bottom drain sticker shock

[Margo]

As I plan for my new pond, I'm researching new styles of bottom drains. Whoa! In my existing pond, I have a white 4" pool drain that is gravity fed into the skimmer box. Total cost was the drain, the 4" flexible pipe and the bulkhead fittings. Granted it was 15 years ago but I don't remember being taken aback by the cost.

Now I'm seeing 4 "bottom drains with air diffusers for over $300! And that is before I buy the flexible pipe and bulkhead fitting.

Now I love the idea of putting in a drain that is under the liner (I hated seeing the big white pool drain in my pond all year) but are the drains with air diffusers really a big help? Or is my passive gravity fed drain enough? I'm thinking my final pond will be around 12 x 15 or so 3,000 gallons with a waterfall filter and a bog.

No matter what I'm replacing the white pool drain with something that is black so I don't have to see it.

Margo

 

[addy1]

I covered my white pool skimmer box with my favorite pond goop,

I smeared it on, let it dry, it has been 4 or so years still nice and black, no pealing off.
Just another option for you

 

[DrCase]

I bet if you looked around more you can find a 4" koi toilet for 200 $

 

[slick]

The air defusers do help,
as the air bubbles rise to the surface they cause an up current that acts like a mushroom cloud at the surface,
so as the pond water is taken upwards,
pond water is drawn along the bottom of the pond by the current to fill the void,
as is mushrooms at the surface it hits the pond sides and then stars a circular motion up in the middle down at the sides this in turn helps move the rubbish on the pond floor towards the bottom drain,
hope that makes sense,
you can buy a standard drain for around £25 not including pipe work and then get a retro fit kit to gule onto the top of the standard cover,
That is my next project this summer when the water warms up,
as I'll have to get very wet lol

 

[slick]

I'm not 100% sure but I think that Dave54 went the retro fit way,
on the pond side of your bottom drain isolator plumb in a t peace with the vertical pipe longer than the hight of the pond water level feed the air line down the for said t peace alond the bottom drain pipe and bring in up through yor drain cove,
depending on the length of the pipe work and depth of pond you may need to uprate your air compressor I knlw I will have to

 

[Randy Fisher]

In my opinion, the BOTTOM DRAIN is one of the most important parts of a great filter system. Everything you, your fish and Mother Nature puts into your pond ends up "at the bottom drain". You want good, unrestricted flow into the drain where all the %$#@ can be removed from the pond and into filtration. "Slick" is right! A bottom drain with an air dome is a GREAT combo as the air column creates an upward flow drawing water (and junk) on the bottom of the pond to the drain. What could be better. You can go cheap on other parts of your filter system, like stuff that is NOT in the middle of your liner at the bottom of your pond but buy a quality bottom drain and carefully install it. You will never know the heartache of having to replace it. I have installed several Dream Pond Koi Toilets and recommend the big one (4 inch) with the air dome. Good luck with your new pond. Heck... Luck has nothing to do with it. PLAN it, BUILD it, LOVE it!

 

[slick]

correct building a koi pond without a bottom drain,
is like building a toilet you can not flush

 

[Margo]

Excellent advice. I'm going with the 4" Koi Toilet I. I'm now trying to decide if I go with the Medo 80 (found more money for the budget) or Hakko 80 or is the 80 overkill and the 60 enough? Currently I'm thinking a 10 x 15 pond with half of the pond at a 4' depth - around 3,500 gallons or so.

 

[slick]

Where filtration is the question you can never do to big or over kill!
My pond is 10 feet long 6 feet wide and 5,6 feet deep im turning over 17,000ltrs
of water an hour but I know that my uv and filters can handle 26,000ltrs an hour so they are only ticking over,
I always tell people buy the biggest and best filter system you can,
where koi are concerned filtration filtration filtration, aeration
there your pond may now house a small number of fish but as time goes on you want and buy more, your pond size may be well up for it but you filters are not leading to all kinds of problems when the seller says it can handle 10,000ltrs per hour,
is thar an empty pond a low stocked pond a pond with gold fish or a pond heavily stocked with koi of 18inch pluss

 

[Margo]

I've got around 20 or so Koi but I'm only moving 12 mature ones (neighbor who had a bad winter last year is taking the ones I don't move) and whatever amount of shubunkins and sarasas I have, maybe six or so?

 

[Nova]

Are there any diagrams showing the plumbing for bottom drains, whole system for that matter? I am a visual learner. basically I want to see the path the water takes from drain to waterfall.

 

[slick]

If you type in bottom drain on you tube you will find plenty ( it's where I got the information from )
Basically through bottom drain (I used 110mm solvent weld pipe as you can't aford any chance of leaks)
From drain to gate valve as you need to be able to stop pond water entering your first filter chamber,
I have a vortex pre filter fitted with bottom drain valve,
the water then passes through the filter chambers
now because the filter boxes are at the same level as you pond water level
the pond fills your filters and your pump refills the pond

 

[slick]

 

[slick]

Not a very good example but it was a 2 second search on Google images koi pknd bottom drain hope it helps

 

[DoDad]

I sell this one for $89 + shipping.