What is the correct way to build a bog?

[capewind]

I'm probably just adding confusion to the original posters questions:-( This is about all I know... we had an 8' wide area of available space, so wanted a 15' wide liner... wanted it to run a good width of the house, so thought a 15 x 20' liner would be good, and still leave some planting area at the end... went to buy it, they didnt have it, came home with a 15 x 25'... me, not wanting to be wasteful, talked hubby into using the whole liner LOL. His goal is to get more pvc grid in, and fill the whole thing with pea gravel...

In the end, I tried to do some research on bogs to understand what the heck hubby was doing... the important words I understood was it would help with filtration, and give more places to plant LOL

 

[Waterbug]

Now I'm not sure who's who.

 

[capewind]

LOL... just go back to the first post Waterbug...

 

[fisharefishy99]

Thanks for the help everyone! I pretty much got my bog figured out as much as I can without actually starting it. Hopefully I will be able to finish the majority of it by Sunday, as long as work/school doesn't interrupt too much haha.

 

[fisharefishy99]

I am in the middle of digging my pond and putting in retaining walls to keep my hill from collapsing in on itself. While digging I realized my bog may not be as large as I like due to where I have to place the retaining walls that will form the frame for the pond. My question is why is a bog supposed to be 10-30% of the surface area of a pond? My pond has a rather large surface area in my opinion compared to volume, 110 square feet for 2,000 gallons. I'm just curious why there is such a large emphasis based on surface area.

With that being said my bog is going to be about 6 ft by 3 ft all said and done, which is a measly 18 square ft. Will this pose a problem if this will be my only filter? The volume of the filter is going to be about 200 gallons but I'm not even sure if that matters.

 

[Fishylove]

Yours wil be bigger than mine. 4 x 3, 18-20 inches deep for mine. I believe it's an estimate of how much filter space you need as compared to ur pond area, that is assuming your bog is based on 12-18 inches deep. Looks like you'll have around 20% give or take should be ok, with a normal fish load. Of you we're going to have a higher than normal fish load, I believe I would go bigger not deeper.

 

[fisharefishy99]

If I might suggest...keep the bog if you want plants, but add at least one or more Trickle Towers on top of the gravel. Super easy to make, almost never have to be cleaned, can be made to look good, even great with a little creativity. They're also set it and forget it but continue to work as a bio filter 24/7. And a much better chance of macro algae growing on the outside which can clear green water imo.

I really wanted to do a trickle tower with my last setup but I sadly wasn't able to, however now I think it can be implemented pretty easily. What would be the simplest way to implement a trickle tower to my bog filter? I was thinking of splitting the flow and having a pipe 6 inches above the bog pour water on top of a small patch of unsubmerged gravel about 2 inches deep. Would that in essence be a trickle tower?

 

[fisharefishy99]

Yours wil be bigger than mine. 4 x 3, 18-20 inches deep for mine. I believe it's an estimate of how much filter space you need as compared to ur pond area, that is assuming your bog is based on 12-18 inches deep. Looks like you'll have around 20% give or take should be ok, with a normal fish load. Of you we're going to have a higher than normal fish load, I believe I would go bigger not deeper.

If you don't mind me asking, how many gallons is your pond? If it's the same pond as your profile picture the bog filter is doing an excellent job! My fish load sadly is a little higher than normal due to me thinking that 100 feeder goldfish "won't get that big", three years later I turned out to be very wrong haha.

 

[Fishylove]

Lol, yah if you got em from a pet store, they don't know what the heck they're talking about most of the time My bog isn't done yet, that's just filtered with a trickle filter lol. I dug the bog and then had to use it as a temporary home for the herd lol. But they are back in there home again and I'm working on the bog this weekend. While I had the old pond liner out, I dug it a bit deeper at one end to 5' and put a series of shelves and caves, with a shallow portion so small fish can get away lol. All said and done, their new home is just under 2400 gallons. When the bog is finished it will be tied to the pond by a spillover, the waterfall feature plumbed on it's own line ( doesn't flow very fast at all ), but is it's own filter of sorts, with the urn being filled with lava rock. The way I see it more surface area for bacteria to grow can't hurt lol. I'm really looking forward to spring, when the bog will be up and running full force, to see how much of a difference it will make on the clarity of the water. Stays pretty clean now but I have to clean the mechanical filter a couple times a week when it's real hot.

 

[Waterbug]

What would be the simplest way to implement a trickle tower to my bog filter?

Was just posting about simple TT ideas in another thread.

I was thinking of splitting the flow and having a pipe 6 inches above the bog pour water on top of a small patch of unsubmerged gravel about 2 inches deep. Would that in essence be a trickle tower?

I guess, but not too great. Taller is better.

 

[fisharefishy99]

Just out of curiousity, does $76 sound right for a cubic yard of pea gravel?

 

[capewind]

HOLY COW!!! I hope you were misquoted and gravel isnt THAT expensive on the other coast!

 

[Waterbug]

Totally depends on your area. Here it's $30 a yd but we're sitting on top of a huge supply.

 

[addy1]

I paid 0.0180 per pound, $576 for 32000 lbs. Not sure how much a cubic yard weighs. An 80lb bag cost $4.00 if not bought in bulk from the place I picked mine up from.

Pea gravel at home depot for 0.5 cu feet is 3.48.

 

[capewind]

I cant remember off hand, but I believe it is something like one yard = about 1.5 tons... Here, 3/8" blue stone, or native (grays/whites) run about $24 per TON.