Planning a bog filter / water garden

[IPA]

The bog works in that same way as your foam filters in the sense you are forcing your pond water volume through it at approx 1 1/2 times every hour.The plant roots in fact are the primary filter media. Just like the foam, if simply placed in the pond it will remove some waste, but by forcing the pond volume through it makes it efficient at removing waste. The pea gravel is really secondary, yes bacteria grows on it but it is also growing on the roots which is up taking fish waste as nutrients. We use pea gravel for substrate because anything finer and the bog gets clogged up, allowing channels to form where anaerobic bacteria may grow outside of those channels. Anything coarser and the plants and importantly, the roots, are going to have a difficult time. If it gets cold enough that youR plants go dormant then so will your fish and the bio load will not exceed the system capacity. I live in 8a and run my system all year long. Some plants “die” back (roots still alive) and some stay green all year. It does get cold enough to freeze over the pond but never the bog so far. My fish do go into topor and my pond dealer has told me to stop feeding from Thanksgiving until Easter in our area. I have goldfish and there is enough nutrients in the pond for them to survive without ever being feed. I hope that that some of this has been helpful, after learning about bogs and building one I can’t imagine all the hassle I used to go through without it.

 

[mrsclem]

Agree with IPA. I do not run my bog at the 1 1/2 pond volume rate. I'm running 1600gph thru my bogs, one is 2x11 and other is 150 gallon stock tank. They do get shut down when it freezes so they die back hard but the plants start growing again in spring. Before they are growing, I do get some green water and string algae. I have lilies only in one pond and no plants in other- 5 1/2' deep!

 

[addy1]

I run my bog at around a every 2 hour pond volume rate. Mine is turned off when we get cold which is usually around Early Nov. (external pump) and back on if March is real cold, April, if it is a warmish winter, March.

Never have a string algae or green water issue. The water is a bit murky before turn on , crystal clear within a few days. The bog plants usually start greening up in March.

And I have a ton of lilies and other plants in the pond.

 

[poconojoe]

All great points.
Also, it's best not to grow any of you plants in pots... anywhere, whether in the bog or the pond. In the pond, plant them right in-between rocks or gravel or in mesh plant bags. Using pots restricts their roots. The roots need full exposure to the nutrients in the water.

 

[poconojoe]

The cost of building a bog is no more than buying a commercial filter, plumbing, UV lights, etc. And a bog filters the water way more efficiently than most filters.

Yes, initially you have to put in a couple of weekends to build the bog, but bogs require almost no maintenance. You won't be constantly rinsing filter pads. With a bog you might have to thin out some unruly plants once in a while, but that's usually it.

This whole bog thing is up to you. But from experience, I wish I knew about bog filtration years ago. I wouldn't have wasted so much money, effort and time. I wouldn't have been frustrated with green water. My water was green like pea soup all last summer. And that was with two pressure filters and a UV light.
Now, with the bog, it's literally crystal clear. It's awesome to see the bottom and every fish. Not only can I see my big fish, but I can also see the tiny babies swimming around.
The bog makes for less work so I can sit back and enjoy my pond.

 

[csdude55]

I've read the same list of plants on several sites, but they all seem to be full sun... any suggestions for good bog plants in shade / part shade? I've gone over everything, and the only place I can build this is between my pond and the fence, so it's right under a bunch of trees.

Hostas and fern seem to do well there... I think hostas would be OK in the bog, but I'm planning on relocating the ones I have to the sides of the bog so I don't really want more of them IN the bog, too.

 

[addy1]

We are full full sun, so can't help with shade plants. @JBtheExplorer I think has some shade plants going

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Here's a list of shade tolerant plants:

Are There Any Water Garden Plants Thant Do Well In The Shade?– Pond Megastore

Are there any water garden plants that do well in the shade? Yes, there are many water garden plants that do well in the shade! Here are a few. Marsh Marigold (Caltha Palustris) is a shallow water plant that will give you sunny yellow color in early spring. A perennial plant with mounding...

pondmegastore.com

I'm not sure if you're zone 7 or 8 where you are, so you'll need to check which ones will overwinter for you.
PS - if you want any forget me not, lizard tail or parrot's feather you are more than welcome to take a field trip over here & rip as much as you want out of my pond!

 

[csdude55]

Thanks for the link! We're zone 7A, @BKHpondcritters .

I planted some Forget Me Nots from seed and they're starting to sprout, is that the same as what's in your pond or is there a special "water" breed?

I'm about to be overwhelmed with Lily of the Valley, do you know if it would do good in a bog? Or it might multiply too fast and take over...

I just pulled out about 70lbs of parrots feather and had to toss it, so I'm good on that! LOL It's funny, I bought like 10 plants from the LFS a few years ago, and now it fills up the surface of my pond every year!! That stuff's insane.

I might take you up on the FMNs and lizards tail, though... it'll be September or October before I get done, though.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I'm not sure, but I think there is more than one plant commonly called 'forget me not'. The aquatic version is Myosotis scorpioides, so if you just check the genus/species of your seeds you'll know for certain. As far as lily of the valley, I don't know how much water it likes or will tolerate. I actually tried to grow it here in a few different areas of our woodlands and it all failed! Seriously? The plant that takes over the world, I couldn't get to live. Go figure.

I hear you on the parrots feather battle. I had both kinds & actually ended up eliminating all the 'regular' and only have the red stemmed version now, but I probably have to trim it back every couple of weeks all summer long to keep it in line! Definitely shoot me a message if you want any of the forget-me-not or lizards tail this fall (or next spring, whenever) I also have a couple large bunches of Strawberries & Cream Ribbon Grass that would probably do OK in a shady/semi-shady area. It's a vigorous runner, but a really pretty grass, so I don't mind if it gets a little carried away.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I've read the same list of plants on several sites, but they all seem to be full sun... any suggestions for good bog plants in shade / part shade? I've gone over everything, and the only place I can build this is between my pond and the fence, so it's right under a bunch of trees.

Hostas and fern seem to do well there... I think hostas would be OK in the bog, but I'm planning on relocating the ones I have to the sides of the bog so I don't really want more of them IN the bog, too.

My bog is in full sun, but I grow two species that would probably work well for you, too. Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) can handle full shade. Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) can handle part-shade. Blue Flag Iris (Iris virginica) can also grow in shadier locations but tends not to produce flowers if it's too shady. The first two plants probably won't survive if you plant them below the water level, so make sure if you get them that they're just slightly above water level.

 

[csdude55]

So. I decided to look at prefab shells instead of building my own, mainly because I'm thinking that the pea gravel will mean I'd spend more money building a sturdy container than to just buy one.

Attached is what I think will work... it's 50G, but I couldn't get the measurements. If not then I also found this one:

Amazon.com : Maccourt LP7824 Grand CAYMAN-165 gallons Black Pond Liner : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : Maccourt LP7824 Grand CAYMAN-165 gallons Black Pond Liner : Patio, Lawn & Garden

www.amazon.com

I don't know how well you can tell from the pics, but both shells have 2 levels. I'm thinking... drill a 2" hole and insert the water pipes in the bottom part (sealing it up nicely, of course), then bury that bottom part so that it still sticks up about 1'. I can have the bow overhang my pond, then fill it up with pea gravel.

The question, though... how do I make it spill over nicely? If I angle it then the liner rim would show in the back. I could cut a slot out of the shell and redneck-engineer a flat stone or something, but with it overhanging the pond there wouldn't be anything underneath to support it.

I don't want it to flow in softly, I want to keep my nice splashing sound that I'm getting now

 

[addy1]

You could put a small piece of liner under the container, which would keep any leaks going back into the pond.

You would not need a large overhang to

redneck-engineer a flat stone

to have spill way into the pond.

 

[GBBUDD]

my bog probably gets 4 hours sun low early morning . obedient flower, garlic, blue sage, forget me nots MOSS,MOSS AND OH YEAH MOSS SPAGNUM MOSS and others can do very well but take time to get established and do not like to be disturbed and messed with. purple lustrife. and most taros can grow in the shade i believe there Maine staple is water. ph and impatience will thrive and get bigger then you could ever imagine

 

[addy1]

Mine gets full sun and all those plants grow for me, except a lot of moss.