- Joined
- Sep 24, 2020
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
I hope this doesn't get too long. Here are my main questions, before I write a bunch of details:
- Can you have a pond that is too big for bog filtration because the amount of gph needed to circulate means that the flow through the bog would be too fast?
- Do I really need special tubing that is $8.99 per foot to run from my pump to the bog and then create the manifold that goes under the bog?
A little background - we have a natural water retention area in my yard that we intended to dig out and turn into a rain garden, and somehow (thanks Pinterest!) that turned into wanting a pond. So we had the owner of a local pond store come out and look at the area and make some recommendations, the gist of which was a large pond with bog filtration. He drew a diagram of a 60x75ft pond and 20x20 ft bog, which we ended up sizing down a great deal and leaving an area for excess rain water collection. The area is now roughly dug out and graded.
The pond is an oval, about 20ft x 35ft, sloping gradually down to 5ft deep in the middle, and an estimated average depth of 2-2.5 ft. I calculated it at about 13,000 gallons. Above the water line of the pond we will have an extra stone covered area, about 12 inches wide to hold any rain water drainage (capable of holding an extra 5000 or so gallons as needed). The bog area then wraps around that stone area in a crescent shape and is planned to be around 300 sq ft. Water level of the bog will be about 2.5 ft above the pond water level, not including any rain water.
And here is where my questions start. On Friday when we went to buy the pump, the pond store people told me and my husband that the pond was too big for the entire volume of the pond water to filter through the bog at once - that it would basically be flowing too fast and the plants wouldn't have time to suck up the nutrients. They recommended a 9000 gph pump for the pond volume, but said we would only want to send about 2000 gph to the bog while the remainder of the water is diverted back into the pond. They recommended creating a manifold with a ball valve (I think) for this diversion. I have googled but I can't find anything that describes a similar set up, or warns that some pond volumes are too big for bog filtration. So any feedback on this idea would be really helpful!
My second question - at the store they recommended 3 inch wide tubing/flexible piping to run from the pump to the bog, and to use for the bog system, by cutting slits in it and spiraling it around the bog. First of all, this tubing is so stinking thick that I can't imagine that it will be flexible enough to create the spiral needed. 2nd, they calculated about 115 ft of tubing needed - over $1000! That's more than the pump cost. I'll pay it if necessary, but I read a lot about people using a special kind of PVC. Does it cost that much too?
Thanks for any thoughts!
- Can you have a pond that is too big for bog filtration because the amount of gph needed to circulate means that the flow through the bog would be too fast?
- Do I really need special tubing that is $8.99 per foot to run from my pump to the bog and then create the manifold that goes under the bog?
A little background - we have a natural water retention area in my yard that we intended to dig out and turn into a rain garden, and somehow (thanks Pinterest!) that turned into wanting a pond. So we had the owner of a local pond store come out and look at the area and make some recommendations, the gist of which was a large pond with bog filtration. He drew a diagram of a 60x75ft pond and 20x20 ft bog, which we ended up sizing down a great deal and leaving an area for excess rain water collection. The area is now roughly dug out and graded.
The pond is an oval, about 20ft x 35ft, sloping gradually down to 5ft deep in the middle, and an estimated average depth of 2-2.5 ft. I calculated it at about 13,000 gallons. Above the water line of the pond we will have an extra stone covered area, about 12 inches wide to hold any rain water drainage (capable of holding an extra 5000 or so gallons as needed). The bog area then wraps around that stone area in a crescent shape and is planned to be around 300 sq ft. Water level of the bog will be about 2.5 ft above the pond water level, not including any rain water.
And here is where my questions start. On Friday when we went to buy the pump, the pond store people told me and my husband that the pond was too big for the entire volume of the pond water to filter through the bog at once - that it would basically be flowing too fast and the plants wouldn't have time to suck up the nutrients. They recommended a 9000 gph pump for the pond volume, but said we would only want to send about 2000 gph to the bog while the remainder of the water is diverted back into the pond. They recommended creating a manifold with a ball valve (I think) for this diversion. I have googled but I can't find anything that describes a similar set up, or warns that some pond volumes are too big for bog filtration. So any feedback on this idea would be really helpful!
My second question - at the store they recommended 3 inch wide tubing/flexible piping to run from the pump to the bog, and to use for the bog system, by cutting slits in it and spiraling it around the bog. First of all, this tubing is so stinking thick that I can't imagine that it will be flexible enough to create the spiral needed. 2nd, they calculated about 115 ft of tubing needed - over $1000! That's more than the pump cost. I'll pay it if necessary, but I read a lot about people using a special kind of PVC. Does it cost that much too?
Thanks for any thoughts!