bog ideas

[Nova]

I have seen bogs made with pipes at the bottom filled with pea gravel and I saw a bog in a book that was filled with dirt. The dirt filled bog was a shallow depression (slightly lower lower then the pond) on the other side of the rock edge of the pond and covered with liner. The water from the pond was just high enough to flow into the bog.

A piece of liner was used against the back of the rocks so the dirt would not flow back into the pond.

I like the idea of the dirt filled bog because the area the bog will be in is not large 2' x 2' and it would be little maintainence and no plumbing.

Anyone else have a dirt bog?

 

[addy1]

If you are just wanting a bog, without filtering for the pond the dirt one would work. Make sure not too much water flows into it out of the pond or it will overflow.

Mine is set up to be the filter for my pond. Water pumped into bottom of bog and it waterfalls back into the pond after being filtered by the pea gravel and the plants.

There are also ones made with a rock wall between the pond and bog. Landscape fabric is used over the rocks to keep the dirt in the bog, but the water can pass back and forth between the bog and pond.

 

[j.w]

So could one make a bog right next to the pond and use a small pump to put water to the bog from the pond and then allow the water to flow from a waterfall back into the pond? Am I getting this right? And all you do is add some dirt and plants to the bog? If I did it that way the bog would have to be higher than the pond or it would flow over the side of the bog. Or if you make the bog lower then the pond the falls would come over from the pond into the bog slowly and then back to the pond w/o a pump right? I just don't get how it gets back into the pond that way w/o flooding out over the ground

 

[Nova]

addy, what kind of container are you using for the bog and how big/deep is it? I would like to have a bog at the top of my waterfall, having the water flow from the skimmer into a bog and then down the falls to the pond. Also how do you have it plumbed?

The small pond I think I will just make a dirt bog unless I change my mind and add a second bog as the waterfall weir.

 

[Nova]

j.w...the dirt bog is just a depression separated from the pond by the rock edging. Instead of covering the back of the rocks with liner and stopping water flow out of the pond, there is no liner and water is free to fill the bog. The back and sides of the bog are higher then the water level, like the edges of the pond so the water does not just flow out, but the front of the bog is slightly lower then water level to allow water in. There is not really any exchange of water flow with the dirt bog, it is just a nice way to add bog plants or add plant in an area that, for me, is very dry and hard to grow any thing. I guess it would be more like irrigating.

 

[j.w]

Ok thanks Nova. It's level w/ the pond concerning the water level and it doesn't do any filtering of any sort

 

[addy1]

jw, I pump the water from the pond to below the pea gravel in the bog, via pvc pipes. The bog is about 3 inches higher than the pond with one area 3 inches lower for the water fall. I have no filter except for the bog. Mine is pea gravel and plants, no dirt.

nova, my bog is around 28 feet long x 6 x 2.5 feet deep. I used liner to make it, built a wall between the pond and the bog (one large liner for both)

Click the link below my post I have a explanation of building the bog in that construction post.

You can make a small bog to help filter your pond, the best is to have the water enter below the gravel and push up through the gravel and the plants then back into the pond.

 

[j.w]

Addy, do you just have a pump that sits on the floor of your pond and then is hooked up to a flex tube and then attaches to the pvc? How does the pvc go from your pond to under the bog? Does it go over the top of pond and then down under ground to the bottom of the bog or do you put it through the wall of your pond liner. I looked at your link and remember your build but there is so much to find that I didn't know which page to look for the instructions for the bog. What if one just used a flex hose to go from the pump at the bottom of the pond and then over the edge of pond and then down under the gravel in the bog so that the water comes flowing up through the gravel and then back into the pond through the falls but w/o pvc or cutting any holes in liners?

 

[addy1]

around 8/4/2010

We have an external pump, draw the water from the bottom of the pond, pump it into the bottom of the bog. The pvc goes over the edge of the pond, (I hate making holes in the liner) the pvc going into the bottom of the bog does go through the liner, whew no leak. You can make it without doing any liner cuts, just want your water input to start at the bottom of the bog. i did the liner cut in the bog to be able to flush the bog if it gets clogged. Just release the piping from the pump and it flushes like a toilet.

I have two 2 inch lines running the length of the bog with slashes cut into the pvc at around 12 inches apart 1/4 inch wide. The two lines join at the one end and go to the pump (external) The water is pushed up through the gravel past all the plant roots and water falls back into the pond.

 

[j.w]

Thanks addy, If I don't use a toilet drain like you have and cut the bog liner on the bottom I wonder how I would unclog it w/o having to tare everything apart?

 

[addy1]

Thanks addy, If I don't use a toilet drain like you have and cut the bog liner on the bottom I wonder how I would unclog it w/o having to tare everything apart?

most likely you will never have a problem if you have a leaf basket. We have one in line and one on the pump. And no koi, the goldies dont poop as much. My previous bog i never had to clean

 

[addy1]

jw you can also put a 45 angle at the end of the pipe, non pump end, have it sticking above your gravel, capped. If you ever get clogged, just take the pump off and put a garden hose into the end of pipe and flush away.

 

[Nova]

Could you use a large rubber container, if you want a small bog? That way you could put a hole in the bottom for the plumbing and it would be stronger and less likely to leak than the liner. I know a container would not have a lower edge for water to flow out but you could cut down one side and glue/tape/caulk/foam the liner to it. The container could be small like a storage bin and as large as those used to water farm animals.

 

[addy1]

Nova you can use anything for a bog. I used those wood whiskey barrels to make one.
Rubbermaid makes some tough containers, make sure it is the soft rubber so you can make a hole in them. Some are a brittle type plastic and it shatters when you try to cut it. And yep cut down the one side for flow.
My pond bog is made to always be full of water, my carnivorous bogs are being made to able to drain water if too much gets in via rain etc. They like to be wet then dryer back and forth.
For it to work as a good filter you would want your water to pump up through the gravel and plants.

 

[mrsclem]

I have a bog sililar to Addys, not as big! Check out my thread BOG FILTER START. I drilled holes in the pvc pipe but may have drilled them too big or maybe just too many plants as the pipes were clogged by last fall. A garden hose down the supply pipe this spring did clean things out.