Bog add on advice

Jagsfan

Donor
Joined
May 24, 2021
Messages
115
Reaction score
51
Location
Cross Junction, Virginia
Hardiness Zone
6B
Country
United States
Hello GPF! its been a while since I've been active on the forum. I built my pond last summer and everything made it through the winter nicely(aside from a couple small plants that I planted late in the season) I originally went with an external filter from the pond guy and I haven't had any issues whatsoever with it. Water is still clear, I don't have to clean it that often, functions fine. But this damn group....."look at my wonderful bog"....."Bogs are the best"...... "I came home and my bog had mowed my yard" ok, just joking on the last one. But now I want a bog! Mainly just so I can have more space for plants hahaha. Don't get me wrong, I love my fish, but I find myself getting more excited about my dang plants.

I'll attach a couple pics of my current set up for reference. As you can see, my pond is surrounded on 3 sides by retaining walls and concrete porch. My thought is to build the bog on the ground above and behind the pond. Initial size would be about 3' front to back, 7-8' wide, and 18 inches deep. I could get rid of that ugly filter that is taking away from the beauty of the pond and run that pump to the bog. My initial questions are

1. what kind of flow is required for bogs? The pump I currently have is more than powerful enough for my current setup and I have a valve on the output hose that I can dial it back if needed, but what kind of flow am I shooting for?

2. I love my waterfall and want to make sure it still runs. I would plan to get another pump to power it or use my current pump and get another to feed the bog. I'm assuming the flow from the bog wont be enough to really make the waterfall flow like I'm used to. Not really a question i guess, just a thought.

3. I see some bogs don't have water above the pea gravel and others do. Is there a right way and wrong way? I've started reading the massive thread on building a bog, but its 50+ pages long and I haven't read it all yet. I did see that it recommended not having the waterline above the pea gravel.

4. As for my outflow back to the pond. Assuming the bog wont "power" my waterfall like id like it to, I had intended on just running a PVC pipe from the bog to the other corner of the pond. I assume the outflow pipe would need to be at the desired height of the water level? In my case, 18" deep bog, with 12" of gravel and 6" of "room to grow", so the outflow pipe would need to be at the 12" mark?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but that's all for now, Take a look at the pics and let me know if you see any issues with my plan. Thank you!
 

Attachments

  • pond 1.jpg
    pond 1.jpg
    24.6 KB · Views: 30
  • pond 2.jpg
    pond 2.jpg
    24.9 KB · Views: 29

TheFishGuy

( Insert something funny )
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
1,356
Reaction score
937
Location
Colorado
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
4b or 5a
Country
United States
If this were my project I would set the bog back a few feet, and have a nice big waterfall coming from the bog back into the pond. I think that could add a lot of interest. As far as flow goes, I would say at least 1000 gph. ( simply to make a good waterfall ;) ) Slower water movement in a bog wont hurt, the water will simply get filtered even more as it moves through the gravel. I have the water level above the pea gravel in my bog. I know it is not advised, but I really like the look, almost makes it look like I have a second pond. I never bothered to read the long bog thread, I simply looked at the initial post, and found some bog build threads on here, those worked for me.
 

Jagsfan

Donor
Joined
May 24, 2021
Messages
115
Reaction score
51
Location
Cross Junction, Virginia
Hardiness Zone
6B
Country
United States
I may look into some sort of water feature using the outflow, haven't decided yet. I really like my current waterfall and not sure i want to try and build another as large as needed to go to the bog. im also limited on the backside of the bog by that "channel" of river rocks currently there. That is a drainage path away from the house, lower level patio, and I don't want to put anything on top of it.
 

TheFishGuy

( Insert something funny )
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
1,356
Reaction score
937
Location
Colorado
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
4b or 5a
Country
United States
I may look into some sort of water feature using the outflow, haven't decided yet. I really like my current waterfall and not sure i want to try and build another as large as needed to go to the bog. im also limited on the backside of the bog by that "channel" of river rocks currently there. That is a drainage path away from the house, lower level patio, and I don't want to put anything on top of it.
deffinitly don't want to obstruct a drainage channel!
 

Jagsfan

Donor
Joined
May 24, 2021
Messages
115
Reaction score
51
Location
Cross Junction, Virginia
Hardiness Zone
6B
Country
United States
Next question...
this is going to be an above ground bog and im trying to figure out what to build the walls with. I originally thought i could use cinder block, but i dont have an experience building anything with cinder block haha. Would stacking the block and filling in the voids with gravel be strong enough or would i have to use rebar and cement? I had also thought about using a wooden frame. I have much more confidence in building with wood, but would it be strong enough. Im thinking of using 4x4's. The wall height would be 24" with gravel about 16-18".
 

TheFishGuy

( Insert something funny )
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
1,356
Reaction score
937
Location
Colorado
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
4b or 5a
Country
United States
Next question...
this is going to be an above ground bog and im trying to figure out what to build the walls with. I originally thought i could use cinder block, but i dont have an experience building anything with cinder block haha. Would stacking the block and filling in the voids with gravel be strong enough or would i have to use rebar and cement? I had also thought about using a wooden frame. I have much more confidence in building with wood, but would it be strong enough. Im thinking of using 4x4's. The wall height would be 24" with gravel about 16-18".
4x4's are a fairly standard above ground pond material so it would probably be fine for a bog. I used 6x6's in my above ground pond build, but those are deffinitly overkill.
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
13,384
Reaction score
10,486
Location
Ct
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
1. what kind of flow is required for bogs? The pump I currently have is more than powerful enough for my current setup and I have a valve on the output hose that I can dial it back if needed, but what kind of flow am I shooting for? Bogs are best when they turn over the pond once in 1.5 hours or 2 hours so if your pond is 3, 000 gallons then you want a minimum of a 2,000 gph pump and the bog should be between 15 and 30% the surface area of the pond or more if you have a deep pond.

2. I love my waterfall and want to make sure it still runs. I would plan to get another pump to power it or use my current pump and get another to feed the bog. I'm assuming the flow from the bog wont be enough to really make the waterfall flow like I'm used to. Not really a question i guess, just a thought. if your pushing say 4000 gph now on your falls and you need only 2,000 then you can always have a splitter run water right to the falls and not to the bog and dump all the water just at the falls

3. I see some bogs don't have water above the pea gravel and others do. Is there a right way and wrong way? I've started reading the massive thread on building a bog, but its 50+ pages long and I haven't read it all yet. I did see that it recommended not having the waterline above the pea gravel. it's up to you what you plan to plant or keep i usually have water areas 2" deep and gravel areas 2" above the water

4. As for my outflow back to the pond. Assuming the bog wont "power" my waterfall like id like it to, I had intended on just running a PVC pipe from the bog to the other corner of the pond. I assume the outflow pipe would need to be at the desired height of the water level? In my case, 18" deep bog, with 12" of gravel and 6" of "room to grow", so the outflow pipe would need to be at the 12" mark? see above . The longer the bog gets the less a 4x4 can hold would i use 4x4 foot a bog longer than 8 feet no not 30 inches tall would i rather dig it in behind the retaining wall yes.

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but that's all for now, Take a look at the pics and let me know if you see any issues with my plan. Thank 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
#3 I have water above the gravel , level with the gravel, below the gravel. The plants I have don’t care
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
3,990
Reaction score
2,682
Location
Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
Hardiness Zone
6a
Theres nothing wrong with the water level above the gravel (or below it).

The water level can vary if you want.

You can arrange the gravel to your liking. Higher in some areas and lower in others.
Have a sort of stream if you like.

It's all up to you.
 

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