Water Gardening: Do you have or recommend a BOTTOM DRAIN in your pond?, 1 by SongsofJoy

SongsofJoy wrote:
Here is a picture of the bottom drain and skimmer lines (3 inch pvc) connecting to the filters. I have 3 inch ball valves on each line so that I can shut off the flow to the filters for cleaning.

My filters were made from 55 gallon barrels that I bought from coca-cola for $5 each. (I didn't make the same filter box that was on the link I sent you). There is a rack in each barrel about 8 inches from the bottom, and then I layered 4 pieces of filter pad (cut to fit very snugly) on top of the rack. The water comes in above the filter pads - the solids get trapped on the pads but the water flows through. A lot of filters are designed so that the water comes in on the bottom, solids settle and the water rises up through the filter material and the pump draws from the top of the barrel instead of bottom. This has some advantages (filter pads don't get as clogged because solids are not on top of them) but I like my setup because it allows the fish and frogs a safe place to "land" if they decide to take a trip through the bottom drain lines. (Which the smaller ones frequently do, especially in the spring when I first start up the pond. They seem to learn after a while and then start avoiding the drains.) With my setup I just scoop them out with a net and toss them back in the pond.

Each filter barrel has a drain at the bottom (2 inch pvc with knife valves) for easy emptying and cleaning.


This message was edited May 4, 2008 1:02 PM