Skippy vs bog

[GBBUDD]

@Loree

An overly simplified drawing. Both have PVC “manifold-type” water entry. Skippy uses a “swirl” concept for water to enter the bottom, dead-space. Skippy uses “things“ as areas for biofilm to grow (can use anything, as long as it has good surface area). A bog uses perforated PVC which sits directly under the gravel. Plants are grown in the gravel.

My Skippy is a 100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank. The same could be used as a bog.

IMHO, Skippy has its place (it was easy to make, easy to maintain, and worked), but is better for smaller ponds. Also, IMHO, a bog is more natural, just as efficient (if not more so), and a whole darn lot more attractive!

That is where the aqua blocks come into play and my own twist to the aquablock bog being i used a 24" pipe to disperse water throughout the bog the idea was for the heavy solids to drop out of the water column before they entered the stone area or the aquablocks. collected in the double walled smooth pipe of the 24 inch where it is pitched toward a 24" drop at the opposite side of the intake. Guess my idea was a combination of two designs already in the works. All i know is it works very well for me thus far

 

[Mmathis]

@GBBUDD And that is exactly why I will be switching to an Aqua blocks bog once our new pond ever gets built.

 

[Shell-Fish]

Skippy filter has to be British it just sounds so brit.

Nah not from our neck of the woods.... afaik

 

[Mmathis]

There used to be a web site from the folks who came up with this filter, but I couldn’t find it when I searched. I honestly don’t remember where they were located. But I do recall that they named it “Skippy” after a family pet frog — yes, frog (see, I remember the important stuff, y’all!). Just for kicks I’ll keep searching because it bugs me that I can’t find it.

 

[GBBUDD]

THE supply enters the bog in the red pipe on the left side of the photo
Where the 24" double walled pipe allows segiment and larger debris to fall out of the water column as there is very little flow/ moveent in that area from only 6,000 gallons and hour in a 24 inch pipe .

iThe water then pushes up through a 6" layer of mellon sized rocks.
Where it comes ito a second settling chamber the aqua blocks.
IT then if forced upward very slowly through 24" of 3/4 and 3/8" pea stone Where the roots of the plants absorb anything remaining and thrive off the nitrates and phosphates as well as convert any ammonia or nitrites
The 24" pipe that is vertical i pump a lot of air at to insure the bacteria has as much o2 as it needs to thrive. and that pipe is about a foot plus lower then any other part of the bog so any sediment drops to that point for maintenance . the aqua blocks do not enter the vertical 24" pipe but the lower angled 24" pipe does
The craziest thing is i have fish living in the 24" pipes that entered as fry and are now about 4"

I should add this is 14 feet x 9 feet x 7 feet for a pond that is around 14,000 gallons

 

[Loree]

Thank you ALL for your comments and illustrations. My original plan was to build a bog using a 100gal.stock tank. It already has a small drain hole. I drilled another hole and put on bulkhead fitting. I already have it fitted with PVC with slots. The plan is/was to have water pumped into the pvc via the bulkhead and have it flow out the side into a waterfall which I am currently building (or trying ). Money is kinda tight right now with covid so don't think I can afford all the bags of pea gravel that I'll need to make 10-12 inches., not to mention the bog plants.
Soooooo I looked up the skippy. Thinking could do a skippy for the remainder this year and start the bog with new plants in the spring....
I just don't know...

 

[IPA]

Is there a stone yard near you? I bought six five gallon buckets and filled them myself at the stone yard. Even with the cost of the buckets I paid about 1/3 the cost of bags. Only took about 3 to 5 trips though, haha.

 

[Loree]

Is there a stone yard near you? I bought six five gallon buckets and filled them myself at the stone yard. Even with the cost of the buckets I paid about 1/3 the cost of bags. Only took about 3 to 5 trips though, haha.

That's a great idea.....but I don't think there's one around here. I'll ask around, but I don't think there is

 

[Loree]

One thing I think I'd like about a skippy filter is the ability to open it from the bottom to remove sludge. A con would be I'd worry the plants would freeze over the winter with the filter being above ground.

The tank I'm going to be using has a drain in it. The bog plants wouldn't freeze too?

 

[poconojoe]

That's a great idea.....but I don't think there's one around here. I'll ask around, but I don't think there is

Check out any garden centers near you. The places that sell plants, but also soil, mulch and stone. If they don't have 3/8" pea gravel, then small river stone will work as long as it's smooth, not pointy.

 

[cas]

I got this information from a website I think @Mmathis is referring to:

Example of a Skippy filter using a rubber maid stock tank. Its rounded sides enable the water to swirl in the bottom. The swirl effect helps to ensure that the water is filtered evenly as it flows upward through the media. The indentation where the drain plug is installed helps to create turbulence. A lighting grate is placed at the bottom to create a space between the bottom of the tank and the filter medium to act as a type of sludge pit. Another grate may be placed on top of the filter media to hold it in place.

And as was mentioned before, you can place plants on top. For example:

Problem with putting plants on top of the skippy filter / biofalls is that the roots grow into your media and are impossible to remove. After a few years, I had to get new media.

 

[mrsclem]

The tank I'm going to be using has a drain in it. The bog plants wouldn't freeze too?

As long as the plants you put in the bog are hardy, it won't hurt for them to freeze. Just don't drain the bog in winter.

 

[GBBUDD]

The tank I'm going to be using has a drain in it. The bog plants wouldn't freeze too?

For plants that can survive a winter freezing is fine, drying out is not

 

[Lisak1]

Great drawing @GBBUDD ! The Aquablox are supposed to provide that "dead space" for things to settle out, but the water needs to move slowly through the space. I think we push our water through a bit too fast for any settling to occur, but who knows. I've never actually checked to see what's going on at the bottom! We have plans to add a water feature to the bog which will mean dropping a pump into the centipede, so we may find out then what's down there!

 

[GBBUDD]

Thank you ALL for your comments and illustrations. My original plan was to build a bog using a 100gal.stock tank. It already has a small drain hole. I drilled another hole and put on bulkhead fitting. I already have it fitted with PVC with slots. The plan is/was to have water pumped into the pvc via the bulkhead and have it flow out the side into a waterfall which I am currently building (or trying ). Money is kinda tight right now with covid so don't think I can afford all the bags of pea gravel that I'll need to make 10-12 inches., not to mention the bog plants.
Soooooo I looked up the skippy. Thinking could do a skippy for the remainder this year and start the bog with new plants in the spring....
I just don't know...

The rock does not absolutely have to be pea stone it is more the size then it is the type of stone. if your soil is bony with lots of small rocks you could make a screen and sift out the rocks, is it a bit of work sure but thats partly why rock is expensive. i did not use " pea stone" i used 3/8" river rock along with 3/4" river rock. now the smoothness of the rock i think helps with when sediment does start to acumulate and pressure builds. it should allow for the pressure to create relief spots. but thats probably years down the road. if it starts to fail then you maybe able to switch to the river or pea at that point. if not you found a cheap way to fill the bog. The other thing to for those who have space but not a lot in the budget aquabloxs provide i think 90% void space larger rocks 5-8" i believe can create 35% void so it could be a make shift settling area.