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

[Lisak1]

Well this forum just blew my well destined pump and high dollar filter out of the water. Guess it's back to the drawing board to add a bog lol. Thanks for all the great advice!

Love to hear it! We love our bog.

 

[Cj Harvey]

I have a separate pump for the stream, clear water pump to handle the head pressure, we keep it on a timer.

The only pond pump goes right to the bog. I use a external pump. We, when done, will have a skimmer and pond plumbed to the pump, with ball valves to direct flow the way we want it to go, either full skimmer, full pond or split. Still need to cut the weir for the skimmer, on our list lol

Are you pumping from the bottom drains on your pond? Until you get your skimmer in anyway? I'm really looking into building a bog into my pond. I'm still designing the expansion of my current pond. I want to make sure I put it in right the first time. I currently have only a skimmer, it looks like bottom drains work just as good or better. I'd probably keep both if they are both good to run into the bog.
I'd probably just run the bottom drains to the bog and run the skimmer thru a uv light. But my intention is to run all of my piping into a spot where I can redirect if needed. I'm very close to my house (12") so I was thinking of taking my pipes into my basement and installing valves there. Could even put the uv light and backflush there too.

 

[Lisak1]

You want to make sure you the water you send to your bog is free from any solid debris - bogs aren't designed to filter out anything you can see in the water. And I don't think you can compare a skimmer to a bottom drain - a bottom drain is designed to handle fish waste; a skimmer is designed to remove organic debris that falls into the water so it never makes it to the bottom.

Are you planning an eco-system pond? Or a dedicated koi pond?

 

[addy1]

Are you pumping from the bottom drains on your pond? Until you get your skimmer in anyway?

I have no bottom drain just a skimmer. The skimmer and the leaf basket before the pump catches any large debris before it gets into the bog. My pump intake is drawn from around a foot from the bottom of the pond.

My pond is real simple, a skimmer a pump a bog. Total moving water volume, over 14000 gallons, I think, if you add all the small ponds, stream deck ponds etc. Never any green water, in any pond, no sting algae in the big ponds. No UV, no external filter except the bog. I don't clean or back flush the bog, but mine is huge, been running since 2010.

I have not tested the water in a while, boring it was always normal.

 

[Cj Harvey]

Love to hear it! We love our bog.

Seems a lot easi

I have no bottom drain just a skimmer. The skimmer and the leaf basket before the pump catches any large debris before it gets into the bog. My pump intake is drawn from around a foot from the bottom of the pond.

My pond is real simple, a skimmer a pump a bog. Total moving water volume, over 14000 gallons, I think, if you add all the small ponds, stream deck ponds etc. Never any green water, in any pond, no sting algae in the big ponds. No UV, no external filter except the bog. I don't clean or back flush the bog, but mine is huge, been running since 2010.

I have not tested the water in a while, boring it was always normal.

so you aren't just using a skimmer. I haven't seen the side drains in my searches yet. What kind of drain flange do you use to draw the water without getting the fish?

 

[Cj Harvey]

You want to make sure you the water you send to your bog is free from any solid debris - bogs aren't designed to filter out anything you can see in the water. And I don't think you can compare a skimmer to a bottom drain - a bottom drain is designed to handle fish waste; a skimmer is designed to remove organic debris that falls into the water so it never makes it to the bottom.

Are you planning an eco-system pond? Or a dedicated koi pond?

I'd like to have an eco system pond. But my primary fish type is koi and gold fish.

Can fish waste go into the bog? If it can the bottom drains would work good.

 

[Cj Harvey]

Ok so I've done a little drawing on how I think my bog would look. Any input on if it will work right is greatly appreciated! I'm still new to bogs.

 

[Lisak1]

I'd like to have an eco system pond.

An eco-system pond incorporates a gravel bottom - not compatible with a bottom drain. And I wouldn't feed a bottom drain directly into a bog in any case. You want the water that goes into the bog to be free of any visible debris or you will be dealing with clogging in short order.

Our bog is fed from a submerged pump that is housed in a vault that is located in a 1000 gallon underground water storage pit. We have a negative edge pond outflow that flows into the pit - that acts as our skimmer. So no solid debris gets to the pump, therefore no solid debris gets to the bog.

 

[addy1]

so you aren't just using a skimmer. I haven't seen the side drains in my searches yet. What kind of drain flange do you use to draw the water without getting the fish?

I have a three inch pvc pipe that goes to the pump, reduced to two right at the pump. I bought a blue 5 gallon lowes bucket, with the lid, cut a hole in the lid, stuck the pvc pipe into the lid. I drilled a TON of holes 1/4 inch all over the bucket, bottom, sides, top etc. That reduced the draw. I have yet to find a fry, tad etc in the leaf basket. My leaf basket has a small grid.

I have a external pool skimmer, a pump, a bog and ponds. The stream is run by a separate pump on a timer due to the 100 foot plus head pressure to reach the top of the hill. I have it come on twice a day.

 

[addy1]

Like your idea of a raised bog going into a partition bog. The raised bog will do a good job cleaning the water, so less muck flowing into the partition bog. Mine is a wall, water has a water fall area but also weeps over the entire wall.

 

[Cj Harvey]

I don't have the room for a storage

An eco-system pond incorporates a gravel bottom - not compatible with a bottom drain. And I wouldn't feed a bottom drain directly into a bog in any case. You want the water that goes into the bog to be free of any visible debris or you will be dealing with clogging in short order.

Our bog is fed from a submerged pump that is housed in a vault that is located in a 1000 gallon underground water storage pit. We have a negative edge pond outflow that flows into the pit - that acts as our skimmer. So no solid debris gets to the pump, therefore no solid debris gets to the bog.

tank that size. I'll have to make due with drawing water from the skimmer and the sides of the pond. No bottom drains!

 

[Lisak1]

It's underground @Cj Harvey - the sky's the limit!

Just kidding. It certainly didn't have to be as big as it is. It's just an option to build a pond with no skimmer. Add what is essentially a disappearing or pondless waterfall on the outflow and install a pump vault so your submersible pump is underwater.

 

[IPA]

@addy1 Is the plumbing to your bog through the liner or up and over?

 

[addy1]

@addy1 Is the plumbing to your bog through the liner or up and over?

I have one pipe going through the side of the liner, near the bottom, out from the bog, for drainage, flushing which we did once and never have done again. Not needed.

The input goes over the liner, that way the bog stays full of water over winter, the plants don't die due to being dry. They all freeze.

I just pull my external pump, leave the lines open to the air but with water in them. I loss one line due to a deer stomping on it, it was coming out of the ground from the deck ponds. OW they all survive the winter.

In the spring, set up the pump turn on, walk away. Within a day the water is back to crystal clear.

 

[Mmathis]

I'd like to have an eco system pond. But my primary fish type is koi and gold fish.

Can fish waste go into the bog? If it can the bottom drains would work good.

Ordinarily, you wouldn't want the fish waste to go directly into the bog -- most of us have some sort of prefilter to catch the solids. The main thing with the bog is that you don't want the water that goes to the bog going through a bio-filter first, since the plants need the nutrients. But if you have a 2-step bog.....that might work OK. All you can do is try it. I didn't really catch that part until I read @addy1's post.