| Yes....
Bottom Drains are a key function for the koi filter. That being said, like Mick said I have come across stories over the internet about the "BOTOOM DRAIN BOMB" which caused ulitiamte destruction of the pond and death to all of the koi.
When I installed my first bottom drain I was very nervous, I tried to investigate where others went wrong and triple checked all my work during the instalation. I also secured the area with a high strength marine silicon. Which is in my opiinion the best adhesive to use for pond liner application. Extra security measures and better materials should make the difference between long-lasting and short-lived ponds. The bottom drains I prefer to use is a pre-fab. Personally I would be a little nervous about installing a DIY. But to each their own. Perhaps their is someone out there which has spent many hours constructing a DIY bottom drain and has created an amazing design. I'm always a fan of unique creative designs.....
My pond has a spindrifiter bottom drain with an aeration dome, then a 4" pipe feeding into a large vortex....... The only problem I have had is making sure my little koi don't get flushed out when I clean the vortex chamber........ Which has happened. Now when I flush out the vortex I do not open up the drain valve all the way until I check the last bit of water left in the vortex for those little koi. If there is no little koi in there I open up the valve all the way.
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