Help with Bog waterfall type design please...

[Diego]

Hi, long time lurker, first time poster....

We moved into a house with an existing pond last year and I had little to no success getting clear water with pressurized filtration systems, so I decided this year I would like to convert it to a waterfall type bog. This is where Im currently at...

My plan is to build the bog on the upper portion, where the rocks have been removed, and have the water from the bog flow down into the main portion of the pond. After removing the top rocks I found several holes in the liner as shown here...

. So my plan to use this liner as the base of my bog will not work as I would rather not patch and have to wonder if the bog is going to leak in the near future.

My question now, and Im sure there will be more to come, is how do I fit another liner for the bog that feeds to the main pond through a waterfall type feature? Can I just lay the new liner over the old liner as long as the "lip" to the outflow of the bog continues down toward the existing liner? My concern is the area pointed to by my finger...

.

I have never liked how the ponds waterfall feature just rose out of the ground, too unnatural looking. My plan is to cut the height of the waterfall in half and move the dirt around the bog feature so that in gently slopes toward the existing lawn.

Any and all ideas, critiques are most welcome!

 

[bagsmom]

You want Addy, our resident Bog Queen! @addy1

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!

Use a new piece of liner, but put holes in the old one, esp if there is a area it will collect water. You don't want the old water filling with water pushing up the new liner. Which might not happen when it is covered with pea gravel or what ever you use.

Drape the new liner down a hill where it will enter the pond. Have the pond liner come up high enough to not allow weeping, ie the water creeps up between the two liners, and the bog liner go down low enough.

Make your bog as big as possible, more filtering = happier pond water. More room for plants.

 

[Lisak1]

Addy said what I was typing as I was doing it!

So the basic steps I would take are:
1. Disassemble the waterfall
2. Fold the current waterfall liner toward the pond to expose the area underneath
3. Dig your waterfall area down to the desired level
4. Dig your bog - 18" deep seems to be the most common minimum depth. Mine is 4 ft deep. The bigger the better, as @addy1 said - not necessarily deeper, just as much surface area as possible.
5. Place the bog liner in the fashion addy described.
6. Proceed with bog building!

See! Simple! Now post lots of pictures so we can enjoy your hard work!

And by the way - good eye for noticing that the waterfall will look much better if it's not so tall. That is a mistake that lots of people make!

 

[RobAmy]

Spot on for the waterfall height, lower will look better. Looks like a fun project

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum @Diego

 

[ShawnInfirmity]

Welcome @Diego I'm excited to see how your bog/waterfall turns out for you. Keep us updated on your progress!

 

[Diego]

Thanks for the excellent information. I'm building the bog manifold today and need to know what the current thoughts are on a "clean out" or backflush pipe. I'm trying to imagine what having this verticle 2inch PVC is going to do for me while backflushing. The main pipe in the manifold may benefit from a redirection of water, but the "arms" of the manifold will not, as the water will continue in the same direction as normal...right?

Also if I do add a clean out pipe, I should also put a ball valve on the main pipe inlet to close off and pressurize the system while backflushing correct?

Thanks

 

[Diego]

This is where I'm at now and trying to figure out how to finish the end of the manifold off.

 

[Mmathis]

Welcome!

 

[Angel]

This is where I'm at now and trying to figure out how to finish the end of the manifold off.

caps and drill a few holes. I'll add a pic of my stock tank bog the bigger pipe on the bottom is the in take /upflow

 

[qclabrat]

if you are calling the clean out pipe what you plan to do with the pvc elbow and a short piece of pipe, yes that's what I did. I cut it slightly lower than the gravel surface to be hidden and so that I could blow out if the system developed clogs. The end was capped with a screw end but the vertical pipe was not drilled or cut. I chose to cut the pipe with slits and have it pointed down. Most recommend adding a prefilter before the bog to remove the detritus. My understanding is that bogs should minimally be 1/3 the surface area of your pond. BIgger wont' hurt it, but smaller will not net the desired results. As for depth, that seems be the area of largest debate, I went with 2 ft, but folks says min. 18 inches.

 

[Lisak1]

We have a pump vault in our bog for potential clean out - still haven't need it in 6 years. But it's a good idea to plan for it.

I'll repeat what @qclabrat said so you don't miss it - you don't want solid waste of any kind being pumped into the bog. Some kind of prefiltration is a must or you WILL be needing that clean out.

 

[Mmathis]

We have a pump vault in our bog for potential clean out - still haven't need it in 6 years. But it's a good idea to plan for it.

I'll repeat what @qclabrat said so you don't miss it - you don't want solid waste of any kind being pumped into the bog. Some kind of prefiltration is a must or you WILL be needing that clean out.

Have I asked you about your vault before? Well, even if I did, I’ve forgotten. Do you mind explaining this, how it’s made, etc.?

 

[Lisak1]

Sure! We installed one of these in our up flow bog:

In the up flow bog, the water is pushed up through the "centipede". The vault is to allow for clean out - we would drop a pump in the vault and draw water down through the gravel, reversing the water flow. It works in theory - haven't had to try it yet!

I think this is what they call the "mini" version of the centipede and snorkel. We have the larger version at the opposite end of the pond in the "down flow bog" where the pump lives in the vault. (I can't ever use the term "bog" without missing @Meyer Jordan and his reminder that these are more accurately called something else... do you think I can remember what he called them??)