I swapped the sponges in my filter barrel for 3 sizes of rocks and I'm absolutely amazed at how clear the water is now. I first found one of your video's a couple of years ago so it took me a while but worked a treat. Thanks Kev.
As a biologist, it is delightful to see a UA-camr that understands pond ecology and is giving actual good advice ❤. It is exhausting seeing over manufactured artificial plastic systems being pushed while sitting on the sidelines jumping up and down yelling "adjust you ecological balance with micro habitat zones and well selected maintenance organisms!"in my head. "Noooo, not a giant empty drum with a plastic box in it ... No, no why are you cleaning the filter weekly, what are you doing?!" Lol.
@darcieclements4880 Hello,Darcie. Having the day off, I was grazing the internet and just found this. A water feature has been on my bucket list for a while, and I may be able to do this soon. Having kept planted fish tanks and some success with raising some fry, I am aware of a bit of this biological process. I found a book several years ago called Dynamic Aquaria. It was mind-boggling to verify the complexities of nature. Anyway,I had a lace plant seed and sprout over 90 plants. I have never been able to reproduce that. If you have any suggestions as to where I might find some information, I would appreciate that. Thanks.
With my experience the sponges don’t clean then waste more of harboring it in the filter. The rock solution actually cleans the water which I’m throughly pleased with.
A person who knows what he's talking about. Most aquarium edutubers just give instructions, but not explain the science behind it. This is a good channel. Subscribing...
Hi Kev the bog filter is still going strong almost 2years now and have nearly 30 koi and 2 sturgeon and never have a issue was the best decision I ever made and watching you videos on how to construct one was so easy 👍 good to see your at nearly 50k in subs 👍
I’m so happy mate. This is what makes it worthwhile. I love when people reach out and tell me that the videos helped them in their pond journey. Thanks for all your support over the years 🍻👍
@@benjaminwillems8839 16000Lt including filtration I do still run a EA nexus 220 for mechanical filtration with a uv off a bottom drain and the bog runs off my skimmer line.
I'm glad I found your channel years ago. The detailed breakdowns and instructions were super helpful. I was able to build a bog filter in 2021 that was 6feet x 3feet and 3 feet deep. It flows out through a wide stream and is an absolute powerhouse of a filter that I only need to clean out twice a year. My pond water is always crystal clear, all the fish are healthier, and tons of native frogs populate the bog during springtime and breed in its shallow waters.
I am planning to make a pond for my 3 year old, thinking of making 2 parts one for 5-6 fishes and another for him to play inside , thank you for all your support ❤
Just a word of warning.Don't let your 3 year old fall in.Protect your child at all times.I wouldn't let a 3 year old near a pond only with complete supervision and never never on their own.
Please do not build this unless very shallow. My mother’s neighbor lost her child in her small koi pond. Maybe wait till older. Kids can get away just a few minutes & are so curious.
My dog accidentally pushed me into my dad's pond when I was five years old. Luckily I didn't knock my head so I could just stand up and climb out. The neighbours had a closer call with their escape artist toddler and their kiddie pool though. I'm sure you'll take all precautions though, because I really did enjoy that pond growing up.
There is another way to have clear water I use. I go to local stream which is overflowing with invasive pond weed, pull out large amounts and throw them in water and they filter it. These need to be changed once pond gets cloudy. Your way is by far superior though.
Thank you. It is such a wonderful video and your pond is truly so clear! I don’t have a pond and I wasn’t even interested but YT recommended your video. I’m happy I watched it. Your voice and explanations were so clear and soothing as well. One day if I have a chance to build a pond, I’ll do what you said here. Thank you again.
I think of the bog filter as part of the pond. Yours are just as lovely as the pond itself, and that is my goal - to make my bog filter a beautiful functional plant growing part of the pond. I'm trying out a couple different plants this year, I've got hydrocotyle tripartita, bacopa, water sprite, and rotala. I hope the hydrocotyle will take off and shade the top of the bog a little, plus it is so interesting to look at. I haven't had much luck with water sprite in the bog, but it grows like crazy in baskets in the pond, maybe I will have better luck with it this year.
Thanks Mandy. I’m quite sure your bog and pond are incredibly beautiful. Thanks for always commenting and supporting my efforts 😊. Good luck with the new plants. It’s always trial and error 👍
I have a stream with assorted sized rocks. It's been keeping the pond clear, but I have lots of leaves and other sediment that I can't keep up with. The pond displayed in the video is beautiful. Great info. Thanks.
Hi Oz Ponds! I built a bog filter in my goldfish pond in a 55-gallon food-grade plastic drum. The whole process was super simple, following your instructions, including the open overflow fitting just above the waterline, (as you explained, to prevent a back suction that would drain the barrel in case of a power outage). This has dramatically improved the clarity of the pond water. THANK YOU SO MUCH! However, within a month, I noticed the volume of water drilling out of that open connection increasing significantly, indicating to me that the large to small rocks were getting plugged up wit silt increasingly blocking the passive circulation through the rocks. I tried backwashing it out the bottom valve, (installed according to your plans with an elbow down from the drain valve. to about a 1/2" above the bottom surface of the barrel, but little silt had accumulated there; little came out with the water. A week later, I drained it again, this time going down the silt rocks from above (I KNOW< likely washing away much of the beneficial bacteria). Within a month, the open anti-siphon overflow began again to increase, like before, so I blocked the overflow, (cancelling the intended anti-siphon feature) forcing all the pumped volume of water to be forced through the layers of rocks, before draining back into my pond. Will this negate the beneficial effectiveness of the bacteria-coated stores? Is it normal for the anti-siphon to increasingly bypass circulation through the rock layers? Is my top layer of rocks too small, (I used two bags of approx. 3/8" decorative stones). Will the bog filter still work optimally if I force all the pumped water to circulate up through the rocks before draining back to my pond? I see many small holes across silt that covers the surface of the finest top layer of stones? I'd appreciate any thoughts.
It’s pretty normal for some water to come out the breather hole, hence why I often add a valve or an elbow and some vertical pipe. Don’t overthink the sedimentation, monitor the pond, if the pond is going fine don’t worry about the biological processes inside the filter they are humming along. If you drain the filter you won’t be losing too much bacteria as they are clinging to the surfaces, as long as they don’t dry out many will remain inside the filter.
I have been saved by small stock in my ponds. Just as you said, the water was always crystal clear. This worked with my old 5m x 4m x1m large backyard pond to my new 3m x 1m x .4m one. My small pond has no mechanical agitation but a healthy ratio of surface area compared to depth, and a couple of hand fulls of frog friendly fish with plenty of plants and snails have produced the same results. Next to no maintenance and beautiful water quality. Love it ✅️
Having a bog filter for 1 year now and wow, just amazed by results. I have around 10 koi and now the water is crystal clear, I'm still amazed. I used to clean the barrel filter ever 2 weeks and never had water quality even close to what it is now, hell I could barely see my koi.
Thank you for your video. My dad built a beautiful very natural looking pond but I'm struggling to keep the water clear. He also put a small stream area in and once I built up the strength ( my dad unfortunately died ) to uncover the stream area I didn't really know what to do with this . Now I do it will make a great biological area . Many thanks.
Thank you for this channel. You are the best pond resource on the Internet. I put all of your advice on filters and plumbing to put in a bog filter next to my little pond and for the first time in years I have now figured it out. Water is crystal clear, easy to maintain, and the fish are happy and healthy. Thanks again.
Clams are a very cool organism to add to your ponds as a filtering mechanism, especially if you have a multi-level water fall feature. You can even put them in plastic frame crates to move them around or keep them confined to a specific area.
Thank you so much, Kev. I’ve just discovered you & although I have a small pond system, it wasn’t working well. I’ve been scratching to find a solution Brilliant, now I know which way to go. So grateful for your generous sharing of I formation. Torquay/Vic.
There's a large run-off pond on my parents' property, and duckweed takes over every year. I hope to manage it a bit this year, and finding your video was very helpful.
The cormorant came back😞. The fish in this video have left us. At least some of them. There might be a few still hiding but I haven’t seen any for a few days.
Instant subscription! Thank you so much for this (and I'm assuming all your other videos too). This is exactly what I've been looking for. I'm so happy I found you!
Commenting so the matrix puts the video infront of more people, superb video as always chap. Soon I will have all the fittings to make my mk2 bog filter, my test bog filter made the world of difference - thanks to you and your channel.
Nice work! This is taking care to understand, respect and make use of mother nature to your advantage. This is what is needed in an aquarium too, understand the phenomena, watch it carefully and play with natural processes.
So glad I came across this video before attempting our pond. Thanks so much for this wonderful advice about the bog filter and providing the reasoning behind it. Makes perfect sense 🙌
Greetings from the states! Thank you for the informative video. I'm planning something similar in the next few years and this video helped clear up a lot of things for me. Thank you!
Having done aquaponics with fish and biological filtration that in turn feed the water back to my grow beds as nutrients for the plants and then periodically it is drained back to the fish, I'm a firm believer in this. I have a large catfish my granddaughter caught about 3 years ago and I've had it in a tank over winter, when the top froze over to summer when algae and extra warm water compete for oxygen. I finally brought it into the house. One reason it works is I never totally do a full cleaning. The filter stays mucked up until I rinse the excess off or maybe change the charcoal filter. This all keeps the tank very clear. My next challenge is a duck pond I dug. We have clay soil, so it holds water pretty well, but I need to either make a plastic barrel bio filter and maybe even a small bog to clean it. I'm hoping with both ducks and geese swimming in it and doing their business that I can actually clean it and get rid of the summertime algae bloom.
Kev this was an excellent explanation of the nitrogen cycle. No math to scare off new-be's. They can delve into the math once they get the concept. Again, well done.
Very well explained, I have a Aquaponic greenhouse I built a fluidized sand bed to give nitrifying bacteria a home, it works great. I think I will set up a bog filter for my pond soon, Thanks for your informative video, cheers 🍻
Grazieeee! In 3 giorni il mio laghetto si è ripulito alla grande, ho anche un sistema blasonato ma non basta; con questo sistema l’acqua è diventata limpidissima! Super!!!
@@Ozponds Pond is now fully finished, had fish in for 2 weeks now and water is still crystal clear, although I'm expecting a few changes as the pond gets established. Just wanted to say a huge thank you for your videos and website, my project was 80% made from information from you, and was built for about 10% of the cost someone would have quoted me. Thank you!
This popped up in my feed, so thought I'd have a squint at it. Glad I did, as I've learnt something new. I live in a tenement building, in a city, however, if I ever win the lottery I'll buy somewhere out in the country and create a crystal clear pond, now I have the knowhow. 😂😂😂 Thanks for uploading!
i encourage you to go have a look at prices in small villages around 600 people or so. away from cities. you might be shocked at the prices and be able to stop dreaming and start doing. I miss the city life sometimes, but then just today, i set up my pond for the year. so theres that
This same concept applies to aquariums as well, with undergravel filters- except water flow is usually top to bottom instead of bottom to top.. If outdoor space is completely out of the question, maybe you can an aquarium.
I don't have a pond or am I interested in getting one...and...having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed watching your video as I found your video educational and VERY interesting. Thumbs UP!
@@Ozponds iT WORKS fantastically...and it's been 2 months now since we have been using it. A small pump, a small dust bin, and a few plumbing fittings, some stones and voila. Happy fish, happy husband, happy pond ( :
I've moved to a farm in the rural Ozarks. Sewage was done via a 22' diameter 'Sewage Lagoon' as is common in this region of the rural Ozarks. I've now had a Septic tank system installed. Now I have the decrepit old defunct sewage lagoon pond. The general practice is to fill these in following conversion to a septic tank system. But I'd love to somehow convert this into a clean scenic pond? It would be quite a transformation and I'm sure no easy task. Still I wonder if this is possible.
great job mate, really explained how bio-filter works. but for a heavy load koi/fish pond you might need other mechanic filtration, such as a drum filter.
I don’t mind duckweed and other stuff obscuring my pond water. I used to spend time and effort in cleaning and filtering but I learned that it helped to hide the fish from the heron. I think that a layer of duckweed might look like grass from the air. They also nibbled the duckweed when I was on holiday.
Hi, so idea mixing the downflow bog with air pump ( david pagan buttler, but to reverse the process he has shown) and upflow bog. Idea was to implement air output at the bottom of the bog(those perforated hoses to watter your garden), and let the watter move up with only help of air, but conccern is if the watter will be moving fast/slow enough, and if the direct output of air in bog does not kill the bacteria.
5:38 i made something similar with 5 gallon bucket of lava rock (for a small pond), works great. no flush valve necessary. who would have thought keeping the water crystal clear is so easy? no need for expensive filter media or a UV filter. thanks kev.
My bog filter has canna lilies but the problem is the rooting system is very invasive thereby restricting upward flow from the manifold piping. Still working but flow is bit slower
Yes the canna is great at consuming nutrient but those roots! Boy oh boy do they get thick. Here canna go dormant in winter that’s the time to dig it up.
I have no first hand experience in this. My assumption is that it’s perfectly fine as the biological activity in the pond over winter is also dormant. In spring start it all up again and off you go.
If you search for “how to winterize a pond” you will get great explanation. From what I found most northern ponds will get a clean in spring to manually remove string algea, they are active when the bacterias are not yet, and then as soon as the water temperature rises to around 10c the beneficial bacterias will be active again.
Great video. I'm building a pool inside my three acre pond. Sounds crazy but we enjoy swimming in the pond. We don't enjoy the perch eating us alive. The brim here in Louisiana are vicious. I was going to set up a filter a lot like what you do to filter the water going into the pool, from pond 3 the filter into the pool creating a positive pressure of clean water that will displace the dirty water trying to leach in from outside . my worry is it's going to grow algae inside the pool. Would ultraviolet light filter help. And the ideas?
I did this to an artificial stream almost 50 years ago. It worked. I put the gravel under a footbridge so the water had to flow through it, but no one could see the filter. I would add that if the water flow stops, it doesn't take long for the bacteria to die and you have to restart the biological process, so the water clarity will suffer.
I used to work in a pet store & this is hardest thing to get aquarium owners to understand!! They just can't get the fact that dumping & cleaning out the WHOLE thing doesn't work & that TOO CLEAN is a bad thing!
@@Ozponds you deserve the compliment. I am thinking of building more like a natural pool, square, small, made of cinder blocks and concrete and flush with a deck.
The big challenge for pond filter most people don't pay attention is how to get rid of the sludge and muck from the filter. Eventually, filter collects so much junk and slow down the water flow significantly which reduces oxygen. Ease of maintenance is the key part of the filter.
I swapped the sponges in my filter barrel for 3 sizes of rocks and I'm absolutely amazed at how clear the water is now. I first found one of your video's a couple of years ago so it took me a while but worked a treat. Thanks Kev.
Well done 👍
As a biologist, it is delightful to see a UA-camr that understands pond ecology and is giving actual good advice ❤. It is exhausting seeing over manufactured artificial plastic systems being pushed while sitting on the sidelines jumping up and down yelling "adjust you ecological balance with micro habitat zones and well selected maintenance organisms!"in my head. "Noooo, not a giant empty drum with a plastic box in it ... No, no why are you cleaning the filter weekly, what are you doing?!" Lol.
@darcieclements4880 Hello,Darcie. Having the day off, I was grazing the internet and just found this. A water feature has been on my bucket list for a while, and I may be able to do this soon. Having kept planted fish tanks and some success with raising some fry, I am aware of a bit of this biological process. I found a book several years ago called Dynamic Aquaria. It was mind-boggling to verify the complexities of nature. Anyway,I had a lace plant seed and sprout over 90 plants. I have never been able to reproduce that. If you have any suggestions as to where I might find some information, I would appreciate that. Thanks.
Good tip
With my experience the sponges don’t clean then waste more of harboring it in the filter. The rock solution actually cleans the water which I’m throughly pleased with.
Very clear way to explain what aquarium gear sellers try to NEVER explain to people. thank you for sharing!
My pleasure👍
A person who knows what he's talking about. Most aquarium edutubers just give instructions, but not explain the science behind it. This is a good channel. Subscribing...
Hi Kev the bog filter is still going strong almost 2years now and have nearly 30 koi and 2 sturgeon and never have a issue was the best decision I ever made and watching you videos on how to construct one was so easy 👍 good to see your at nearly 50k in subs 👍
I’m so happy mate. This is what makes it worthwhile. I love when people reach out and tell me that the videos helped them in their pond journey. Thanks for all your support over the years 🍻👍
👍🏼👊🏽
How much liters is your pond?
Just being Curious 😄
Can you paste the link to create filter?
@@benjaminwillems8839 16000Lt including filtration I do still run a EA nexus 220 for mechanical filtration with a uv off a bottom drain and the bog runs off my skimmer line.
I'm glad I found your channel years ago. The detailed breakdowns and instructions were super helpful. I was able to build a bog filter in 2021 that was 6feet x 3feet and 3 feet deep. It flows out through a wide stream and is an absolute powerhouse of a filter that I only need to clean out twice a year. My pond water is always crystal clear, all the fish are healthier, and tons of native frogs populate the bog during springtime and breed in its shallow waters.
That’s so cool to hear 👍
I was skeptical when I saw the headline that this was going to be an ad. But instead it was excellent advice. Thank you!
I am planning to make a pond for my 3 year old, thinking of making 2 parts one for 5-6 fishes and another for him to play inside , thank you for all your support ❤
I’m sure you’ll create something awesome 👍
@@RTiff thanks for concerns dear, I respect it
Just a word of warning.Don't let your 3 year old fall in.Protect your child at all times.I wouldn't let a 3 year old near a pond only with complete supervision and never never on their own.
Please do not build this unless very shallow. My mother’s neighbor lost her child in her small koi pond. Maybe wait till older. Kids can get away just a few minutes & are so curious.
My dog accidentally pushed me into my dad's pond when I was five years old. Luckily I didn't knock my head so I could just stand up and climb out. The neighbours had a closer call with their escape artist toddler and their kiddie pool though. I'm sure you'll take all precautions though, because I really did enjoy that pond growing up.
There is another way to have clear water I use. I go to local stream which is overflowing with invasive pond weed, pull out large amounts and throw them in water and they filter it. These need to be changed once pond gets cloudy. Your way is by far superior though.
It’s always good to have multiple options 👍
Thank you. It is such a wonderful video and your pond is truly so clear! I don’t have a pond and I wasn’t even interested but YT recommended your video. I’m happy I watched it. Your voice and explanations were so clear and soothing as well. One day if I have a chance to build a pond, I’ll do what you said here. Thank you again.
Thanks for your kind words. I wonder why UA-cam recommended it to you. Hopefully one day you do get a pond, mine bring me lots of joy.
My offering to the algorithm gods, this is wonderful and helpful content 😊🙏
The alter of the algorithm thanks you 😊👍
Thanks great info I had never heard before. Usually it is someone showing you what you need to buy.
This video, a rain barrel and some stone is transformational and will be a turning point for new ponders like me.
Great video , kept ponds for 50 years now . Only changed the water once in that time .
Perfect 👍
I think of the bog filter as part of the pond. Yours are just as lovely as the pond itself, and that is my goal - to make my bog filter a beautiful functional plant growing part of the pond. I'm trying out a couple different plants this year, I've got hydrocotyle tripartita, bacopa, water sprite, and rotala. I hope the hydrocotyle will take off and shade the top of the bog a little, plus it is so interesting to look at. I haven't had much luck with water sprite in the bog, but it grows like crazy in baskets in the pond, maybe I will have better luck with it this year.
Thanks Mandy. I’m quite sure your bog and pond are incredibly beautiful. Thanks for always commenting and supporting my efforts 😊. Good luck with the new plants. It’s always trial and error 👍
I have a stream with assorted sized rocks. It's been keeping the pond clear, but I have lots of leaves and other sediment that I can't keep up with. The pond displayed in the video is beautiful. Great info. Thanks.
Hi Oz Ponds! I built a bog filter in my goldfish pond in a 55-gallon food-grade plastic drum. The whole process was super simple, following your instructions, including the open overflow fitting just above the waterline, (as you explained, to prevent a back suction that would drain the barrel in case of a power outage). This has dramatically improved the clarity of the pond water. THANK YOU SO MUCH! However, within a month, I noticed the volume of water drilling out of that open connection increasing significantly, indicating to me that the large to small rocks were getting plugged up wit silt increasingly blocking the passive circulation through the rocks. I tried backwashing it out the bottom valve, (installed according to your plans with an elbow down from the drain valve. to about a 1/2" above the bottom surface of the barrel, but little silt had accumulated there; little came out with the water. A week later, I drained it again, this time going down the silt rocks from above (I KNOW< likely washing away much of the beneficial bacteria). Within a month, the open anti-siphon overflow began again to increase, like before, so I blocked the overflow, (cancelling the intended anti-siphon feature) forcing all the pumped volume of water to be forced through the layers of rocks, before draining back into my pond. Will this negate the beneficial effectiveness of the bacteria-coated stores? Is it normal for the anti-siphon to increasingly bypass circulation through the rock layers? Is my top layer of rocks too small, (I used two bags of approx. 3/8" decorative stones). Will the bog filter still work optimally if I force all the pumped water to circulate up through the rocks before draining back to my pond? I see many small holes across silt that covers the surface of the finest top layer of stones? I'd appreciate any thoughts.
It’s pretty normal for some water to come out the breather hole, hence why I often add a valve or an elbow and some vertical pipe. Don’t overthink the sedimentation, monitor the pond, if the pond is going fine don’t worry about the biological processes inside the filter they are humming along. If you drain the filter you won’t be losing too much bacteria as they are clinging to the surfaces, as long as they don’t dry out many will remain inside the filter.
I have been saved by small stock in my ponds. Just as you said, the water was always crystal clear. This worked with my old 5m x 4m x1m large backyard pond to my new 3m x 1m x .4m one. My small pond has no mechanical agitation but a healthy ratio of surface area compared to depth, and a couple of hand fulls of frog friendly fish with plenty of plants and snails have produced the same results. Next to no maintenance and beautiful water quality. Love it ✅️
Perfect 👍
My pond(mini dam) is from a moving stream that has been dammed.how can i turn it clear enough for people to swim
Having a bog filter for 1 year now and wow, just amazed by results. I have around 10 koi and now the water is crystal clear, I'm still amazed. I used to clean the barrel filter ever 2 weeks and never had water quality even close to what it is now, hell I could barely see my koi.
Great to hear 👍
Thank you for your video. My dad built a beautiful very natural looking pond but I'm struggling to keep the water clear. He also put a small stream area in and once I built up the strength ( my dad unfortunately died ) to uncover the stream area I didn't really know what to do with this . Now I do it will make a great biological area . Many thanks.
Sorry about your Dad. I hope you can get it all fixed up.
Thank you for this channel. You are the best pond resource on the Internet. I put all of your advice on filters and plumbing to put in a bog filter next to my little pond and for the first time in years I have now figured it out. Water is crystal clear, easy to maintain, and the fish are happy and healthy. Thanks again.
I’m so glad 😊👍
Your videos are always helpful and simple to understand and makes total sense especially in these often complicated times we live in these days
Thanks, that’s very kind of you.
Clams are a very cool organism to add to your ponds as a filtering mechanism, especially if you have a multi-level water fall feature. You can even put them in plastic frame crates to move them around or keep them confined to a specific area.
Just be careful not to introduce any invasive clam/mussel species where you live
Thanks matey. Clear, concise and with the ability to diy. Very much appreciated.❤
your pond is stunning
Thank you so much, Kev. I’ve just discovered you & although I have a small pond system, it wasn’t working well. I’ve been scratching to find a solution Brilliant, now I know which way to go. So grateful for your generous sharing of I formation. Torquay/Vic.
I have a bog filter for my turtle tank and it's been running for 5 years, I agree with you.
There's a large run-off pond on my parents' property, and duckweed takes over every year. I hope to manage it a bit this year, and finding your video was very helpful.
Duckweed is a super food high in protein. I keep trying to grow it
Thanks Kev , another great video . I really appreciate your diagrams of the bog filters. 😊❤ Your fish are very sweet.
The cormorant came back😞. The fish in this video have left us. At least some of them. There might be a few still hiding but I haven’t seen any for a few days.
😢😢😢
Great Video on easy ways to create a clear pond. Thank you for sharing
You bet 👍
Instant subscription! Thank you so much for this (and I'm assuming all your other videos too).
This is exactly what I've been looking for.
I'm so happy I found you!
I’m happy you did too 😊👍
Commenting so the matrix puts the video infront of more people, superb video as always chap. Soon I will have all the fittings to make my mk2 bog filter, my test bog filter made the world of difference - thanks to you and your channel.
Legend! Can’t wait to hear how the improved model goes 👍
I love looking at your creations.
Thanks again.
Now I'm off to tap the thumbs up 👍 button to feed the algorithm monsters.
I believe you meant "off to tickle the thumbs up button" cuz kev.
@@lugnutt7375
Yes....
Noted.
Champion 👍👍
😂👍
Nice work! This is taking care to understand, respect and make use of mother nature to your advantage. This is what is needed in an aquarium too, understand the phenomena, watch it carefully and play with natural processes.
So glad I came across this video before attempting our pond. Thanks so much for this wonderful advice about the bog filter and providing the reasoning behind it. Makes perfect sense 🙌
Glad it was helpful! Good luck with your project 👍
Greetings from the states! Thank you for the informative video. I'm planning something similar in the next few years and this video helped clear up a lot of things for me. Thank you!
I’m glad it helped 😊👍
Having done aquaponics with fish and biological filtration that in turn feed the water back to my grow beds as nutrients for the plants and then periodically it is drained back to the fish, I'm a firm believer in this.
I have a large catfish my granddaughter caught about 3 years ago and I've had it in a tank over winter, when the top froze over to summer when algae and extra warm water compete for oxygen.
I finally brought it into the house.
One reason it works is I never totally do a full cleaning.
The filter stays mucked up until I rinse the excess off or maybe change the charcoal filter.
This all keeps the tank very clear.
My next challenge is a duck pond I dug. We have clay soil, so it holds water pretty well, but I need to either make a plastic barrel bio filter and maybe even a small bog to clean it.
I'm hoping with both ducks and geese swimming in it and doing their business that I can actually clean it and get rid of the summertime algae bloom.
Good luck with your project 👍
Extremely the most educational video I have found in this topic. I appreciate this explanation!
I’m glad it was useful 😊👍
This is an amazing channel as is your web site - full of information, suggestions, guides. Thank you very much.
Glad you like them. I was hoping it would help people. 👍
Why would anyone dislike this video ? The information, like with all your videos, is excellent.
Clearly rivals are jealous 🤣
Theres always a few people with a bee in their bonnet. That’s their problem 👍
It's the Aquascape guys who want to regularly sell bacteria to people
Could just be people teaching the algorithm what topics they don't like. The dislike then isn't really criticism, just a "not for me" signifier.
@@AlexaY82 I guess that’s true.
...ppl in the pond maintenance biz.
Very interesting topic.
I don’t do any of these (ponds, fish tanks,..) but I love to know how they keep their tanks so clean.
Thank you
Thanks, I've heard of Zeolite before, never knew how it was used.
Kev Hi,
I too have ditched the sponge filters on one of my self made filter barrels now using a gravel filter and water so clear and clean.
Nice 👍
Glad I found your channel mate. Thanks for shaping
Kev this was an excellent explanation of the nitrogen cycle. No math to scare off new-be's. They can delve into the math once they get the concept. Again, well done.
I remember how confused I was at the start. Still learning 👍
Very well explained, I have a Aquaponic greenhouse I built a fluidized sand bed to give nitrifying bacteria a home, it works great.
I think I will set up a bog filter for my pond soon,
Thanks for your informative video, cheers 🍻
Sounds great!👍
Grazieeee! In 3 giorni il mio laghetto si è ripulito alla grande, ho anche un sistema blasonato ma non basta; con questo sistema l’acqua è diventata limpidissima! Super!!!
Great to hear 👍
very helpful thank you. Building my first pond as I type
Don't get dirt in your laptop...😋
Great to hear. 👍
@@crushlogic😂
@@Ozponds Pond is now fully finished, had fish in for 2 weeks now and water is still crystal clear, although I'm expecting a few changes as the pond gets established. Just wanted to say a huge thank you for your videos and website, my project was 80% made from information from you, and was built for about 10% of the cost someone would have quoted me. Thank you!
@@bogglesbiggins1101 great to hear. Just remember there’s probably an ugly stage coming.
This popped up in my feed, so thought I'd have a squint at it.
Glad I did, as I've learnt something new.
I live in a tenement building, in a city, however, if I ever win the lottery I'll buy somewhere out in the country and create a crystal clear pond, now I have the knowhow.
😂😂😂
Thanks for uploading!
I hope you do win the lotto 🤞
i encourage you to go have a look at prices in small villages around 600 people or so. away from cities. you might be shocked at the prices and be able to stop dreaming and start doing.
I miss the city life sometimes, but then just today, i set up my pond for the year. so theres that
An you put a play pool on the roof or something?
This same concept applies to aquariums as well, with undergravel filters- except water flow is usually top to bottom instead of bottom to top.. If outdoor space is completely out of the question, maybe you can an aquarium.
❤🙏 I pray for a miracle every day to move to the countryside, will keep you in my prayers
This is beautiful! Amazing pond
I don't have a pond or am I interested in getting one...and...having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed watching your video as I found your video educational and VERY interesting. Thumbs UP!
That’s very kind of you.
Great job sir. I just followed ur instruction and made one, I will know tomorrow how well it works.
Best of luck!🤞
@@Ozponds iT WORKS fantastically...and it's been 2 months now since we have been using it. A small pump, a small dust bin, and a few plumbing fittings, some stones and voila. Happy fish, happy husband, happy pond ( :
@@ingridmcfarlane8348 great to hear 😊👍
I've moved to a farm in the rural Ozarks. Sewage was done via a 22' diameter 'Sewage Lagoon' as is common in this region of the rural Ozarks. I've now had a Septic tank system installed. Now I have the decrepit old defunct sewage lagoon pond. The general practice is to fill these in following conversion to a septic tank system. But I'd love to somehow convert this into a clean scenic pond? It would be quite a transformation and I'm sure no easy task. Still I wonder if this is possible.
As long as there’s no sewage now should be pretty straightforward. Good filtration, let the bacteria and microbes work their magic.
great job mate, really explained how bio-filter works. but for a heavy load koi/fish pond you might need other mechanic filtration, such as a drum filter.
Yes. High fish loads will need additional removal of waste.
Just found your channel. Excellent.
With love from Kerala, India.
Welcome aboard 😊👍
Amazing! Thank you for sharing this video. Greetings from Madang, Papua New Guinea!
You’re most welcome 😊👍
When I moved 4 years ago I left behind a 30 x 50 pond and an 800 gallon koi pond. I miss them and am getting anxious to build another koi pond.
It’s very relaxing watching fish.
Very helpful..thank you from the green mountains!
Love the structured explanation
I don’t mind duckweed and other stuff obscuring my pond water. I used to spend time and effort in cleaning and filtering but I learned that it helped to hide the fish from the heron. I think that a layer of duckweed might look like grass from the air. They also nibbled the duckweed when I was on holiday.
Duckweed and other floating plants can actually help with algae as well by blocking sunlight from lower waters.
That's gold information here, thanks!
Excellent video and the pond water looks amazing! Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it👍
Hi Ozpond! I've been using this same concept to clean grey water from homes! Loving nature
That’s how I started my water filtration journey 👍
Then what do you do with the water?
We reuse the water for flushing toilets; or for watering home veggie gardens
@@brycepanter4768 I thought the grey in the water was good for plants?
Hi, so idea mixing the downflow bog with air pump ( david pagan buttler, but to reverse the process he has shown) and upflow bog. Idea was to implement air output at the bottom of the bog(those perforated hoses to watter your garden), and let the watter move up with only help of air, but conccern is if the watter will be moving fast/slow enough, and if the direct output of air in bog does not kill the bacteria.
Air won’t kill the bacteria.
@@Ozponds Thanks, so to now use small barrels to build test, if air draft through rocks will be enough to pull in watter and move it up.
@@Sahy89 I’d love to hear your results 👍
Exactly what I was looking for, and very clear. Thanks so much.
Glad it was helpful! 😊👍
So beautiful.❤ My cat likes listening to these videos 😄
😂
I built an awesome bog filter after watching ozponds.....
🍻👍
Excellent well explained video. Thanks from the very wet Lake District in England.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
That was easy to understand and I am going to give it a go… thankyou for your help.
😊👍
Another awesome update. Thanks Kev. ❤
Glad you enjoyed it 🍻
5:38 i made something similar with 5 gallon bucket of lava rock (for a small pond), works great. no flush valve necessary.
who would have thought keeping the water crystal clear is so easy? no need for expensive filter media or a UV filter. thanks kev.
Perfect 👍
Have to agree, I use red lava rock in my canister filters for several of my aquariums, cheap and effect with plenty of surface area for the bacteria.
Thanks for the tips..Cant wait to get a pond ❤
Have fun!😊👍
watched many other videos on this topic, this is the best one. most of them have the crappiest audio and I couldn't understand a thing.
Appreciate the video m8, looking to make a duck pond so a video like this helps a ton
Good luck with your project 👍
My bog filter has canna lilies but the problem is the rooting system is very invasive thereby restricting upward flow from the manifold piping. Still working but flow is bit slower
Yes the canna is great at consuming nutrient but those roots! Boy oh boy do they get thick. Here canna go dormant in winter that’s the time to dig it up.
Awesome stuff, thank you for sharing!
My pleasure 👍
Great video mate your ponds looks amazing!.
o my goodness !
what a wonderful video !
I used to use mechanical filters and the water was always green. I switched to a Bog filter years ago. Crystal clear water ever since
Awesome 👍
Idk if I'll ever be able to afford property and a pond but that was cool and informative either way
Thank you ❤❤❤ Now we know how to do these
Wow ur ponds are so amazing
You’re pond is a belter ❤️🤍💙👍🏽👏🏽
Great advice... how do bog filters work where it freezes in the winter where we have to shut pumps off ?
I have no first hand experience in this. My assumption is that it’s perfectly fine as the biological activity in the pond over winter is also dormant. In spring start it all up again and off you go.
If you search for “how to winterize a pond” you will get great explanation. From what I found most northern ponds will get a clean in spring to manually remove string algea, they are active when the bacterias are not yet, and then as soon as the water temperature rises to around 10c the beneficial bacterias will be active again.
Just found your channel and subbed, Kev. Thank you for this extremely important content.
Thanks for the support 😊
Very very helpfull video. THANK YOU!!!
Thank you for your clear and considered explanation. I am wondering how big my bog filter needs to be, to help make my dam water clear. 😂
Where I live dams are more muddy than green. A bog won’t really prevent muddy water.
Have you ever explored any Viktor Schauberger inspired water restructuring devices? Truly miraculous results.
I haven’t, now I’m intrigued.
Great video. I'm building a pool inside my three acre pond. Sounds crazy but we enjoy swimming in the pond. We don't enjoy the perch eating us alive. The brim here in Louisiana are vicious. I was going to set up a filter a lot like what you do to filter the water going into the pool, from pond 3 the filter into the pool creating a positive pressure of clean water that will displace the dirty water trying to leach in from outside . my worry is it's going to grow algae inside the pool. Would ultraviolet light filter help. And the ideas?
UV will kill suspended algae. It won’t kill all types of algae.
I did this to an artificial stream almost 50 years ago. It worked. I put the gravel under a footbridge so the water had to flow through it, but no one could see the filter. I would add that if the water flow stops, it doesn't take long for the bacteria to die and you have to restart the biological process, so the water clarity will suffer.
As long as it doesn’t dry out.
Also look into bakki showers. They produce different bacteria than a bog filter.
Thanks for the post my smurfy friend!
I’m putting together a video on 3yrs since building the dream pond. I was going back over the old footage…Man it was blue!
It would have been an idea to show how to make one!
I used to work in a pet store & this is hardest thing to get aquarium owners to understand!! They just can't get the fact that dumping & cleaning out the WHOLE thing doesn't work & that TOO CLEAN is a bad thing!
Bravo. So great to learn there is a solution against having a scum pond.
Thank you so much. This is so helpful.
Your video was indeed very helpful. Thank you. I have subscribed.
Great to hear 😊👍
@@Ozponds you deserve the compliment.
I am thinking of building more like a natural pool, square, small, made of cinder blocks and concrete and flush with a deck.
@@imdo301 sounds cool
I don’t have a pond, but this was very interesting
Awesome thank you great teaching information greatly appreciated thank you
The big challenge for pond filter most people don't pay attention is how to get rid of the sludge and muck from the filter. Eventually, filter collects so much junk and slow down the water flow significantly which reduces oxygen. Ease of maintenance is the key part of the filter.
I agree. I always design my filters to be easy to maintain.