Starting from scratch.

[GBBUDD]

amen

 

[combatwombat]

If you have large basins ontop of the main falls that maybe a place for a bio filter in a bog but it would be SHAME NOT TO SHOW IT OFF TO THE KIDS

Agreed.

We have an area at the bottom that might be used for something like that. Sort of a flat area that we talked about making a watery rock garden...if that makes sense. About 20' x 12' and about 8" deep.

Tell us more about this rock garden. A biofilter needs MASSIVE surface area for bacteria to colonize, so what I am picturing as your rock garden would not cut it. If you filled the whole thing full of pea gravel and pumped water through it from the bottom (an active bog filter), you'd be getting closer to what might do the trick with your estimated water volume. Especially since the rest of the system does not appear to have much surface area (can you add rock/gravel elsewhere in the system?)

Active bogs typically need to be at least 12" deep or the root systems of the plants that colonize the top of the filter can foul up the distribution piping.

Do bio filters have to have the full flow through them?

Not at all. In fact, too much flow lowers their efficiency.

 

[GeoffDash]

Thank you for your responses. I will try and get more accurate details about the whole system and its size today. It's been a mad rush to get things done so the focus has been on the repairs and stopping water loss. The more I think about it, I'm a bit off on volume and a bit conservative on pond sizes/depths.

 

[sissy]

Are you planning on fish or just for decoration?. Peroxide will help clean the water and does not harm anything . Remember come summer with heat and lack of rain you will get more water evaporation . NJ is called the garden state but goes into the dry season come July . Heat and water flow will cause water to evaporate faster and During storms it will overflow .I still remember the storm that hit Metuchen NJ and I had 4 feet of water rushing down my road and washing it away . My son got flooded out during the Sandy storm also . Lost everything . Nor esters are the worst there . From winter ones to summer ones .

 

[GeoffDash]

Are you planning on fish or just for decoration?. Peroxide will help clean the water and does not harm anything . Remember come summer with heat and lack of rain you will get more water evaporation . NJ is called the garden state but goes into the dry season come July . Heat and water flow will cause water to evaporate faster and During storms it will overflow .I still remember the storm that hit Metuchen NJ and I had 4 feet of water rushing down my road and washing it away . My son got flooded out during the Sandy storm also . Lost everything . Nor esters are the worst there . From winter ones to summer ones .

Mainly decoration. The reason we want to avoid chemicals is because of the frogs. And we want the frogs for the mosquitos. We don't want to put fish in it just yet. Maybe never. We have a lot of herons and egrets here. The heat is why I wanted to coat the ponds with a lighter color. As you know, NJ has huge temperature differences between summer and winter. Especially in the farmlands and open spaces of the southern half. This mini golf is connected to a custard stand. The condensation from the ice cream machines and the air conditioning is collected and used as make up water for the system. That way there's minimal need for topping off from the domestic water. We'll have to monitor how much water is lost as the weather gets warmer. As mentioned above, the idea of a bog filter is appealing. These are all great suggestions. I'm trying to learn as much as I can from experienced people.

 

[GeoffDash]

Here are a few more pictures. The round pond is 16 feet across. It's 2 feet deep in the middle, shaped like a bowl. The top pond (not pictured is about the same size) The "moat" looking pond is roughly 40 feet long, 6 feet wide and 12 inches deep. (it's not full in the picture). The third picture is one of the areas on top that holds water. (pics of the basins didn't come out). My rudementary estimation for the top of the mountain is, it holds the equivalent of about 8, full size bathtubs. The main pond is 30x16 and closer to 4 feet deep. The last pciture is the main pond at the bottom. The area with the bucket was an area the former owner wanted to put a pile of rocks where the water cascaded down the rocks into the main pond. We decided to just make it a pond. After reading the suggestions on bogs, I wondered if that area could be used for that. It's about 20' long by 10' wide on average. The retention wall is 12" high. That area could be filled with pea stone and plants. After looking at the ponds and trying to figure water volume with calculators, we figure the system holds closer to 10,000 gallons on the high end. We should be topping off the system this afternoon and testing it tomorrow, provided all the water levels are good in the morning. Again. thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

[sissy]

I have tons of frogs and have to catch them and farmers get them free from me for their farm ponds . I use peroxide and koi clay and they both are harmless to any creatures . koi clay buffers the water . I was raised on a farm and my dad and i built a pond and used a natural spring on the farm to water and grow everything organic . That was back in the 60's . it was a city farm of 7 acres . I went back to the tried a true my day used , Filters built from tanks and used lava rock and I use those same things to this day .I lost only 2 fish since 2004 and that was because of a neighbors dog that fell into the pond . One fish injured by the dog the other one jumped out or was pushed out . I am no expert on fish but koi get huge and i found that out the bad way . I think my little fat fantails are the best fish . They don't get big and don't seem to breed as much as goldfish . fat fantails I call butt wigglers . They are slow and cute and come in many colors . Something for you to consider if you ever decide on fish .

 

[sissy]

your pond reminds me of thew CHEOKEE NATION DOWN IN NC . I was a great fan of their solar run ponds there . But Chief Hicks did tell me solar was pain and times to maintain .The whole area of their river and ponds was done with concrete

 

[GeoffDash]

Hey, folks. It's been a while since I've updated. The summer has been busy. The ponds at the minigolf have been (in my opinion) a success. We did build a bog filter and it is my absolute favorite part of the project. I acquired some lilies from some local ponds. They did well but not very impressive. I did buy some water hyacinths. A local pond owner was selling some back in June. I bought all he had. About 120. By late July, they had taken over every pond. Between the hyacinths and the bog filter, the water is crystal clear. The frogs thrived and we even had a small snapping turtle show up. I'll put some pictures below of the system. Thus fall we have a list of repairs and changes we'd like to make. Soon I'm going to have to find a home for thousands of water hyacinths. We figure we'll keep a few hundred and rehome the rest. Let me know if you're interested.

 

[GeoffDash]

Here are some of the ponds and the bog filter.

 

[addy1]

Nice! The hyacinths hate cold, I just toss in the fall start over in the spring if you want them.

Most warm areas where they could survive ban them.

 

[Lisak1]

Holy hyacinths Batman! Next year maybe start with 12 instead of 120!

Super job!

 

[GBBUDD]

compost

 

[YShahar]

Looks fantastic! And yes, those water hyacinths really take off when conditions suit them. You could probably have bought just a couple of them and gotten a similar result by the end of summer.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Herons don't just eat fish, without all that rubbish to hide under anymore they might well snack on frogs. Well, European ones would.

Just realised there was a second page, those water hyacinths make a good bit of cover.