Bog Pump Size

[Sunshine]

I am having some real problems with my bog. This year was horrible. Algae constantly covered the surface. The sludge was non stop. Not sure it's the pump size being too much or what.
The bog is around 5'x 3'x18" deep. The part of the pond where the pumps sit is 3' deep. It's around 10' from the pumps to the bog.
I have the plumbing for the bog split. One 2100 gph runs one half and another 2100 gph runs the other half. Are the pumps too much?
We had problems last year with algae. Seemed the water wasn't moving much. That's why we split the plumbing to have 2 pumps instead of one. Put all new gravel in. The whole surface was covered with a giant elephant ear, still had algae and sludge on the surface.
Any thoughts on what the problem is. We've had this pond for a good 20 years with no problems until the last 3 years.

 

[addy1]

My bog always collects sludge, before all the plants take off then algae is gone. I don't worry about the sludge.

If I wanted I could garden hose spray it off, but nope been doing it's job keeping the pond clear and healthy.

 

[Hound Heaven]

The first couple of years that I had the bog/pond running I tried to keep the water level above the bog gravel but discovered the algae was horrendous. Once I raised the gravel out of the water, I now only have string algae in spring - barely any the rest of the season.
I also have only a trickle of pond water going into my bog, the rest goes to the waterfall FWIW.

 

[Sunshine]

My bog always collects sludge, before all the plants take off then algae is gone. I don't worry about the sludge.

If I wanted I could garden hose spray it off, but nope been doing it's job keeping the pond clear and healthy.

So you don't think the pumps are too much for the bog? I thought maybe the 2 pumps were just pushing the sludge through the gravel and back into the pond.

 

[Hound Heaven]

So you don't think the pumps are too much for the bog? I thought maybe the 2 pumps were just pushing the sludge through the gravel and back into the pond.

I'm no expert but I've always read that the slower the water travels through the bog, the more efficiently the bog works. I think the sludge is just the product that the plants in the bog might ingest? Some of the more experienced folks will likely speak up to the ratio/speed of the water turnover, but I might want to reduce the speed/volume into the bog and see how that works.

 

[mrsclem]

Are the pumps for the bog sitting on the pond bottom? Any pre-filter on them?

 

[Sunshine]

Are the pumps for the bog sitting on the pond bottom? Any pre-filter on them?

They are sitting on crates the furthest away from the bog. No prefilter