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

[Meyer Jordan]

hello, I am new to pond hobby, and just uncover and restored a small pond about 400 gallons and waterfall in my backyard, I read though most of this thread lots of good info.

I researched a lot of filter setups, and decided to go with the bog type. I did not want to make a permanent bog structure and I wanted something that was easy to maintain and clean, so I came up with the idea of using multiple small bogs that I can lift out of place, dump in a larger bin, and spray the rocks out when needed then easily re-assemble.

From my main pump I have three water outlets, one to the main waterfall, two of them are piped to the bottom of separate gravel beds wich are inside two large bowls 10" deep 14" in dia full of pea gravel. the water flows up through the gravel and back into the two ponds.

has anyone tried using multiple smaller bogs? Instead of one big one?

Are there no plants in your 'bog' filters? Plants are what makes this form of filtration superior to normal bio-conversion. If you have no plants and/or not considering adding any, it would be better to utilize a filter media with more surface area, such as bio-balls or lava rock.

 

[tbendl]

I would think as long as you provide enough bog area to pond ration it wouldn't matter if it was one large or many small ones. I would question the need to do a complete clean out of your bog since part of it's function is to house bacteria that helps filter water and doing a complete clean out would remove the beneficial bacteria.
The only other thing is the depth may not be enough to allow certain plants to grown since they tend to deep root.
It may work perfectly though, you'll have to let us know.
And welcome to the forum.

 

[houseguitarshop]

Meyer, I have plants, I planted one plant in each bog, giving them room to expand, I also have a few floating plants, submerged plants, and plants around the edges.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Meyer, I have plants, I planted one plant in each bog, giving them room to expand, I also have a few floating plants, submerged plants, and plants around the edges.

If you have plants in your 'bog' filters, then I am confused in that you stated that you dump the gravel in these 'bogs' to clean it. How are you doing that if they contain plants without damaging or killing the plant?

 

[houseguitarshop]

tbendl, one thing is for sure the gravel bog filter method is working very well. The two bogs have been installed for 24 hours and the water is noticeably more clear.

For flushing the Bog, my thoughts are a pond containing fish will have water with fish waste no matter what. If never flushing the bog out, overtime excess fish waste will buildup in the bog. The plants and bacteria will take care of alot of it and grow rapidly, but as more time passes, I feel it is probably better to flush out the waste manually from time to time and start the system over.

simple for water quality alone, I would feel that if I flushed the bogs, and did a nice water change water quality would go way up. Yes the benifical bacteria would be gone, but I belive it would grow back super fast!

Like you said, I will let you know if my idea is a bust or if it works.

 

[houseguitarshop]

If you have plants in your 'bog' filters, then I am confused in that you stated that you dump the gravel in these 'bogs' to clean it. How are you doing that if they contain plants without damaging or killing the plant?

I am hoping to only have to dump and flush the bogs once a year. At that point, I would think I could dump the bog while I pull the plant and divide the plants up, then simply re-plant the healthiest bunch it in the bog and give away or toss out the overgrowth.

 

[tbendl]

tbendl, one thing is for sure the gravel bog filter method is working very well. The two bogs have been installed for 24 hours and the water is noticeably more clear.

For flushing the Bog, my thoughts are a pond containing fish will have water with fish waste no matter what. If never flushing the bog out, overtime excess fish waste will buildup in the bog. The plants and bacteria will take care of alot of it and grow rapidly, but as more time passes, I feel it is probably better to flush out the waste manually from time to time and start the system over.

simple for water quality alone, I would feel that if I flushed the bogs, and did a nice water change water quality would go way up. Yes the benifical bacteria would be gone, but I belive it would grow back super fast!

Like you said, I will let you know if my idea is a bust or if it works.

Most of the bog builds that I have seen on here include a pipe that ties into the bog plumbing and clears the surface of the bog. It allows a periodic flush out of the bog without fully disturbing the bog and plants. Might be something to consider if your full rinse becomes too cumbersome or shocks the plants.

 

[houseguitarshop]

I am new to having a feshwater system so any advise is appreciated, thanks for the comments and great thread on bogs!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I am hoping to only have to dump and flush the bogs once a year. At that point, I would think I could dump the bog while I pull the plant and divide the plants up, then simply re-plant the healthiest bunch it in the bog and give away or toss out the overgrowth.

I am afraid that you are going to discover that this pond will require considerable more maintenance than you imagined. Besides the obvious fish waste, you will certainly experience an issue, if only seasonally, with leaf drop from the two (2) trees in addition to material deposited by wind and rain. Since this pond has no mechanical filtration, all of this debris will require manual removal and any not retrieved will find its way into your gravel filters accelerating the clogging process.
This may be the very reason that this pond was abandoned and filled in......too much required maintenance.

 

[CountryEscape]

House, you have the water piped to the bottom of your gravel pot bogs, so that should circulate the water well and "feed" the plants. If you are only rinsing the gravel once a year, do it in the fall when the plants are dying or dead, and the bacteria is pretty much dead, too, the water being cold. The fish waste is going to sink to the bottom for the most part. If you have a pump on the bottom sucking it up into the bog plants, beware if you have a break in your water line, that could empty your pond. Short of having a bottom drain to suck the waste from the bottom, you will need to net out anything that settles to the bottom of the pond periodically.
I agree with Meyer, don't disturb the beneficial bacteria and/or plants during the growing warm season. That just brings up another issue ... where are you located, and what zone are you in? All of this will make a big difference depending on where you live and your weather patterns. For me in IL, I have all 4 seasons ... sometimes in the wrong order.
The main thing is to enjoy your pond. You have obviously put some work into cleaning it out and setting it up. Now, enjoy what you have created (how about some pictures?!) and learn as you go.
One more thought .. are your bog pots inside your pond area, or outside? Keep in mind depending on type of plants in them, roots can grow and expand, along with the plant itself, and cause problems where where you WANT the water to overflow, and where the water decides to overflow! I am constantly moving plants in my bog, or pulling them, when they get too close to my outflow areas.

 

[houseguitarshop]

I am afraid that you are going to discover that this pond will require considerable more maintenance than you imagined. Besides the obvious fish waste, you will certainly experience an issue, if only seasonally, with leaf drop from the two (2) trees in addition to material deposited by wind and rain. Since this pond has no mechanical filtration, all of this debris will require manual removal and any not retrieved will find its way into your gravel filters accelerating the clogging process.
This may be the very reason that this pond was abandoned and filled in......too much required maintenance.

I think this pond had no issue prior to filling it in, the neighbor said at one point the pond was showcased in a magazine, but that was long ago, at least over 30 years. The two trees were not there at the time of the original pond. Only time will tell if I need to add more filtration I suppose. The trees do provide some very nice shade on the extreme hot parts of the day, but also the pond gets alot of sun in the morning and from 3 to dusk. The trees are are cedar trees that do not drop alot of debris during the summer. Manually picking out the leaves has been managable so far. thank you for the comments

 

[houseguitarshop]

House, you have the water piped to the bottom of your gravel pot bogs, so that should circulate the water well and "feed" the plants. If you are only rinsing the gravel once a year, do it in the fall when the plants are dying or dead, and the bacteria is pretty much dead, too, the water being cold. The fish waste is going to sink to the bottom for the most part. If you have a pump on the bottom sucking it up into the bog plants, beware if you have a break in your water line, that could empty your pond. Short of having a bottom drain to suck the waste from the bottom, you will need to net out anything that settles to the bottom of the pond periodically.
I agree with Meyer, don't disturb the beneficial bacteria and/or plants during the growing warm season. That just brings up another issue ... where are you located, and what zone are you in? All of this will make a big difference depending on where you live and your weather patterns. For me in IL, I have all 4 seasons ... sometimes in the wrong order.
The main thing is to enjoy your pond. You have obviously put some work into cleaning it out and setting it up. Now, enjoy what you have created (how about some pictures?!) and learn as you go.
One more thought .. are your bog pots inside your pond area, or outside? Keep in mind depending on type of plants in them, roots can grow and expand, along with the plant itself, and cause problems where where you WANT the water to overflow, and where the water decides to overflow! I am constantly moving plants in my bog, or pulling them, when they get too close to my outflow areas.

I have the two bogs over the feature aslo acting as two waterfalls, if they back up, no matter were it drains they drain into the pond. I am in zone 4.
Here is the thread on the pond restore. https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/started-digging-and-found-this-in-my-yard.17489/

 

[houseguitarshop]

here a pic of the small bog before I added plants

 

[houseguitarshop]

here is are the two bogs that I am trying. The pipe is simply tucked into the center of the large bowls, not cut into the bowl. I have each bog positioned over the ponds so that anyway it overflows will flow back to the ponds.

 

[houseguitarshop]

here is how they look