Will this homemade pond filter design work?

[GBBUDD]

He did ask if there was a way to tap from one step to the other . Which a simple bulked fitting could do this but that would be like a equalizer between a pool and a jacuzzi . in other words when the power went out all three steps will drop to the over flow height of the lowest steps over flow.

 

[Jhn]

I would try to leave those step areas shallow, so, you only need to put 3” or so of rock/gravel over the top or even some large flat rocks for the water to run over.

 

[Hop-frog]

My wife did not like the design with steps inside the pond, and I can understand, the beauty of the round pond comes from its simplicity and un-disrupted round shape, so I've changed the plans to have an exterior bog, though I'm trying my best to find a way to conceal it as much as possible.

• The orange ring (above) is the 40 ft diameter pond.
• The tan area is a hill that currently exists between the pond and fence.

(picture shows bog before being covered on sides by dirt. it is just made of cheap cinder blocks, then a pond liner put inside, then the layers of crates, rock, etc.)

• The bog is just between the pond and fence, 10 ft by 25 ft, made of big cinder blocks, about 3 ft high. This has to have a separate pond liner, as the pond liner already will be 50 ft x 50 ft and adding the bog seems would create too much wasted liner, so I plan to put a separate liner there. The bog volume is 15% of pond's volume/2-% of surface area.
• Dirt (shown in brown) is piled up in an attempt to make it look naturally part of the existing hill area (tan) and so people can walk up to access the plans on top of the bog.
• I'm not sure how to return water back, maybe a waterfall shown, but I'm concerned that puts too much constant pressure on the walls between the pond and the bog and would cause the same disaster seen here where the wall between pond and bog broke.
• In this video, Team Aquascape build a separate chamber next to the bog for easy access to the pond. Is that recommended? Their design seems too complicated and prone to failure. Should the chamber be built out of a section within the bog, but drawing water from the pond?

 

[poconojoe]

IDK...concerning the first video...I admit I didn't watch the whole thing. I just couldn't. Too much going on. Too many unnecessary gadgets, piping etc.

No offense to the builder or poster but...
It seems to me a lot of people are making things way too complicated. All that trenching, underground pipes, a vault or shed to house equipment, way too much work, way too much maintenance and way too many things that can go wrong later on.

When I added my simple addy style gravel bog, it cured all my fitration problems in less than a week. It's a very simple no moving parts, no exterior plumbing for leaks to occur, no UV lights needed, no filter pads, zero maintenance. It's built right onto my pond, no remote filters or pipes outside of the system. I've never had water anywhere near this clear in over a decade.

Sometimes simple is the way to go, but as they say... to each his (or her) own.

As far as the aerator goes...I built a tiny house out of scrap wood to protect my aerator. It sits right next to the pond.

 

[GBBUDD]

The wall between the bog and pond is NOT a problem as far as pressure is concerned . Aquascapes are pond builders with SOIL rubber and rock . They are not Carpenters though obviously talented all around. With the very long wals the amount of water being held back is substantial. as water weighs 8 pounds per gallon so figure there tank to sell koi out of at probably 10,000 gallons and you have 80,000 pounds now your not holding all the weigh but it is alot none the less. NOW your bog and your pond if they share a wall there s almost NO un even pressure if the bog has rock and water in it and the pond has water in it the pressure is not on the a adjoining wall. With a pond the size you are talking how ever with 50 feet across that is a large amount of volume and weight. I forget your depth i think it was only 2 feet and you said the liner would not be against the concrete block if that is the case then why a 2 foot tall wall and i guess your digging in the pond completely into the ground?

 

[Hop-frog]

I forget your depth i think it was only 2 feet and you said the liner would not be against the concrete block if that is the case then why a 2 foot tall wall and i guess your digging in the pond completely into the ground?

The wall around the pond is a few inches short of 2 ft high, that is to keep out outside flood waters, which last year, reached knee high (I'm also installing drains and using other means to redirect the water, but not sure if they will be sufficient due to the rate of downpour). The outer 10 feet of the pond is only 2 ft high, so the pressure on the water isn't all that much I think. The middle region of the pond will be dug out an additional 4 ft, so 6 ft total, but that area I don't think contributes to pressure on the short walls.

The entire, perfectly circular pond is first surrounded by giant sheets of aluminum and it is my hope the water pressure will push against this and not against the bricks (the bricks forming just a facade to hide the aluminum). The aluminum is in three sheets, heavily bolted together, forming a giant circle, and held upright by 50+ 3ft stakes. I believe the tensile strength will be more than sufficient to hold the water in place, though maybe I'm overlooking some potential failure.

 

[GBBUDD]

At 2 feet a concrete wall will have no problem holding back the water. You need a stable footing then set rebar in the footing , by drilling it into the footing so it is in every void in the cinder block . Build the wall on the footing build your circle again with a rebar in each web of the block. Build it to tge height you want and when you are good with the height fill the block with concrete run a scarifier on the edge of the block toward the liner easing the edge. Place your fabric and liner cap tge wall with what ever you would like boulders or cut stone tree logs etc.

 

[sissy]

I used concrete block to build up my walls because of heavy rains here ,I only packed the center of the blocks with the heavy red clay and drove rebar down in that and then a second wall of retaining wall block outside that .I dug the hole and then just over half way up I started the block and so far been like this since the last rebuild of the pond because dog fell in and ripped the liner .Wall on one side is 3 feet tall .I did rectangular as those round ones really are a hassle when you put in the liner

 

[Laaf]

I liked your C shaped terraced bog waterfall idea. What if you made the bog in the area you drew that is all the same level above the pond. Then have the bog waterfall over back into the pond in a partial C shaped waterfall from the middle section instead of running down the terraces.

The beauty of the bog is that the bog itself is the filter. No filters to change or monitor.

Or here is another example (The shape doesn't match your space, but the idea is there I wanted to describe)

Or separate out part of your circular section as a bog that overflows back. By having the pump feed at the deep section of the bog, the water percolates up and then flows back into the pod. It doesn't have to be raised to work.

 

[GBBUDD]

I'm trying my best to find a way to conceal it as much as possible.

A bog can be built a half mile away if thats what you want . it can be placed as far away as you want to pay for to be able to pump it back from the pond to the bod

 

[nomadh]

I always design for maintenance ease, possible failure, redundancy and maximum ability to change things with the least problem as situations change.

 

[GBBUDD]

I have played with the ponds over and over the last 4 years making it look as natural as I can. But the one thing I have not done is play with the bogs other then rip plants out..

 

[GBBUDD]

Say what you will about the bog is it perfect, probably not but like I said before if this is wrong then give me it every day

 

[kelpie]

My wife did not like the design with steps inside the pond, and I can understand, the beauty of the round pond comes from its simplicity and un-disrupted round shape, so I've changed the plans to have an exterior bog, though I'm trying my best to find a way to conceal it as much as possible.

View attachment 135683

• The orange ring (above) is the 40 ft diameter pond.
• The tan area is a hill that currently exists between the pond and fence.

View attachment 135684
(picture shows bog before being covered on sides by dirt. it is just made of cheap cinder blocks, then a pond liner put inside, then the layers of crates, rock, etc.)

• The bog is just between the pond and fence, 10 ft by 25 ft, made of big cinder blocks, about 3 ft high. This has to have a separate pond liner, as the pond liner already will be 50 ft x 50 ft and adding the bog seems would create too much wasted liner, so I plan to put a separate liner there. The bog volume is 15% of pond's volume/2-% of surface area.
• Dirt (shown in brown) is piled up in an attempt to make it look naturally part of the existing hill area (tan) and so people can walk up to access the plans on top of the bog.
• I'm not sure how to return water back, maybe a waterfall shown, but I'm concerned that puts too much constant pressure on the walls between the pond and the bog and would cause the same disaster seen here where the wall between pond and bog broke.
• In this video, Team Aquascape build a separate chamber next to the bog for easy access to the pond. Is that recommended? Their design seems too complicated and prone to failure. Should the chamber be built out of a section within the bog, but drawing water from the pond?

nice evolution of design going there.. wish I had the room to do the cascade element you looked at previously.

couple of thoughts to further muddy the water if youll forgive me;

Rather than build the bog with concrete blocks, what about railway sleepers? IMO they are easier to handle and possibly cheaper?? about £23 each here locally. ..and my block laying sucks lol.

IIRC, the ideal flow through a bog is for a gallon of water to take 10 mins to move from entry to exit.. BUT, the volume of the pond to be cycled every hour or couple of hours... 30k gallons? = 15k per hour. Therein lies a challenge. The rate your pond needs to cycle is much faster than your bog needs to cycle. A lot, LOT faster. You may want to have a think about how you will deal with two different velocities of water.

A "T" or "Y" piece, with valves on it, would allow you to set a rate for the bog and bypass the rest of the flow back to the pond. perhaps by another waterfall? I dont think theres a way of getting those numbers to work without turning your neighbours yard into your bog filter

btw, in general; 1.5inch pipe has a maximum flow rate 81gpm, 2" = 127gpm. Depending on pressure and a host of other variables, somewhere between 2.5 and 4" pipe is required to move 15kgph. You are also entering into the realms of flow velocity causing hydraulic shock going much bigger / faster. dont think its a problem you'll see under 12 ft per second, but another element to go discover.

are we having fun yet? lol.

 

[poconojoe]

Try to keep it as simple as possible.
Less work when building and easier maintenance.
The more simple it is the less chance for any problems occurring.