Bog building, also called upflow filter, eco filter, wetland filter

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
I was asked to start a thread on how to build a bog.

This is my rendition on bog building 101.............

Building a bog:

Before you decide to build a bog, you need to know what you want its primary purpose to be.
Total pond filtration
bog filtration combined with another filter.

If you want total pond filtration using a bog;
By volume, 5-15% the size of the water volume of the pond.
By surface area, 10-30% of the pond surface area.

If you are having a large fish load or koi you would want to have the larger bog size.

My bog is 27% compared to the surface area of my pond. (I love plants and they love the bog). My only filtration is my bog.My bog is deep, most bogs are no more than 12 inches in depth.You want your water level in the bog to be lower than the pea gravel, this will make the water work to get back into the pond, through the plant roots.

If you just have a bog for some filtration (have another filter also) it can be whatever size you would like it to be.Do not pre-filter the water before it enters the bog, this will starve the bog of needed nutrients.

There are multiple ways to build a bog, I have used three different ways in my ponds.

All bog drawings show an submersible pump, I use an external, it was just easier to draw with a submersible. So you can use either a submersible or a external. Have a leaf basket in line with your pump to collect any large debris before it enters the bog.


My current bog is a raised bog.We built a wall between the pond and bog, left one area that is low for a water fall back into the pond.One piece of liner was used for the pond and bog.

This bog has a solid separation between the pond and bog

raised bog.jpg



The following three bogs all have blocks, rocks stacked so water will flow through them, porous retaining wall, rock, whatever will keep the pea gravel behind the wall and out of the pond.The water will be pumped into the bog and work out back into the pond through the wall.

A partition bog can be built.Build your pond to the size and shape you want, have the bog in the pond separated by a partition.


barrrier bog.jpg



Or

A border bog can be built.(I have used border bogs, looks really nice.)Dig a border for your pond, 12 inches deep as wide as you want.Porous stones will be placed between the bog and the pond.

bog .jpg




Or

A island bog. An island of pea gravel, separated from the pond by a porous wall.


container bog.jpg




Once you decide what bog you want the fun begins.

You need to lay out the pvc piping. I use 2 inch below my pea gravel.You can use 1.5 inch pvc if you wish, do not go smaller.This size is to keep the piping from clogging up.

Once you know the lengths you need, the distribution pipe needs to be perforated.We cut ours approximately every 6 inches, due to the size of our bog, we wanted to make sure the water made it to the end of the pipe.

Cut about every 1 to 1.5 inches apart the length of the pipe. If you have a long pipe run make the cuts further apart.Use a circular saw to cut 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the pipe perpendicular to the water flow.If your bog is only 3 feet in width you can get away with just one distribution pipe, wider you should use two.

Lay your pipe in the bog.I laid mine slits down, so whenever I turned the pump off pea gravel would not be able settle in the piping.But I did lay extra liner under the pvc the length of the pipes to protect the liner from the continuous water flow. You could also lay the pvc with the cuts up.

At the end of your pipe run, put in a clean out pipe. I did not put a clean out pipe in this build, it has not been missed.

clean out bog.jpg




Paint the cap sticking above pea gravel brown to make it less noticeable.


Shovel 3/8 inch pea gravel into the bog.Wash the best you can, but even with washing there will be silt from the gravel; the bog will clean it out.

When building your bog walls, make the walls around 6 inches over the pea gravel level. As the plants grow, the roots grow, the water level will raise. You need the extra wall space to handle the rise in the water level. Two years into having my bog I had to raise the walls about 4 inches.

Plant around 1 plant per square foot.If your pond and bog are new, leave the dirt on the plants roots.There is not enough nutrition for the plants with a new bog.
Be careful what you plant in your bog, some plants are aggressive growers.
Do not leave the plants in their pots, take them out.

plant list:

I plant hardies:

This is what I have currently:

Obediant plant
black gamecock iris
dwarf golden sweetflag
dwarf cattails
varigated snow flake-lily like plant needs to be planted about 14" under water surface.
Water Willow
green creeping Jenny
Marsh betony

4 leaf water clover
fuzzy 4 leaf water clover
mini spearwort
white star grass
penny wort
water mint
blue water forget me not
water iris soft pinkkirk strawn
4 left water clover variegated

Excellent Plants for the Bog may include:(from the net)

Arrowhead Sagitaria (zone 4-6) Summer Bloomer. Bulbing root system stores(nitrogen, potassium & phosphorous)

Canna (zone 8-10) Summer Bloomer. A bog’s best friend. This plant is a biomass factory and has amazing beauty and structure. A heavy feeder on (nitrogen, potassium & phosphorous) from April through September.

Cattails (zone 3-5) Summer Bloomer. are vigorous growers and have deep roots.

Creeping Jenny (zone 5) Spring Bloomer.

Daylily - Spring through Summer Bloomer. Surprisingly, water is the best fertilizer for daylilies. They are an excellent nutrient feeder and grow well in the shallow areas of a bog garden. Daylily come in a variety of colors and blooming times for a long lasting color in your garden.

Eyed Grass (Yellow & Blue) (zones 5-7) Spring Bloomer.

Iris - (zones 4-6) Summer Bloomers.
Common water iris. (Louisiana Iris) Great variety in colors and styles. Plant habit is spreading and untidy appearance.
Japanese variegated water iris is a strong grower late spring through fall. Iris are good at removing both nitrogen and phosphorous.
Siberian Iris are preferred for their strong, clumping habit. Most growth spring and summer but use potassium and phosphorous in summer and fall for energy storage for next year’s bloom.

Kaffir Lily (zone 7) Fall Bloomer. A bulbing lily with watermelon red flowers. Grows in cooler temps of spring and fall. Small top growth controlled.

Lobelia Cardinalis (zones 5-7) Fall Bloomer. Beautiful late summer bloom. Nice color diversity. Heavy potassium user.

Marsh Marigold (zones 2-4) Spring Bloomer. A fast growing cool temperature plant. Begins growing very early in spring producing flowers by early March and continues through April, often re-blooms in the fall when weather cools. Medium root depth and actively feeds when most plants are dormant.

Pickerel Rush (zone 3-6) Summer Bloomer. Strong summer growth and bloom. A spreading habit with a shallow root system. A strong feeder on the total nutrient system. Blue Pickerel Rush is very hardy in our area, with a long bloom season.

Rain Lily (zone 6) Fall Bloomer. Late summer and fall grower. This bulb plant has a small controlled top growth but a dense vigorous root system with storage bulbs. Strong user of phosphorous and potassium.

Rush - Variegated Striped Rush (zone 5-6) Summer Bloomer. Evergreen and continues to grow almost year-round strongest growth in summer. Roots are shallow and need oxygen. Open habit allows for under story growth.but has a large vigorous root system feeding its bulbs. Very

Slough Sedge (zone 4) Very prolific, yet clumping. Grows to 5’ high in bogs. Deep rooting habit. Bio-mass. Strong user of potassium, sulfur, calcium and sodium. Somewhat salt resistant.

Society Garlic (zone 7) Summer Bloomer. Strong summer growth. Love phosphorous.

Star Grass (zone 7) Summer Bloomer. Very controlled, medium root depth, summer fall growth. Grasses are strong feeders of potassium and sulfur.

Thalia (zone 6) Summer Bloomer. Very deep rooted. Open stem structure allows for very diverse under story growth. Summer blooming. Large storage roots.

Water Forget-Me-Not (zone 3) Spring Bloomer. Vigorous low grower. Shallow rooted. Easily pruned. Blooms from March through October.

Yellow Monkey Flower (zone 6) Spring Bloomer. Early spring growth and bloom. Deep root system.

Bog Plants:
Arrowhead
Assorted Taros
Bog Lily
Cannas
Chinese Water Chestnut
Creeping Jenny
Dwarf Horsetail
Dwarf Papyrus
Dwarf Variegated Sweetflag Giant Melon Sword
Japanese Iris
Lizard's Tail
Lousiana Iris
Pickerel Rush
Red Stemmed Sagittaria
Ribbon Grass
Ruby Creeper
Ruby Eye Arrowhead Sensitive Plant
Siberian Iris
Spider Lily
Spike Rush
Star Grass
Thalia
Variegated Spider Lily
White Bull Rush
Zebra Rush
Plants that are invasive in the Bog (Think Twice Before Planting)
Horsetail
Aquatic Mint
Chameleon Plant
Parrot's Feather
Red Stemmed Thalia
Cattails
Umbrella Palm
Yellow Iris


ok brain and fingers are tired, if there are any glaring goofs will fix .....................
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Messages
229
Reaction score
114
Location
Graz, Austria
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
8a
Country
Austria
Hi Addy,

Thanks for an excellent article. This is exactly what i've been looking for :)

My only question..... you said not to prefilter the water..... does that include not running it through a UV light?

I'm also curious what flow rate you put through the bog?

cheers,

Andy.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
I don't need to use a uv light, my pond is almost algae free mainly because of the bog. I just have some on the side walls and every now and then hanging onto a plant. You could have a side flow through a uv light if you want. I would have the water going into the bog be water right from the pond.

My flow rate is around 4500 gph. That gives me a every two hour turn over, which is working well, for my set up.

I have read that for every pound of bog your bog consumes one pound of algae.

Glad I could help you Andy, I love my bog. The critters, bugs, birds etc love it too and of course the flowers.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
I noticed I did not say much about the clean out pipe, You can stick a hose in it to flush out the under the pea gravel pipes if they ever get clogged.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Messages
229
Reaction score
114
Location
Graz, Austria
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
8a
Country
Austria
Hi Addy,

Thanks, this is good info. I was planning on diverting the water after the UV, but i'll change that now.

cheers,

Andy.
 

koidaddy

karps house of koi
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
765
Reaction score
13
Location
Tampa Bay Florida
How do you keep all of the waste from building up if you don't filter out solids? That was the problem I had. Everything looked good up top but down low it was like low tide in the bayou.:lol: My bog was 12" deep, top fed with a spillover into the pond. I agree the plants need the nutes from the waste but is all the excess waste(solids) necessary. Im not kicking your system, just curious. Thanks addy1.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
No problem koidaddy, we all have our own ideas and thoughts about everything. Don't mind questions at all. The above is based on reading and my own experience with bogs.


One pond, I had two bogs, one bottom fed, one top fed. The bottom fed waterfalled into the top fed which drained via a bottom port into the pond. The bottom fed bog, I just opened the bottom drain and back flushed it. The top fed bog, I had to take a hose to wash the gunk out of the bog, it collected on the top of the pea gravel. These were small bogs and needed off and on cleaning, maybe three times a year. The top fed I had to watch for the pea gravel getting coated and the water would overflow out of the bog. arizona pond #1 lol, ended up with 4 there, different houses.

On a different pond, I had a smaller bog, built similar to this one. In the years I had the pond I never cleaned it. Water stayed fine, bog never clogged up. On both this one and the other smaller one I have the ability to back flush the bog, just by opening a port. Most likely will never have to clean this one...........famous last words lol

I forgot to put in the document that I do have a leaf filter on the pump that feeds the bog. I do keep large matter out of the bog piping. Once we get our skimmer plumped in, it too will have a leaf basket in line, so a double leaf basket, one in line the into the pump leaf basket.

I will see if I can get a moderator to modify it for me.........went brain tired last night after working on the doc.

It is best the large debris does not get into the bog, you do not want a bio filter type set up, the bog needs the bio load.
 

koidaddy

karps house of koi
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
765
Reaction score
13
Location
Tampa Bay Florida
Thanks addy, got it. Thats what I was thinking about, some sort of pre filter that catches the big stuff. I am going to set up another when I move in the next few months and will figure in some kind of backflush. I just got done cleaning all my rock that has been sitting from big pond breakdown and it still smelled bad.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2010
Messages
256
Reaction score
4
Location
Kansas
Nice set up. Wish I could use snowflake and water hawthorn. I thought they were zone 7 hardy only? I'm zone 5 myself.

You forgot to mention your bogs location. How does it preform in full sun? Any plants burning up at all?

I wonder if a shade bog preforms less cleaning due to less vigorous plant growth?
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
5,195
Reaction score
1,599
Location
Hammond LA USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
Andy41 said:
Hi Addy,

Thanks for an excellent article. This is exactly what i've been looking for ;)

My only question..... you said not to prefilter the water..... does that include not running it through a UV light?

I'm also curious what flow rate you put through the bog?

cheers,

Andy.

Andy, I ask Addy to post make this and it will probably be put as a sticky for continued updates and questions. ther is a article in Ponds USA magazine this issue about Bog filters. Great read! I got my issue at Pets smart. In the article they recommend if your going to run a secondary pump and or a UV light to run it on the opposite side of the pond from the bog.

Addy, LMK what and where you want something added and I'll see if I can merge it for you.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
KennethO said:
Nice set up. Wish I could use snowflake and water hawthorn. I thought they were zone 7 hardy only? I'm zone 5 myself.

You forgot to mention your bogs location. How does it preform in full sun? Any plants burning up at all?

I wonder if a shade bog preforms less cleaning due to less vigorous plant growth?


My bog and pond are in full sun, the bog has a tiny bit of shade mid day from the maple tree, but it is a brief shade.

There are shade loving bog plants that will do just as well. Hosta's etc. I stick with sun loving plants. With our slope (facing south, full hot sun) the angle of our house south, we have no real shade areas. So everything must be a sun lover.

I need to get that article fishin...............next time I wander into town.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
fishin4cars said:
Andy, I ask Addy to post make this and it will probably be put as a sticky for continued updates and questions. ther is a article in Ponds USA magazine this issue about Bog filters. Great read! I got my issue at Pets smart. In the article they recommend if your going to run a secondary pump and or a UV light to run it on the opposite side of the pond from the bog.

Addy, LMK what and where you want something added and I'll see if I can merge it for you.

My pump and stream water fall are on the opposite side of the bog water fall. The skimmer is on the far end of the pond, from the bog waterfall to try to get the best water circulation.
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2011
Messages
7,257
Reaction score
4,819
Location
near Effingham, Illinois
Hardiness Zone
5b
Thanks so much, Addy, for all the information and time it must have taken you to put together. I really enjoyed reading it. I never thought about a clean-out pipe, and wondered about that.
I have the bog after my skimmer, which has a leaf basket and a filter. However, I still got some stuff in the line when I was situating it all when I added plants and more pea gravel. I had done 1/4" holes and decided bigger was needed, so widened them to I think 3/8" and now I'm wondering if that will be sufficient, but so far so good. Seems to have good flow to the end of the 3 pipes that I used. Since it seems I will be replacing all the piping in my pond eventually, I'll be sure to replace the pipe in the bog as well.
Thanks again for a great read. I really appreciate all the info, especially all the plant info!
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
We just took a reciprocating saw and chopped away the slots are around 1/4 inch wide more or less, about 1/3 the width of the pipe.

Glad to help countryescape. The bog works well for me, just love the plants! and keeps the pond clean.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
30,782
Messages
508,590
Members
13,043
Latest member
cisifom

Latest Threads

Top