Pond Bottom Drain Help

[parepaul]

iam currently reconstructing my pond to improve water capacity, water quality and filtration, so in addition to this pond renovation, i decided to put a bottom drain. when the pond is finished, the pond will have a capacity of 550-600 gallons.

the problem that is bothering me now is having to choose the perfect pond bottom drain that will be used with a pond liner. i have been browsing the web for the past 2 days in search of that perfect bottom drain.
these are the bottom drains that i have in mind.

cheapest through ebay


cheapest through ebay.

so could anyone point me in the right direction of bottom drains that was made for pond liners, please have in mind that this will only be a 550-600 gallon pond; and please discuss any experiences/insights from bottoms drains showed above, as a matter of fact, feel free to discuss any pond bottom drain experiences! thanks in advance!

[Nancy M.]

Quote: Originally Posted by parepaul iam currently reconstructing my pond to improve water capacity, water quality and filtration, so in addition to this pond renovation, i decided to put a bottom drain. when the pond is finished, the pond will have a capacity of 550-600 gallons. the problem that is bothering me now is having to choose the perfect pond bottom drain that will be used with a pond liner. i have been browsing the web for the past 2 days in search of that perfect bottom drain. these are the bottom drains that i have in mind. cheapest through ebay so could anyone point me in the right direction of bottom drains that was made for pond liners, please have in mind that this will only be a 550-600 gallon pond; and please discuss any experiences/insights from bottoms drains showed above, as a matter of fact, feel free to discuss any pond bottom drain experiences! thanks in advance!

For your size pond the tetra is a good drain, very easy to install into liner.
Nancy M.

[koiczar]

Nancy is correct. Besides, I would recommend the 3" drain which you show on the top photo. There is no "pot" for any waste to get caught in. Simply glue in what is called an ABS street ell sweep. Works great for that size tank/pond!

Mike

[parepaul]

thanks for the reply/help guys!

[kent wallace]

The problems with the Tetra are the gap between pond bottom and dome is too large and unadjustable and the lip created by the clamp ring is very tall. Most drains are too large for your pond to begin with. Do you also have some type of skimmer? Believe it or not a 2 inch bottom drain is plenty for that size pond when combined with a skimmer.

[mstrseed]

Kent,

If the gap is too large could you not turn it upside down drill some holes in the dome for a grip (or if hollow to anchor it) use tape for a collar and use SikaFlex and close the gap..................

Just a thought........................

[parepaul]

i overcame the huge gap by digging the tetra drain deeper so that it uses the side of the dome for the opening; i've also reduced the drain hole to 2" with a PVC bushing.
and im only using the drain to flush wastes from the bottom of the pond.

[wret]

I'm planning to expand and redesign my pond. I figure I will go from 1000 gallons to about 1500 and add a bottom drain. I see they have been discussed here before but I'm not too clear on how they are designed and work.

I assume the idea is to allow debris that normally accumulates at the lowest point to be sucked out where it can be more easily dealt with. The Tetra Pond appears to be about the most common low-end bottom drain. Does it allow leaves and larger debris though and if so how does it not suck up baby fish?

[kent wallace]

"Baby" fish are not normally raised in a pond situation with an active bottom drain. They are usually raised in a smaller system with a much different prefilter and pump assembly that won't suck in the fish. Once they are larger they can safely go into the pond.

[wret]

Hmmm... I've got too many fish so I probably shouldn't be conerned about it but I get a dozen or so surviving new fish per year. I give a few away and herons take their toll.

So I guess in order not to grind up the little guys, I would still need to cover the drain with a fine mesh and deal with cleaning it out?