Please advise as to if this pond design makes sense

[addy1]

Oh and if there is a good book that I can get to study these things and how to design a good pond etc i'd love to know so I can get it.

I just used the internet when I was researching bog filters 10 years ago. You can find a lot of info about ponds on the net. You tube, has great info, some very good pond builders you can watch and learn.

 

[j.w]

@Mayank

 

[Mayank]

View attachment 124534@Mayank

Thanks!

 

[Mayank]

@Lisak1 and @addy1 I looked at some videos online and was wondering in my situation given that everything's going to be boxed in by solid flagstone and I wanted to be a formal rectangle, where would my bog be? In the area where the water comes up and then falls back into the pond? I really didn't want any other plants in the pond except for my one current water lily and I would love to get two hardy lotuses if there is such a thing for zone 5...

 

[Mayank]

My current pond is a preformed tub I got a pump from home Depot that recirculates the water and no other filtration except for a wire cage over the pump. I've had it for almost 14 years give or take and not really done anything else...

 

[Mayank]

Hey anyone know how to edit the thread title? Just realized I wrote advice instead of advise

 

[Lisak1]

@addy1 can fix the title, but really it's nothing to worry about. We all figured out what you meant!

And yes, your bog can feed your waterfall, if that's what you were asking. And there are lotuses that will survive in zone 5B, as long as they are kept below the ice all winter long. They don't like to freeze solid.

 

[addy1]

In the area where the water comes up and then falls back into the pond?

Yes it could be a small planted bog.

I would love to get two hardy lotuses if there is such a thing for zone 5...

Yes lotus are hardy, you would want to pot them, they tend to take over a pond, send out runners and tubers.

 

[addy1]

Hey anyone know how to edit the thread title? Just realized I wrote advice instead of advise

fixed

 

[Mayank]

fixed

Thank you! The title was sloppy enough to begin with and then the faux pas... hahaha

So our patio guy who is also putting the pond in said, "if you're planning fish at any point, you'll need a biofilter. " So, we okayed that but where would that filter go? The whole thing is going to be encased within a flagstone patio so I'm hoping I'll have access to the filter for cleaning, maintenance, etc. Also, I read that the bog filter should not be after the biofilter because you want the bog plants to get rid of the nutrients but then after the bog section comes the waterfall back into the pond so wouldn't the pump be sucking from the pond (where would the pump be? within the pond? on the bottom of the deep part under the waterfall? Then it would have to go to the biofilter and then pumped up through the bog? I'm so confused!

 

[Lisak1]

If you have bog filtration you don't need a second bio filter - the bog IS a bio filter.

I don't want to overstep here, because you weren't asking, but I would be VERY hesitant to hire a "patio guy" to do a pond UNLESS you know he's built other ponds, and you've seen his work - and LOTS of it. Too many people who do landscaping or even hardscaping think "oh a pond - that's simple!" We've had people post here about nightmare stories. Check out Eric Triplett's "ponds gone wrong" series on YouTube - all ponds built by "professionals" that were disasters. Lots of good pond professionals say 60% or more of their business is fixing other builder's mistakes. I'd just hate for you to find yourself in that spot. It's way cheaper to do build it right the first time.

Any type of filtration on your pond should be EASILY accessible for maintenance and cleaning. And if you plan to have a bog filter then you just need a mechanical filter - a skimmer typically.

 

[addy1]

Great write up @Lisak1

My only filter is my bog. I have never regretted doing that.

 

[Mayank]

Thank you @Lisak1 and @addy1 for input. He said that he used to work for a company that did ponds and was also involved with spring cleanups (which I do realize that if the ecosystem is self sufficient you do not need that) and loved seeing all the baby koi . They put them in a container and cleaned the pond etc. All this was volunteered by him and he is a friend of a friend so I thought he is on the level...

 

[Mayank]

I'll find out what his idea of a biofilter was and post. I wanted a very clean square cut formal pond so maybe he thought that a biofilter would suit better than a bog?

 

[Lisak1]

A bog filter could fit very nicely in a formal set up. I feel like someone posted a picture the other day... hang on!