Slow Drain - HELP!

Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
Los Angeles
Okay, a little background:

This pond used to work fine. I haven't changed anything fundamentally.

The pond has been out of service for a bit.

Here's my issue:
I'm not getting full water flow out of my drain.

Here's my setup:
I have a roughly 5000 gallon cement pond that came with my house. The set up is pretty simple. Single drain connected to a pump, running through a swimming pool filter (large fiberglass filled with sand), then it runs up through a waterfall and into the pond.

The pond has been out of commission for about a year and a half. Just got a new pump and trying to start back up the pond.

Problem is I'm not getting full flow out of my drain and into my pump. This used to happen in the past but either went away after a couple of minutes or with a quick cleaning.

Basically I'm getting about a third of the water I used to.

Now I tried to check if the drain was clogged with a drain snake and nothing came out. Then I tried to use a plunger to see if it was clogged. No luck.

Okay, then I tried to check the height of everything. Turns out my drain at the bottom of the pond is about 2 feet lower than my pump. Now remember this pond used to work just fine with exactly this setup.

Next clue (I think) is that I'm getting air bubbles up through my waterfall bunker.

Any thoughts? I have a tiny leak in the drain right before the pump but it's just a drip.

I haven't replaced my filter basket or o-ring.

Any thoughts, hints or help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks,

Anthony


DAY THREE - UPDATE
JUST FOR CLARITY - the replacement pump is the exact same model and power as the original. I believe my problem is in the amount of water getting to the pump (see below) not with the strength of the pump.

Okay, tried several things yesterday with little luck.

First I tried 'sudsy's' suggestion and primed the pump. I put a garden hose in the leaf trap and also filled the 'bunker' before my waterfall.

I had the filter on recirculate so taking the filter out of the loop.

For about 2 seconds the water flow was great, then back to about 1/2 to a 1/3rd. Now, I'm looking at the waterflow through the leaf basket pre-pump. Basically, the leaf basket would be overflowing with water when I took the cover off. I'd put the cover on,start the pump, 2 seconds of glory, then back to a 1/2 full leaf basket.

When my pond worked (1.5 years ago - off since then), same pump, same plumbing - the leaf basket would be filled with water when the pump was on. Now, the leaf basket is maybe a third filled after the first 2 seconds.

NEXT TRY - Drain King
Next I bought a drain king and disconnected the pump, fed the hose down the drain and turned it on. Not certain the drain king fully inflated (does the clog have to be 100% for a drain king to inflate?) I did get a pulsing noise but I also got water coming back out of the drain along the hose (not all the water but maybe 20%). I let that run for a good 10 or 15 minutes. Watched the bottom drain for signs of a clog and while I could see turbulence that indicated water was flowing back into the pond - no big clog.

Again post drain king - great flow for 2 seconds then back to 1/3 full.

POSSIBLE HINT - One strange thing I noticed - several times I'd leave the filter and the drain open with the leaf trap lid off (hoping to allow air to escape from the drain, etc). Yesterday, I got a ton of tiny airbubbles coming from the pump side (not the drain side) i.e. from the waterfall and through the filter on recirculate. Not sure if this is a clue or not.

ANY HELP WOULD BE AMAZING! (I can't figure this one out for the life of me).

ONE LAST THOUGHT - is it possible that the seal is no longer good on my leaf basket and when the pump turns on it's sucking air instead of water? The o-ring is in good shape and the lid still threads properly and comes to a tight fit but I'm just wondering. I remember when I first had this leaf basket the lid would 'suck down and seal' when the pump was first turned on. I don't see that same action anymore.

Thanks,

Anthony
 

DrDave

Innovator
Moderator
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Messages
6,851
Reaction score
112
Location
Fallbrook, Ca USA
Anthony
I know you don't want to hear this and I am not trying to be smart, but your best bet is to forget about the bottom drain and get a good submersible pump. It takes only minutes to remove and clean them.

Bottom drains have been discussed on this Forum many times, I only hope that all the people who "wouldn't be without one" read this so they can see what they are in for.

That said, draining and running a snake, or re-plumbing might be your only choices.

You mentioned a snake and a new pump already, did you validate that the snake went the entire length of the line? Did you see it come out?

Sorry to hear about this, I hope others learn from it.
 

DrCase

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
4,400
Reaction score
788
Location
Arkansas
Hardiness Zone
7a
Can you plug the pipe in the skimmer ? and see what the pump does with just the bottom drain
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
30,780
Messages
508,560
Members
13,042
Latest member
lucaryan

Latest Threads

Top