The Accidental Pond - filter problem

[Dirty]

Makes sense. Should work differently underwater.

 

[addy1]

I never worried about the flow just cut slots in the pipes, installed, covered with gravel and let it run. You are doing a good job planning and testing. I tend to just go for it.

I'm wondering if the test being out of the water was not indicative of how it will behave when submerged? I might cut a few more slots in the closest pipe anyway.

 

[Dirty]

I never worried about the flow just cut slots in the pipes, installed, covered with gravel and let it run. You are doing a good job planning and testing. I tend to just go for it.

I am now. Wish I'd done a bit more at the beginning of the whole project

 

[GBBUDD]

There are so many versions out there of the BOG so long as your not seriously deficient in one aspect or another you should be fine.

 

[Dirty]

I started putting the gravel in. Having read a few build threads on here a common theme seems to be the intent to wash the gravel that rapidly gets abandoned as the scale of the job reveals itself. Determined to avoid a similar mistake I threw the first bucket of gravel in unwashed. I immediately realised my gravel was cheap for a reason. A quick estimate says that unwashed I'd end up with 3 or 4 inches of sand at the bottom once it settled which would put the pipes pretty much under sand. So I'm washing it. Next update may be some time.....

 

[GBBUDD]

Don't be dirty there dirty. The cleaner the better but anyone who honest will tell you they ended up with the stone giving off a lot more silt then they would have like to have seen

 

[addy1]

I didn't wash ours, we did a few wheel barrels full, on a well, very dry summer, ended up just dumping it in. But I had a lot, 38000 lbs, within a week or so, water was clear.

Now it is always clear.

 

[Dirty]

I didn't wash ours, we did a few wheel barrels full, on a well, very dry summer, ended up just dumping it in. But I had a lot, 38000 lbs, within a week or so, water was clear.

Now it is always clear.

Thanks, yes yours was one of the builds I read in detail. As you say though your filters are pretty big. Bog one is only 1.2m x 1.2m x .4m deep. and my gravel is very very sandy. I'll not bother for bog 2, though I'll also probably try to source some better quality gravel.

 

[poconojoe]

I used three cubic yards in my bog. Three trips with my pickup truck (Weight was a concern).
I shoveled it from my truck into my wheel barrow. Because of the weight, I couldn't put too much in the wheel barrow either.
I rinsed each wheel barrow load three times with the garden hose by spraying it, shaking it and carefully spilling out the water.
Even with all that rinsing, my pond water immediately clouded up when I turned on my pump. No worries, the cloudiness cleared up in a day and my green water cleared up in less than a week. My water has been crystal clear since. I've never had water this clear in over a decade.

 

[addy1]

I'll also probably try to source some better quality gravel.

I got mine from a stone yard. They brought a nice load in a dump truck. It had dirt, sand, lots of muck came out on the few wheelbarrels we washed.

 

[GBBUDD]

The key to getting washed stone is going there and seeing for your self. The other and this I s the hard part is explaining to the operater of the loader skidsteer or what ever it may be is to NOT PUT THE BUCKET ON THE GROUND THEN DRIVE INTO THE PILE. You want the material toward the top. Even if the bucket is a foot off the ground when they scoop will save you thousands of gallons washing your gravel. It sounds simple but trust me its not. They always want to scoop from the bottom and that's where all the fines are

 

[Dirty]

I got mine from a stone yard. They brought a nice load in a dump truck. It had dirt, sand, lots of muck came out on the few wheelbarrels we washed.

I got mine from a roofing supply company

Next time I'll visit a yard and spend a couple of days carefully selecting each piece.....

 

[Dirty]

The key to getting washed stone is going there and seeing for your self. The other and this I s the hard part is explaining to the operater of the loader skidsteer or what ever it may be is to NOT PUT THE BUCKET ON THE GROUND THEN DRIVE INTO THE PILE. You want the material toward the top. Even if the bucket is a foot off the ground when they scoop will save you thousands of gallons washing your gravel. It sounds simple but trust me its not. They always want to scoop from the bottom and that's where all the fines are

Good advice.

 

[Dirty]

Nearly done. Ran out of gravel doh! Will grab a few bags tomorrow. Once they are in I just need to connect the plumbing and wait.

Can I start planting it straight away or should I give it a few days/weeks to get it started?

 

[addy1]

Can I start planting it straight away or should I give it a few days/weeks to get it started?

I planted as soon as my bog was filled with gravel