CONTAINER BOG AS WATERFALL?

[Mmathis]

Still looking for an alternative to my SKIPPY filter.... Would this work? PROS? CONS? Advantages? Disadvantages? Worth the effort?

Rubbermaid container doubling as bog and waterfall? Was looking at the Rubbermaid stats, and the 300 gal tank is approx. 5' x 5' across, and a little over 2 feet tall (deep). Could I use one this size as a bog that flows into the pond via a waterfall-stream? Could I set it up same as a bog [water pumped in from the bottom, flowing up through a gravel bed]? Of course, it wouldn't fit the size ratio for a bog.

Just a thought.

 

[Waterbug]

20 years ago those kinds of filters were popular, they were called "up flow gravel filters" or just "gravel filters" (not to be confused with today's "sand & gravel filters"). They were in the 300 gal range. One reason they went away was their large size. But the primary reason was what was called channeling. That is water would find the easiest path and only move thru that path. So you'd have this huge filter but only be using 5-10% of it. And people did endless kinds of pipe distribution schemes with no improvement.

A bog is a different filter which uses a huge size. So even with channeling, and only using 5-10%, you still end up with a fair amount of filtering. And their huge size also allows more stuff to settle out.

If you had your heart set on a gravel filter you can reduce the amount of water going thru it compared to what you might push thru a proper size bog. That might make it act a little more like a bog.

Of course for the same price as a 300 gal tank you could build a 3,000 gal bog with EPDM liner.

 

[Mmathis]

WB, sorry I haven't gotten back to comment. Your points answered my questions, so glad I posted. Have just been looking for alternatives, and since we haven't built the waterfall yet [will be built around the filter in the spring], trying to come up with ideas before we commit.