the ones I have. Once it seems to be okay Im going to fill it up with gravel and stone. The largest stone first. At some point Ill need to pump out some water out of the bog but I want plenty of stone inside to keep the water in the pond from pushing the wall between the bog and pond over. Im going to add the stone slowly so I don’t disturb the wall. Im not changing the outside bog walls because that will be the existing pond walls. Basically I’m going to carve out 25-30 % of the existing pond and make that my bog so I only need this one solid wall. I’m guessing Ill go shopping with my wife Sunday to get some bog plants and I’ll order some too. I’m not sure if I will let the water mix on top as my pond expert suggested or if I will try to build a little waterfall with my limestone. This is something I can play around with. Any suggestions are welcome.. my wife’s comments are making me think I am bitting off more than I can chew but it seems like a simple plan so maybe I am crazy? Probably the hardest part for me will be working with the pvc. I don’t even know the best way to cut it.. hacksaw or grinder? Thanks

 

[CometKeith]

Lisa, what do you mean by you keep yours running all winter? your pump and waterfall? We have a skimmer box and a biofilter falls and we were told that the pump needs to be shut off and removed and placed in garage until spring. Also, we were told to keep the aerator going all winter but to place it on an intermediate level (18 inch deep) as opposed to now where it is on the deepest level (36-40 inches deep) and also to put a floating pond deicer (not sure which part to place it on at this time) to keep a hole open to let toxic gases escape. Now I am confused and worried about spring and beneficial bacteria and filter cleaning and pond cycling etc.

I keep my pump running all winter too. The water flows under the ice when it freezes and the pump works fine sitting in the bottom. Also I use a breather and air pump. This setup worked fine down to -26 degrees we had the previous winter.

 

[CometKeith]

Keith, this sounds basically like a big sand & gravel filter.....sand being a misnomer as it actually uses granite grit. The S & G filter has 4 different sizes of stone with the bigger ones at the bottom...and finishing with the granite grit at the top. It does a great job polishing the water.

I worry about rotting stuff in the bog. We used the clean out lines in the bog the other day and a lot of gunk came out. I think I'll clean those pipes regularly. Next Spring I plan to divert the stagnant bog water from the pond when we first start it up.

I think it sounds like you got some great advice !! Looking forward to following your Fourth of July Bog Build

Thank Tula. Wish me luck!

 

[CometKeith]

I think the science behind these "constructed wetlands" continues to grow. I have read a lot recently that the real workhorse in the bog is the gravel. The plants function like they would in the pond by taking up nutrients, but the bacteria that colonizes the gravel is the real secret to using these as biological filtration. Flow rates and volume and surface area are all part of the equation, but I think like much of nature it's more forgiving than mathematically precise.

The plan you have in place reminds me of some of the swim ponds with bogs that I've seen built. The bog is actually integrated into the edge of the pond, much like the edge of a pool is all part of the filtration system. It sounds to me like a winning proposal!

Thanks Lisa. The person I talked to is really experienced. I visited a 10000 gallon pond he built and it was fantastic. He explained he does much larger ponds for people and has jobs all over the country so hopefully he gave me good advice. Its always nice to get feedback from everyone from here to make sure it all makes sense.

 

[IPA]

Sounds like a well thought out plan. Are you laying the cinderblocks flat? Hacksaw (any saw) works, draw a line all the way around the pipe with a marker to help you get a straight cut and deburr it with a box cutter. Clean dirt off with a rag. Dry fit them, Use primer on both parts, and I like the blue cement making sure to coat the entire gluing surface of both parts w/o pooling it. 1/4 turn (this creates the weld magic I think) when joining and hold tight together for 30 seconds.
The pond digger has a good video for joining PVC and why he recommends the blue cement.

 

[mrsclem]

I use my chop saw to cut my pvc, fast even cuts!

 

[addy1]

I use my chop saw to cut my pvc, fast even cuts!

So do we just hang onto the pvc well!