Bog clean out snorkel

[bagsmom]

Hey, Pond Pals! I am getting closer to actually working on the backyard pond. I am still thinking through some of the details. I am going to have a bog filter. Rather than having an upright pipe to put a hose in and blast out gunk into the gravel, I was wondering about a different idea.
What if I put a piece of culvert pipe into the bog at the lowest end? I could stand it upright and have some cut-outs at the bottom edge to allow stuff to flow in. I could keep it covered with a lid and disguise with rock. Maybe every couple of years, I could turn off the pump and drop a submersible pump down to the bottom of this pipe. Then I could suck out any accumulated muck from the very bottom.
Here is a little drawing.
Is this pointless? Or a good idea?

 

[combatwombat]

That's the general idea behind the design of the aquascape style wetland filter. It works primarily via backflush. You need to backflush the gravel with a powerful pump (like your pond pump) to force trapped sediment back down to where it can flow back to the snorkel. This is most effectively done when you have a "centipede" diffuser recessed in your excavation that interfaces with the snorkel and a void space above it (milk crates / plastic pallets / aquablocks) to help suspended particles settle down into the centipede where it can travel back to the snorkel to be pumped out.

 

[bagsmom]

Do you think my much-less-involved idea would work at all? It seems like it might. In the front yard pond, my big waterfall filter has a bottom drain. Periodically, I turn off the pump and let the grunge settle, then open the pipe and let it flow out into the garden. That works really well.
I'm hoping my culvert pipe idea could function in a similar way, only instead of using gravity and letting the gunk flow out from the bottom, I would go down to the bottom and pump out whatever has settled.
(I know some folks never even clean out the bog at all.)
Basically, I am thinking this could get a little bit of the benefit (though not all) with less work. I guess I could be a guinea pig and experiment!

 

[Jhn]

It will work, if as @combatwombat said you use something like aqua blocks, milk crates or large rocks, graduating up to pea gravel at the top. You must have some type of void space….You don’t want that design filled with pea gravel, as the water velocity will not slowdown enough to let sediment settle out. Also, as mentioned connect the horizontal centipede into the snorkel, as some fines, etc. will settle out during the transition out of centipede and then can slowly work its way into the snorkel/vault.

A few of us on here have this design, (with a void space above the centipede) so it can be pumped out via the snorkel if we want.

 

[brokensword]

Hey, Pond Pals! I am getting closer to actually working on the backyard pond. I am still thinking through some of the details. I am going to have a bog filter. Rather than having an upright pipe to put a hose in and blast out gunk into the gravel, I was wondering about a different idea.
What if I put a piece of culvert pipe into the bog at the lowest end? I could stand it upright and have some cut-outs at the bottom edge to allow stuff to flow in. I could keep it covered with a lid and disguise with rock. Maybe every couple of years, I could turn off the pump and drop a submersible pump down to the bottom of this pipe. Then I could suck out any accumulated muck from the very bottom.
Here is a little drawing.
Is this pointless? Or a good idea?
View attachment 147067

agree to the advice above; this is how I did my bog, with a bit of difference. In your design, I'd find a way to connect your centipede tube with the slots TO the snorkel/vault. This way, you're sure to get the sediment IN the snorkel to the vault. It WILL work as you have it though, but maybe you can attach and get more function. You DO need some sort of space down low so your sediment, when backflushed, will remain mobile enough to be pushed. What I did was to use large 8" rocks on the bottom layer, and above the centipede manifold tube. Then put in a layer of 2" rock, then finally pea gravel. Use ONLY rounded stone, no matter what size. Another hint; when you dig, make the walls of the bog hole shaped like a 'V' so as you backflush, there's a natural path to the lowest point. That is important too; have your centipede manifold angle down to the lowest point and it's there you place your vault. Now, everything is pitched toward this point and when you backflush, it should all end up where you can pump it out. I was told by a pond professional (where I got my design, btw) that usually it will take 2-3 good hard backflushes until you're pumping out clear water.

Annnnnndd; don't forget--don't put your pond pump on the very bottom of your pond! Easiest way to get a clogged bog situation!

The Castle should have a bog, now that I'm thinking of it...course, it might be connected to Boss addy's personal pond and sauna already; I'll hafta check on that one...but I like your design, BM! Keep on keeping on and 'let's Ride!'


AMTI for the WIN!!

 

[bagsmom]

I based on the responses, it sounds like I'm maybe just adding more work and materials expense. I won't have aqua blocks or anything. Just PVC with slits facing down and graduated sizes of rounded rock. Maybe I will go with the basic Addy method and keep it very simple. (FYI, I am going to have an intake bay with the pump in a pump vault, so I'm hopeful that will help minimize some of the debris!)
Thanks everyone!

 

[mrsclem]

I have a chimney flue liner as my cleanout with large pvc pipe and have a couple of tile to keep it up off the bottom. My pipes run all the way past the clean out and have the 90° turn to flush the pipes. Just make sure your pump will fit down inside it.

 

[brokensword]

Just make sure your pump will fit down inside it.View attachment 147076

I second that statement!!

 

[GBBUDD]

Instead of your holes in the bottom of the snorkel i made the snorkel as a trap. It is a good foot lower then the centipede so any debris that makes it to the snorkel can fall into this trap and stay there out of any water flow.
The centipede it's self as cw mentioned should be dug in deeper then the rest of the bog and on an angle with the snorkel at the deepest end. I also pitched all the sides toward the recessed centipede as well. This way if i ever drained the bog the water flow should help wash the sediment back into the centipede. Now aquascape has there centipede with very large openings along the entire snorkel. My thought was to keep more of the solid pipe along the bottom half to keep and allow the settlement to stay confined to the centipede. The other tip i would say is when your ready to clean out the bog and have started to drain out the bog/snorkel stick a hose down into the centipede WITHOUT A BRASS END turn the water on and it will whip around stirring up any debris at the other end of the snorkel. This way you can pump it out.

Careful with larger culverts they really add up in the over all depth that's needed.
a. 1 foot for the snorkel to be deeper then the centipede
b. 1foot Culvert for the centipede
c. 6" pitch for the centipede
d. 12 or 18" tall aquablocks
e. 4 to 6" of 2 to 3" rock to keep smaller rock from falling into the aquablocks. aquascapes recommends three different layer of different size rocks i think you really only need two.
f. BUT I WOULD AT A MINIMUM KEEP 18" OF ROCK ABOVE THE AQUABLOCKS . Deep rooted plants the last thing you want is them filling the settling chambers of the aquablocks.

This is at the deepest is 5 feet but that is for the snorkel and the centipede trench comes up from there so the actual bottom of the over all average of the bog is only around 3 feet deep

But thats my thinking heres a pro

 

[combatwombat]

@bagsmom, do you have the culvert pipe already? If not, you'll have to buy one, and they come in 10' sticks minimum. Usually 20'. So if you have to buy one anyway for your snorkel that only needs to be 4-5' long, you might as well abandon the pvc manifold and use the rest of the stick as your diffuser. Then you get more effective system. And that's easier than all the pvc/fittings/gluing as well.

 

[bagsmom]

I think I can get a scrap from a local landscaper. That's where I got my piece for my fish cave in the front yard pond. I need to contact him and ask!

 

[addy1]

Maybe I will go with the basic Addy method and keep it very simple

I have zero clean out things zero and have never needed them. But I do not draw the water off of the bottom, draw about a foot up.

 

[bagsmom]

My bog and pond are not going to be all that big. The bog will be 30% of the total pond size but really, they aren't super large. (I think of the big aquascape wetland filters with tons of aqua blocks and huge centipedes. Mine will be much more "average DIYer" style.) I was limited by $, of course, but also the fact that my old body is all the "heavy duty equipment" I have for digging in the really hard, rocky clay.
Here is a reminder of what the excavation looks like:
Here is a really ugly picture after a huge rain. Ignore all the strange pieces of fabric. I put them there to keep the dirt from washing away. Bog is at the upper right and intake bay is at the bottom center. The other photo is me sitting in the bottom of the intake bay. You can see the bucket of clay rock. I had to excavate the intake bay with a small pickaxe - no shovel. I think I must have been a mole in another life. It's all compressed clay rock.

 

[bagsmom]

This giant dirt hole has dominated our backyard for over TWO YEARS now! It is time for me to get it done!!!!!!! What an eyesore it is at this point!

 

[addy1]

This giant dirt hole has dominated our backyard for over TWO YEARS now! It is time for me to get it done!!!!!!! What an eyesore it is at this point!

go go go go !