Wine Barrel Patio Pond with Bog

[scumfrog_millionaire]

I made this a few months back and had it running in my basement until the weather warmed up here in WI. I came across a few posts on this forum regarding bog filter size and how a small bog / pond system simply doesn’t work. Why wouldn’t something like this work? It’s been running for a few months now and the plants seem to be growing while the water is crystal clear. Am I missing something?

I constructed my bog out of some reclaimed 1x4’s and it holds .5 cubic feet of pea gravel. The bog itself is about 2 ft long x 8 inches wide x 8 inches deep with ¾” pvc running along the bottom to disperse the water (holes drilled every inch). The wine barrel holds 20 gallons of water. I have comets and rosy reds in the barrel. Any design concerns?

 

[reef vet]

Looks really nice, good job. The reason most "smaller" pond systems can fail is simply that balancing the nutrient input with the waste processing can be less forgiving than a pond with a larger body of water. It can be done well the way you have constructed it, you simply need to resist the temptation to always be adding "...just one more fish" !

 

[addy1]

Looking great! I have a small planter bog on my 300 gallon hot tub pond m undersized for the amount of water. But it works

 

[JRS]

Nice job!

 

[mrsclem]

Don't see a problem at all. Just avoid that temptation of more fish.

 

[Lisak1]

I'd be curious where you saw posts that said a small pond with a bog wouldn't work. Maybe you saw posts that referred to smaller ponds being harder to keep in balance?

I love your set up! It's clever and good looking too! What did you line the whiskey barrel with?

 

[scumfrog_millionaire]

I do a lot of browsing on this forum so not sure where I saw that. It does make sense that larger ponds are easier to maintain that balance.
Here's the barrel liner:

MacCourt 20 Gal. Large Plantainer Preformed Pond Liner PP2615 - The Home Depot

The MacCourt 20 Gal. Large Plantainer can be used as a container pond, in-ground pond, fountain or as a planter. Made from UV stabilized High-density Polyethylene, the Plantainer will not chip, crack or fade. As a water feature, simply add a pump, fountain head and aquatic plants. As a whiskey...

www.homedepot.com

I had to buy 4 different barrels before I found one that it fit. Not a huge fan of the lip on the upper edge of the barrel but oh well. I do need to add a water lilly to the pond but I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out.

 

[Lisak1]

I think it looks great - but I know how something can bug you when it's not quite what you hoped for. You could break it up with a few plants that trail over the edge, perhaps? I saw a nice patio pond today that was set up with a few pots of creeping Jenny and I think ivy near the edges so the plants just tumbled over the edge. Looked very pretty!

This is a really inspirational build for someone who's looking for a DIY idea for a basically self sustaining patio pond set up.

 

[scumfrog_millionaire]

Thank you.
Funny you mention that. I did plant creeping jenny in the center of the bog with the intention of having it creep over the front.

 

[Lisak1]

Do you have a way to put plants in the pond? Either a shelf inside or even hang a pot or two on the edge? That would help camouflage and break up the black rim.

 

[jmajid]

I'd like more photos please Some close up shots of the bog in particular and more detail of how you plumbed it... very nice look.

 

[scumfrog_millionaire]

I wish I would have taken pictures of the bog plumbing before filling it. I will be building a couple more of these for people locally so I will take pictures of the plumbing then. Essentially I constructed the box out of some reclaimed 1x4 boards and a nail gun. I used a hole saw to cut 2 holes for the inlet and outlet bulkheads. I then took some PVC liner, lined it the best I could with the fewest amount of folds. Plumbing goes as following:

Pump hose to barb fitting below bog box

Barb fitting to bulkhead fitting on bottom side of bog box (centered)

Short piece of ¾” PVC straight to ¾” PVC tee inside of bog

Straight PVC pipe on either side of the PVC tee

Cap on one straight PVC, elbow on the other

Straight PVC up and out of the pea gravel with a cap (clean-out pipe)



A picture would be much easier to understand…

 

[addy1]

Not a huge fan of the lip on the upper edge of the barrel but oh well.

Get some of the stuff made for plastic spray paint, lowes homedepot. Touch spray it here and there with the brown green white or what ever combo you want to do. I did that to pvc pipes many years ago, still holding up great. The pipes are in water and out of water.

 

[addy1]

This is the edge of the hot tub, it was bright white, painted about 4 years ago, ignore the cord getting ready to rerun it.

 

[jmajid]

@scumfrog_millionaire Thanks! That was quite detailed - followed it quite easily...
So you're going into business, huh?