Foam from the falls of the bog

[Faebinder]

So the bog fall is causing foam on top of the pond. The bog gets its water from the bottom of the 3' deep pond. The water doesn't appear foamy when it drops in the bog. The bog has 2-4 inches of water above the stones.

I'm thinking there are a lot of organics at the bottom of the pond (although that should show up as foam in the bog but the bog is not foamy).

Any ideas what to do? A bog is supposed to help filter not make it worse...

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Your post somehow got truncated, but, yes, it is caused by an accumulation of organics in your 'bog'.

 

[Faebinder]

Your post somehow got truncated, but, yes, it is caused by an accumulation of organics in your 'bog'.

Fixed it a little..

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Fixed it a little..

What did you do?

 

[Faebinder]

What did you do?

I meant the post... Heh bog is the same.

 

[addy1]

Mine water doesn't foam but the bog is huge and has a very large amount of plants.

You could put some quilt batting below the falls to try and remove some of the debris.

 

[Mmathis]

@Faebinder Does the water from your bog percolate up from the bottom, or does it travel over the top of the gravel bed?

 

[Faebinder]

Mine water doesn't foam but the bog is huge and has a very large amount of plants.

You could put some quilt batting below the falls to try and remove some of the debris.

Mmmm nice solution. I can do that..... There is a rock at the fall that i can use to hold it.

 

[Faebinder]

@Faebinder Does the water from your bog percolate up from the bottom, or does it travel over the top of the gravel bed?

The water level is definitely above the pea gravel and I keep adding pea gravel and the water level keeps going over it later. I think I'm up to 10-12 bags already.

 

[Mmathis]

The water level is definitely above the pea gravel and I keep adding pea gravel and the water level keeps going over it later. I think I'm up to 10-12 bags already.

No, I mean, how does the water flow through the gravel....up from the bottom (as with PVC conduit), or does it just flow over the top? When there is flow going UP from the bottom (PVC), there is better filtration taking place.

 

[Faebinder]

All I got now is water pumped from a hose to the opposite end of the bog. The water actually flows upwards cause the bog is sloped down. Then it goes over a rock. I kee adding pea gravel to reduce the water above gravel level but it seems to continuously need more. Someone else said not to be surprised of that during the first year as the gravel settles.

 

[Mmathis]

@Faebinder Do you have a set up like these? If the water is only flowing over the gravel, that could be why the bog isn't doing its job. Whenever I wash fresh gravel, it always has a "foam" coming off until the water gets most of the gravel debris washed off. I'm sure it's all that teeny tiny debris that causes the foam, at least the foam that I'm talking about.

And not sure what you mean about letting the gravel settle.....? I do occas. add gravel, but it's not a lot.

Maybe if you posted some pics of your bog, how it's set up, etc., it might help. How big is it? Is it a container bog or over a liner like the pond?

 

[Faebinder]

@Faebinder Do you have a set up like these? If the water is only flowing over the gravel, that could be why the bog isn't doing its job. Whenever I wash fresh gravel, it always has a "foam" coming off until the water gets most of the gravel debris washed off. I'm sure it's all that teeny tiny debris that causes the foam, at least the foam that I'm talking about.

And not sure what you mean about letting the gravel settle.....? I do occas. add gravel, but it's not a lot.

Maybe if you posted some pics of your bog, how it's set up, etc., it might help. How big is it? Is it a container bog or over a liner like the pond?

View attachment 94576

View attachment 94577

No I dont have pipage under the gravel. It would be a future project I guess. I have to figure out how to connect the hose to a pvc pipe. The bog is not that big. It's 6' by 2'.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

You are getting very little in the way of additional filtration from what is really just a planting area. 'Bogs' for garden ponds, because of the limits to size are always upflow. Surface flow engineered wetlands ('bogs') do provide considerable filtration but one is talking of a footprint in acres.
If you have any substantial plant growth in this planting area, the plants are trapping organic matter that originates in the pond in addition to the dying foliage from the plants, dead insects and any other windblown organic matter. This is slowly decomposing and releasing the organics that will create foam when the water is agitated.

 

[Mmathis]

@Meyer Jordan Thank you! Much better than I could have said.