New pond build/planning and after some advice/help!

[allgood79]

Hi everyone, just getting enough time to be back here and having fun catching up on threads etc! For those who remember me, I had a pond but we moved house into a rented place and I was keen to build another pond when we moved into another home - it looks like that is now happening!!! So instantly I've started planning my pond!

I have watched hundreds of youtube videos about pond builds and have a pretty firm idea in my head of what I'm wanting : 7000 litre (ish), natural looking pond with an intake bay (youtube inspired), which will feed into a bog (Addy inspired) then a small stream (approx. 10ft long) would bring water back into the pond. Obviously early stages and i have a lot more planning etc to do but i have a couple of questions that i was looking for help/advice on.

1) I want to make the pond look as natural as possible and fancy using pond liner with rocks/stone to all sides, floor and shelves, etc. has anyone got any advice on this - I'm thinking in terms of stone size, whether or not you used waterfall foam to hold them in place, maintenance, things to watch out for etc.

2) I have wrapped my head around the bog filter now. The intake bay seems like my preference over a skimmer (more natural looking) and will keep any big lumps out of the bog BUT I can't understand the "backflushing" of the bog pipework! I've seen the snorkel videos and loads of videos which show the stand pipes that are then flushed but can anyone point me in the direction of an "idiots guide" as to how this works? I can't get my head around it!

As always, any help is very much appreciated - I'm looking forward to keeping you all updated with the ponds progress as/when we get the keys to the new place!

 

[poconojoe]

My bog is the simple version inspired by addy. No snorkel or centipede. I have two under gravel manifolds that have a clean out stack at their ends.

To flush, I turn off the pump, open one of the screw on caps, then turn the pump back on. Black water will shoot out for about 5 seconds, then turn clear. I shut off the pump, screw the cap back on and do the other one.

My manifold pipes are 2" PVC. I have a spare piece of 1-1/2" flex PVC that I shove into the open stack to aim the dirty water toward my garden.

I only do this process if the water returning to the pond significantly slows down. Maybe once every two months.

 

[allgood79]

Ahhhhh ok! I think I see now! so you connect a small piece of pipe to the end of the stand pipe and just blow all the dirt out of it! Ok, this makes sense! I'd seen videos where people are doing all sorts of things with the pipes which was confusing the hell out of me! There shouldn't be that much heavy stuff in there if i build in the intake bay (or that was my theory!)

Thanks Joe - very much appreciated!

 

[addy1]

BUT I can't understand the "backflushing" of the bog pipework!

I have no clean out pipes, the bog has never show a need to clean in the 9 years it has been running. I do have a drain pipe at the bottom only opened it once and got clean water. Have not used it since. My bog is big, lots of plants and I draw the water from about a foot off the bottom minimal large debris gets to the bog. I do have a leaf basket before the pump, (external pump) only clean it when I put the pump away for the winter.

Mine is basically two , two inch pvc pipes running the length of the bog with slits cut into them. Then pea gravel and a ton of plants.

 

[poconojoe]

Yep, good point by addy about what height to draw water from.
When I first started up my bog, I had my submersible pump sitting right on the bottom. Then I raised it up about a foot. That way, there's less change in sucking up any of the larger debris that may settle on the bottom. I use a fine pool net to clean the bottom when neccessary.

I dont use a prefilter of any kind. I use a Tetra debris handling pump, which can handle debris up to 1/4". The rest gets screened out by the holes in the filter's housing.

 

[addy1]

My "prefilter" is a lowes blue bucket with a ton of holes drilled in it, which reduces the flow for any one hole. Doing this has kept fish, fry, tads, plants from being sucked into the holes. My first water draw I made neat tiny holes, they filled with fry, felt bad killed a bunch of tiny fish. Now I never see fry in the leaf basket or plants or tads.

 

[Mmathis]

Welcome back! Can’t wait to see your progress! I am also between ponds, and starting my planning, as well!