Bog 4.0

With the newly waterproofed bog area in place, I began to experiment with ideas to create channels for the desired visible water flows and pools. I used a metal dog dish I got from Wal*Mart and some flexible PVC that I cut lengthwise on the bandsaw.



As substrate, I used swimming pool filter media, not sand, but what I'm told is "pea gravel" though it's much smaller than any pea gravel I've ever seen. It's 100% silica so it's fully inert. It's the same as what I used in my Fluidized Bed Filter, and as substrate in one of my breeding tanks. It's about $15 for 50lbs, so it's a much better price than typical gravel offerings.


Here the key elements are in place and I've unloaded 150lbs of gravel onto it. I put some plants from the old bog and various houseplants on there to get an idea of what it might look like.


Liking the mostly open area for planting, I experimented with using the slate simply to accent the areas. It also served as somewhat of a retaining wall to keep the gravel in the bog and not the tank and to hide things like the metal pan. I divert some of the water coming from the filter onto a rock that pours into the pan, and onto the wood on the right that enters the other channel I created. Quite a bit of the water also enters the substrate and will provide water to the future plants.




Here is the full bog at the moment. I have ordered some tropical plants from a terrarium/vivarium supplier to plant there.