Pond filtration

[GBBUDD]

Including impatiens

We don't mention impatience enough any guy who wants to build a pond and the wife is on the fence about it should see how Huge they grow in a bog or just laying along the pond. It's miracle grow on steroids

 

[poconojoe]

Agree, that small upper section is absolutely perfect for a bog filter. That's the first thing I thought when I looked at the picture.

Most of the work is already done for a bog. The main container is already there. Just add the manifold and cover it with pea gravel and you'll have a maintenance free filter. No filter pads to rinse, just enjoy clear water. No other filters or UV lights are necessary.

Grow plants directly in the gravel, no pots.
As the plants grow, it will just look like a garden. No one will even know there's a complete filtering system under there.

Here's my add-on bog build that GBBUDD mentioned...

My add-on bog build

I finally did it! I joined the bog club! The bog is approximately 14 feet by 5 feet and about 12 inches deep. I know my 1600+ gallon pond has been overpopulated due to my fish reproductive rates! Last year the water never cleared up to my liking. I figured my two pressure filters and my...

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[Jrylb73]

ok so I put the pvc pipe on the bottom and drilled 1/4” holes in it for the water to come through. So, now put the wire grate back over it and put in the pea gravel for the water to filter through?

 

[addy1]

drilled 1/4” holes in it for the water to come through.

I would flip the pipe over so the holes are down. Pea gravel likes to drop down and plug holes, Mine is all slits chopped with a saw. All the slits pointing down. OW no need for the screen or add if you want, if it is a fine screen it might get plugged with silt etc and not flow as well. You will love how it helps take care of your pond.

 

[brokensword]

ok so I put the pvc pipe on the bottom and drilled 1/4” holes in it for the water to come through. So, now put the wire grate back over it and put in the pea gravel for the water to filter through? View attachment 137983

ah, I think you might have missed something in translation; there's no obvious input for the water to get into your manifold pipes. You need an ingress, so you need to cut the pipe, put in a tee, then work the pvc up to your input pipe (flex pvc?). I'd also add a union at that junction.

Second thought; 1/4" holes are pretty small if you have any sort of pump flow. Recommended is to cut slits, 1/3 the way through the pipe. You need a better way for the water to flow out. Take a circular saw and slit at every other drill point, along the main run, not the sides; that should do it.

Third thought; you may not want to hear this, but it would be better if your manifold pipes went down the center and not along the sides. Why, you ask? Because as the gravel above gets root-bound or slightly clogged, the water will force itself up along the wall sides instead of up through the gravel as you want it. The changes I'd make then are; two manifolds with slits now, a tee for getting the pond water into the manifolds, a union at the top to disconnect your hose if you ever need to, and manifolds going down the center, not along the sides.

Fourth idea; you may not have enough outlet flow area to handle the water you're going to put in. Watch it as your bog water height might start rising faster than those two outflow pipes can return it. You may need another or wider pipes. Just something to keep an eye on. General rule of thumb is outflow diameter = twice the diameter of the inflow.

[EDIT]; just saw addy's post; in my case, I was advised to put the slits up. Now, I can see if you get any sort of buildup that flushing might be an issue if the slits are down. That said, there's some here who have done it both ways and it's worked. In my case, I placed large round boulders (8") alongside and one layer overtop of my pipe. Then a layer of 2" round stone. Then the pea gravel. Others use the snorkel and centipede effect (search here if you're interested). So, you probably don't need that wire grate. It may rust out unless it's stainless steel anyway.

 

[addy1]

in my case, I was advised to put the slits up.

lol when I built mine there was not a lot of advice about bog filtration, in fact I was told by more than once it would not work!

Good post @brokensword ^^^^

 

[addy1]

if you get any sort of buildup that flushing might be an issue if the slits are down.

10 years later no build up, but I do not pull from the bottom of the pond. I pull water from about 1 foot from the bottom.

 

[Jrylb73]

where the arrow is pointing that’s where my pump pulls the water from the pond and fills the upper half. I have a valve on the back which I can control the flow of water

 

[brokensword]

where the arrow is pointing that’s where my pump pulls the water from the pond and fills the upper half. I have a valve on the back which I can control the flow of water View attachment 137985

gotcha; didn't see that you were plumbing in from the bottom. The other aspects/points though, still should be noted.

 

[poconojoe]

Ok, I just want to make sure you have the basic concept correct.
The water gets pumped from the pond, through that TEE with the arrow pointing at it, through the PVC manifold, out of the 1/4" holes, up through the gravel and returns to the pond through those three pipes on the right.

At first I thought you had the water flowing the other way, so I just wanted to make sure.

 

[Jrylb73]

Ok so I made the slits in the PVC as well as the 1/4” holes. Think this will be enough? I will be putting the wire grate back in it like in the first pics I posted. That will hopefully keep any chances of the holes or slits getting plugged up.

 

[poconojoe]

Some of us have clean-out stacks.
I sometimes notice the flow back to my pond slow up. This happens maybe once every couple months. That's when I flush the manifold via the clean-out stacks.
I'll turn off the pump, unscrew the cap on the stack, turn the pump back on and watch black water shoot out for a few seconds. I shut the pump off, close the cap and turn the pump back on. The flow back to the pond resumes it's full strength.
Look at my link back in post #17. The stacks are at the end of each manifold leg. The stacks go up vertically and end just at the level of the gravel. Screw caps keep them secure.

 

[poconojoe]

I think the slits are an improvement.

 

[Jrylb73]

Ok so for this one behind the pond between the pump and where it goes into the overflow tank is a valve which you can use to regulate the flow of the water.

Fourth idea; you may not have enough outlet flow area to handle the water you're going to put in. Watch it as your bog water height might start rising faster than those two outflow pipes can return it. You may need another or wider pipes. Just something to keep an eye on. General rule of thumb is outflow diameter = twice the diameter of the inflow.

 

[poconojoe]

Ok so for this one behind the pond between the pump and where it goes into the overflow tank is a valve which you can use to regulate the flow of the water.

Instead of restricting the flow of your pump with that one valve which may not be so good for the pump...
What some do in regards to that, is add a wye fitting and two valves after it. One valve feeds the bog and one returns to the pond. Each can be regulated independently as needed.