Bog build for 30,000 Gallon Pond

[MacolO]

I currently have a 40x40 pond with about 30,000 gallons. The problem is that it is pea soup. I built a bog filter for it 3 years ago, but it was too small (10x10) and it got clogged very quickly. After a bit of research it seems like a bog IS the best way to filter a pond this big.

My current plan is to build a bigger bog, closer to 12x30.

So this is where I need advice.
How deep do I make the bog?
How do I make the Manifolds to distribute water?
Should I make a false bottom to collect debris?
How can I plumb/make a simple system to clean the debris that fill the bottom?

I'll post pictures a little later and look forward to advise.

Thanks!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!

I built a decent sized bog (yours will be bigger) It has been running for over 10 years without cleaning it. Mine is 2.5 feet deep on average. 27 feet long 4.5 feet wide, 38000 lbs of pea grave, non washed. We did put in a clean out pipe, did it once years ago, nothing but clean water came out, so never used again.

I have two , two inch pvc pipes running the length of it, at 10 feet wide you might want 4. Mine are fed from a T off the pump. We cut slits in the pvc, faced them down, with a extra piece of liner below the pipes to keep the water from pounding the liner over the years.

I pull the water from about a foot off the bottom, which keeps a lot of large debris from being sucked up into the bog. I use a external pump, with a leaf basket, but I seldom need to clean the leaf basket. Actually clean it when I put it away for the winter.

 

[addy1]

I have netted the bottom of the pond, there is hardly anything on the bottom. Any plant matter seems to just be consumed. The pond water does great, I can ignore the pond all summer without any issues.

The water stays crystal clear. I never have pea soup water, or string algae. The bog plants suck up the nutrients in the pond.

 

[KDubU]

What @addy1 said. Yup, you are very right your original bog was too small and as for depth, I have read different things. I am planning 14” deep for mine as I read that is a good depth although the have been tempted to go deeper based on @addy1 and I though another had a deep bog as well. It does mean a good amount of $ in pea gravel and am assuming you are going the bottom-up route?

 

[addy1]

Someone, i.e. me, went a bit crazy with my tractor, dug it a bit deep, but it works great!

 

[j.w]

@MacolO

 

[Lisak1]

Our bog is 4 feet deep. We went deeper to accommodate a pump vault, centipede and snorkel. You might be interested in this video from Aquascape - they've been doing some really large projects lately and adding both wetland filtration and intake bays. This one is a two part video on a really large, really old pond they renovated in Chicago:

 

[GBBUDD]

I could not come to a conclusion that the snorkel was a much better bog then a pea stone 2" pipe bog so i did a combo of both. My water is always crystal clear. and if i need to do any maintenance down the road i can shut one of the bogs off and not disturb the bio load. i will say this the snorkel in my eyes is more of a long term bog. i see the pea stone clogging down the road if there is no settling chamber. the main bog is 6 feet deep 20 feet long and 10 feet wide with a snorkel and a layer of bio blocks" aqua blocks then there is the 2" pipe cut every 6" and thats about 12 by 8 and a foot and a half deep

 

[MacolO]

Sorry for the delay in getting the pictures. Here is the current condition of the pond.

 

[j.w]

Oh yep that's green alright! You need a huge bog but it sure would be worth it. I'm sure all of @addy1 's posts on her bog building will be of much help to you and there are others here on the forum too that have built bogs. Yours will be ginormous tho

 

[GBBUDD]

I know addy will probably disagree but i would have to lean toward a snorkel bog one that has settling chambers that you can clean out over the years

 

[addy1]

I know addy will probably disagree but i would have to lean toward a snorkel bog one that has settling chambers that you can clean out over the years

Not me, any way it works for someone go for it. Mine works for me, might not work the best for others.