advice please need help with bottom drain to waterfall via pump design

[Torie Carn]

What I have now is a pump in a skimmer that pumps through my filtration to my waterfall.

We are expanding our pond and I will have two waterfalls.

I am thinking that I will keep the current situation with the pump in the skimmer but have it feed the new waterfall instead of the old one.

I want to add a bottom drain in the new liner and have a new external pump pull from the bottom drain into my filtration and down the existing waterfall.

How do I keep the leaves and muck from the bottom drain from clogging up the new pump before it gets to the filtration?


Does anyone have an aerated 4" bottom drain recommendation?

Pump recommendation? I am mainly concerned about power usage and the 4" bottom drain being downsized to the pump's inlet.


Help, please!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome. Sorry, but I don’t have a BD, so don’t have any idea. How big is your pond and what kind of dish do you have?

 

[GBBUDD]

What I have now is a pump in a skimmer that pumps through my filtration to my waterfall.

We are expanding our pond and I will have two waterfalls.

I am thinking that I will keep the current situation with the pump in the skimmer but have it feed the new waterfall instead of the old one.

I want to add a bottom drain in the new liner and have a new external pump pull from the bottom drain into my filtration and down the existing waterfall.

How do I keep the leaves and muck from the bottom drain from clogging up the new pump before it gets to the filtration? External pumps have a basket strainer thats all i have ever relight on . but with main drains most codes call for 2 drains on the same pipe that way no kids can block one drain and get held under check with your local codes officials


Does anyone have an aerated 4" bottom drain recommendation? i used rhinos' you set them in concrete below the liner and that way no matter what they don't move or shift and stretch or cut the liner. also with the air bladder you can set your height so fish and leaves don't get sucked in or if they do it's not an issue

Pump recommendation? I am mainly concerned about power usage and the 4" bottom drain being downsized to the pump's inlet. Performance pro for me


Help, please!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome. Sorry, but I don’t have a BD, so don’t have any idea. How big is your pond and what kind of dish do you have?

Errr, “fish,” not “dish.”

 

[j.w]

@Torie Carn

 

[Doctor mcboy]

What I have now is a pump in a skimmer that pumps through my filtration to my waterfall.

We are expanding our pond and I will have two waterfalls.

I am thinking that I will keep the current situation with the pump in the skimmer but have it feed the new waterfall instead of the old one.

I want to add a bottom drain in the new liner and have a new external pump pull from the bottom drain into my filtration and down the existing waterfall.

How do I keep the leaves and muck from the bottom drain from clogging up the new pump before it gets to the filtration?


Does anyone have an aerated 4" bottom drain recommendation?

Pump recommendation? I am mainly concerned about power usage and the 4" bottom drain being downsized to the pump's inlet.


Help, please!

i feel drains are over rated and a great place to have a leak. if you need to pump the pond out just throw in a pump and pump it out.

 

[WaterGardener]

If you are using an exterior pump, they normally have a leaf basket attached to them where water enters from the pond. That will catch debris and will need cleaning regularly. You could also use a sieve before the pump for the same purpose.

I have an aerated bottom drain to the pump which feeds a pressure filter, then water goes back to the pond through a small shower filter at the top of the waterfall.

Personally, I wouldn't have a pond without a bottom drain, but I'm probably in the minority here. Like most things, if they are installed properly they don't have any problems and won't leak.

 

[Torie Carn]

The pond is approx. 35' round by 3.5ft. deep with KOI

 

[Torie Carn]

Hello and welcome. Sorry, but I don’t have a BD, so don’t have any idea. How big is your pond and what kind of dish do you have?

Errr, “fish,” not “dish.”

The pond is approx. 35' round by 3.5ft. deep with KOI

 

[Lisak1]

Not a fan of bottom drains myself (nor do I know much about them but I'll ask anyway!) - why do you feel you need one?

 

[WaterGardener]

I'm not sure who you are addressing, but I have a bottom drain to keep the fish waste and other debris, like leaves, from accumulating on the bottom of the pond. The bottom stays clean with no effort from me.

It's also the main way in my pond to send water from the pond to the pump and filtration system.

 

[BobDE]

Here is the pump that I use: https://www.lifegardaquatics.com/products/sea-horse-high-performance-pumps/ . It comes in many sizes. Mine has been running 24 hours a day for over 5 years.

You can see the bottom drains in my pond in the photo below. They are plastic shower drains from Lowes. I drilled a big hole in each to allow leaves and other debris through.

This photo shows the barrel that the bottom drains feed. I used a dremel to enlarge the inside edge of the coupling so I could fit the small laundry bag in between the feed pipe and the coupling. It catches the debris that comes through the drains. This works well for me and catches most of the debris.

 

[WaterGardener]

We have that same shower drain for a retro bottom drain for an Intex pool. It works very well.

Most leaks occur with waterfalls, it seems. Ice build up in the waterfall can divert water out of the pond and can empty the pond fairly quickly.

Ground shifting, and rocks not securely cemented in around the waterfall can move and divert the flow of water as well.
The leak doesn't necessarily need to be at the bottom of the pond to cause it to pump itself empty.

 

[brokensword]

We have that same shower drain for a retro bottom drain for an Intex pool. It works very well.

Most leaks occur with waterfalls, it seems. Ice build up in the waterfall can divert water out of the pond and can empty the pond fairly quickly.

Ground shifting, and rocks not securely cemented in around the waterfall can move and divert the flow of water as well.
The leak doesn't necessarily need to be at the bottom of the pond to cause it to pump itself empty.

that's why it's a good idea to have a float valve on your pump; unless that fails, you can't pump your pond empty (unless the leak is at the pond bottom.)

 

[WaterGardener]

I second that. Ours is in the skimmer.