Where to put pump with bog?

[Huckleberry12]

The pond I am building is 9x5x2. I plan to pump water to a bog and have that overflow into a stream which returns to the pond. I was planning to have a skimmer with a Laguna pump (I want energy efficiency and they are said to handle solids up to 3/4"), but the man at the pond store said if the bog is being used as a filter, the water needs to be pumped from the bottom of the pond and that I could have a floating skimmer if I wanted one (I think that is what he called it). I recall Addy wrote about having a leaf basket in-line (rather than a skimmer) in her wonderful bog article but I'm not sure what exactly that is. Also, I was reading just this morning an older post from someone who said they were always having to pull up and clean/clear their submersible pump from the bottom of the pond.

So here I am questioning another decision I've made! Does the pump need to be on or very near the bottom for the bog to work effectively as a filter? (The water return from the stream will be at the opposite end to where the skimmer and pump would be.) Do I go with a skimmer and pump within it or a pump on the bottom of the pond with a leaf basket? And what is a leaf basket (presumably something to catch leaves but I've not come across this term elsewhere)?

Many thanks for any help in sorting out my muddled mind!

 

[addy1]

I have an external pump, much prefer that to a submersible. The pump has a leaf basket before the pump, built in. You can buy a leaf basket to install in line before the pump. (I have two that I am not using, found no need for them)

My water draw in around 3/4 of the way down into the pond, it does not need to be at the bottom, imho. I have a 3 inch pipe going to my pump, the pond side of the pipe I have a lowes bucket wrapped in matala filter material, at the end of the pipe. I did this to keep the fry, fish, snails, tads and all other critters from being sucked up into the pump. It also distributes the water intake flow so less plants etc are sucked up into the intake piping. My pump draws around 6800 gph.

I use a skimmer, the one pump draws from the skimmer and the draw from the pond. I do have a ball valve on the skimmer intake so I can control the flow. During non flower, seed, leaf drop I keep it at a low draw. The skimmer line and pond line join via a T before the pump.

If the matala material gets loaded up with hornwort or whatever I just brush it off with a pool brush.

The pond pump, sends the water into the bog into lines at the bottom of the bog, the water flows up through the pea gravel and the plants, waterfalls back into the pond.

Once or twice a year, mainly in the fall, I use a pool net to clean the bottom of the pond takes about an hour. Usually get 1/4 of a 5 gallon bucket of leaves etc. It stays pretty clean.

I made sure my skimmer was on the down wind end of the pond and the opposite end of the waterfalls.

Hope this helps

 

[Huckleberry12]

Thank you for your response, Addy! I appreciate hearing the details of what you are doing. Very inspiring.

 

[addy1]

Glad to help. It has worked for me. I love the plants it grows, lots of neat flowers.

 

[tbendl]

I love Addy's set up but I have a submersible since I just don't have the room to put an external pump and hide it. I just bought the Laguna pump and have it set up near the side of the pond so I can now reach it from the side without having to get into the pond to clean it. The old pump would not handle solids and had to be cleaned fairly regularly but I am hoping the new Laguna will only have to be pulled every few months for cleaning. It works well for me and I don't have it set on the bottom anymore. Good luck!

 

[Huckleberry12]

Sounds good, tbendl. I have read so many good things about Laguna pumps. I'm thinking a submersible will be best for me. Tomorrow I'm going to a pond store a ferry-ride and an hour's drive away. I spoke with the "pond man" there yesterday and he was helpful, so I'm excited to be getting the liner and pump (hopefully) then. My son is coming out to visit in 2 1/2 weeks; it would be grand to have the pond and bog up and running by then. Sand and drain rock arrived this morning. Have to order the pea gravel also and some rocks. It's happening! This is where it is at right now:

 

[tbendl]

Is the back area going to be the bog section where the rope and stick are? It's looking great! This part of the build was so exciting for me. Can't wait to see updates!

 

[Huckleberry12]

The bog will be behind the ropes and stick. The two feet in front of the stick will be part of the pond edge with gravel, rocks and three inches of water, so it's a bit of a bog too. I'm just taking a break from digging the bog right now. My little dog needs a walk! The bog was going to be 2'x6', but after considering plants for it, I decided to up it to 3'x8'. ... whhoooeee! The pea gravel just arrived!

 

[tbendl]

Yay! And it can never be too big, I already wish mine was larger for all the plants I want in there.

 

[addy1]

Mine is big and it has run out of room for more plants. By the end of the summer it is solid plants.

 

[fishin4cars]

I have submersible going to my large bog, I built it close to Addy's specifications four years ago and so glad I did, This pond performs better than any pond I have built to date. I disagree with the man at the pond store that recommended the pump go on the bottom. Pump on the bottom, more of a chance if something goes wrong you could lose all your water. I like pumps to be a minimum of 10" off the bottom just in case the pump pumps water out for some reason there is still some left for the fish to survive if the pumps running dry, second by pulling from the bottom the bog collects muck more quickly and can clog faster, also by pulling from the bottom this will pull more debris to the pump making cleaning near the pump a lot more difficult, now as far as the skimmer, If you can afford don't skimp in a skimmer, a good skimmer with leaf net and pre-filters can be worth their weight in gold when it come to pond maintenance. Good pre-filter removes more big matter and helps the Bio filtration not to have to strain as much to break down the waste it needs to break down.

 

[addy1]

My skimmer saves me when the apple blossoms, maple spinners start falling. Draws them right in. It is a wide weir external skimmer with a large leaf basket. I get more stuff in my skimmer leaf basket then I get in my pump skimmer basket.

With my pump intake we have never had a failure, but if we did there would be around 1.5 feet of water left in the deep end of the pond.

We had one leak when we were out of town a blockage of the exit of water from one of our small ponds. But with our camera system, I saw the water drop a few inches, called my neighbor she walked the ponds with my directions and we found it. Quick simple fix. That was our only issue.

I have always been an external pump user, so still am lol.