Potted and bogged

[addy1]

Clean=no smelly debris , no accumulated muck, yes dirt will flow out if you stir it up, but you do not "see" a large accumulation of pea gravel clogging stuff. When I turn it on is the spring, after 4-5 months of being off, the water coming out has no foul smell and it is kept full all winter, usually frozen.
BTW I don't wear diapers........................yet lol

 

[JohnHuff]

Clean=no smelly debris , no accumulated muck, yes dirt will flow out if you stir it up, but you do not "see" a large accumulation of pea gravel clogging stuff. When I turn it on is the spring, after 4-5 months of being off, the water coming out has no foul smell and it is kept full all winter, usually frozen.
BTW I don't wear diapers........................yet lol

Ignorance is bliss! lol!

 

[addy1]

Ignorance is bliss! lol!

Might be John, But your pond and filter works for you, sissy's works for her, colleens works for her, jw's works for her, koiguys works for him , on and on, and I can bet none of them are the same. So who is right? who knows it all, if your pond is healthy, your waters tests well, and it works for you I guess ignorance is bliss.

 

[JohnHuff]

Might be John, But your pond and filter works for you, sissy's works for her, colleens works for her, jw's works for her, koiguys works for him , on and on, and I can bet none of them are the same. So who is right? who knows it all, if your pond is healthy, your waters tests well, and it works for you I guess ignorance is bliss.

There's a thousand reasons why each person's pond works for them and each one can be unique. That is exactly why you shouldn't say that this works for you and it will work for someone else too. Do you understand what I'm saying?

I.e. If someone is trying to explain the fundamentals of why something works, don't give your example and imply that if it works for you, it will work for someone, because that's not necessarily true. You just said it.

I'm also saying that your pond might work for one of a thousand reasons but a bog is still designed as a waste trap.

Also: "So for me it is doing a great job, no dirty diaper here."
The fact that your bog is clean means that it isn't doing its job. Your fish might be happy but the bog isn't the reason.

I'm also trying to belabor the point here because I don't want you to spread misinformation.

 

[Lisak1]

So what you're saying is addy is wrong and you are right and that's the only possible conclusion. Even though you said bogs are nothing more than traps for detritus (which you say is bad) and when she says she has visual proof that her bog is not filled with waste (which should be a good thing) you then say that her bog then isn't working because it SHOULD be filled with rotting horrid poisonous debris (which I guess would be good but also bad?). And also lots of different things CAN work, but a bog isn't one of them, even though she tells you hers does. But you want her to keep that information to herself - why again? Because you say it won't work? Because the hard part if that whole reasoning for me is that my bog works great, too. It is my filter, it's my only filter, so if it's not filtering - then what is? And if someone else wants to try it for themselves to see if it works for their pond, how does that affect you?

 

[Lisaebetten]

I just read about rocks naturally filtering and/or purifying water in a water fall type of arrangement. I understand about the plant roots feeding in the bog but could her bog rocks themselves be a filter?

 

[JohnHuff]

I just read about rocks naturally filtering and/or purifying water in a water fall type of arrangement. I understand about the plant roots feeding in the bog but could her bog rocks themselves be a filter?

Yes, as I have alluded to in my earlier post, the bog rocks act as media on which beneficial bacteria lives. However, the waste products themselves stay as part of the pond environment. Hence my analogy that a bog is like a giant diaper.

 

[addy1]

I just read about rocks naturally filtering and/or purifying water in a water fall type of arrangement. I understand about the plant roots feeding in the bog but could her bog rocks themselves be a filter?

The pea gravel, the plants, the water changes (huge when it rains) all work together in keeping the pond healthy............healthy as far as the water test tells you it is healthy.
Readings always perfect, perfect per what the charts tell you the water should test at.
The pea gravel and plants both filter.

 

[tbendl]

Um...thanks for the help... I think. All information is good information. I appreciate everyone taking the time.

 

[addy1]

Um...thanks for the help... I think. All information is good information. I appreciate everyone taking the time.

The best way to build a pond is to read, ask questions, learn then build what will work for you. And enjoy the build.

 

[tbendl]

Since I don't have a shelf for my potted plants, I have seen that most people use milk crates as a ledge for the plants to sit on. The reason I have seen for not using concrete blocks is it can leach toxins that can kill/harm fish. Since I don't plan on having fish, can I use the blocks or will that harm the fish as well?

 

[j.w]

Never used the concrete blocks but have used the red house bricks and they don't hurt my plants or fish.

 

[tbendl]

That would work as well. I could put the milk crate then bricks to adjust the height and it would keep the crate down. I wasn't crazy about using concrete with it being so abrasive on the pond liner but the bricks would work and give me more flexibility on height. Thanks jw.

 

[Aaron S]

Since a bog is simply a debris trap and nothing more, and you can't clean them out, then how come I don't hear about bogs overflowing and failing because of too much debris buildup? I mean the physics are pretty simple. You refer to a bog as a dirty diaper. Well a diaper can only hold so much. When the diaper says 10-12 pounds and you don't change the baby until there are 15-20 pounds of crap in it then you will have an explosion. So with a bog if you keep pumping organic debris into it year after year, then it will have to go somewhere or everyone's bogs will be exploding.
You also said that the pea gravel in a bog will also act as a filter media to hold beneficial bacteria. Isn't one of the jobs for beneficial bacteria breaking down organic material a.k.a. debris? If that is the case then the debris that gets trapped in a bog gets broken down by the beneficial bacteria. That would explain why bogs usually don't overfill from too much debris getting pumped into it. If that is true, then wouldn't that make a bog a filter? Just sayin'

 

[Lisak1]

Since a bog is simply a debris trap and nothing more, and you can't clean them out, then how come I don't hear about bogs overflowing and failing because of too much debris buildup? I mean the physics are pretty simple. You refer to a bog as a dirty diaper. Well a diaper can only hold so much. When the diaper says 10-12 pounds and you don't change the baby until there are 15-20 pounds of crap in it then you will have an explosion. So with a bog if you keep pumping organic debris into it year after year, then it will have to go somewhere or everyone's bogs will be exploding.
You also said that the pea gravel in a bog will also act as a filter media to hold beneficial bacteria. Isn't one of the jobs for beneficial bacteria breaking down organic material a.k.a. debris? If that is the case then the debris that gets trapped in a bog gets broken down by the beneficial bacteria. That would explain why bogs usually don't overfill from too much debris getting pumped into it. If that is true, then wouldn't that make a bog a filter? Just sayin'

The way our pond is built debris never gets into our bog. The water from the pond flows over a fall into a "reverse bog" (which is actually a rain retention system covered with gravel, which also acts as our skimmer). The pump resides in the retention pit where it is then pumped up through the bog, up through the gravel and plants and then flows over the waterfall back into the pond. The organic matter (leaves and other plant matter, as well as fish waste) is either skimmed off, scooped out, or breaks down in the pond bottom with the aid of very useful bacteria (which live in my - GASP - gravel bottom!). The bog handles the by-product of that breakdown. So the idea of our bog filling up like a dirty diaper is impossible

I know other people who have pumps that may move debris into the bog use pre-filters to prevent that from happening. The small debris that does enter the bog will be broken down by bacteria.

Like almost anything in life, there will be varying opinions on what works and what doesn't. And it is possible that what works for one person may not work for another - there are so many variables in pond building. Some you can control, others you can't - like climate and surrounding areas for example. If you have a yard full of mature oak trees dropping leaves in your pond, you will have different challenges that another ponder who has no trees at all. And they will have to deal with the issues that can be caused by the lack of shade. It's such a great learning experience for our family. I feel like we see and experience something new in or around our pond almost everyday. Our bog works for us and I enjoy sharing that information with others who may be considering their pond building options.