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Bottom Drains, A Design Question
Why are the majority of bottom drains that I see shaped like upside-down
bowls? My intent was to install two such drains in my pond, but now I am thinking I may have an idea for different design. I am thinking I'll take a 5 foot section of PVC (or about however long my pond is), and slice slits into the pipe. Each slit would be 3/4'' to 1'' in width and they'd be spaced about 1-2 inches apart. Then lay those flat in the pond, and hook that up with T-fittings to my plumbing. Then I would have a 5 foot long bottom drain running the length of the pond. Depending on how I dig the pond, I could also optimize the bottom of the hole for such a design, slanting the whole bottom in one direction towards the drain. Any thoughts? Aside from it possible being very visible, what are the downsides to this idea? -- BenignVanilla tibetanbeefgarden.com x-no-archive: yes Remove MY SPLEEN to email me. |
#2
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Bottom Drains, A Design Question
BV,
The dome top is to keep the water flowing along the bottom of the pond rather than coming in straight down. That helps to sweep the debris to the drain. -- RichToyBox http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html "BenignVanilla" wrote in message ... Why are the majority of bottom drains that I see shaped like upside-down bowls? My intent was to install two such drains in my pond, but now I am thinking I may have an idea for different design. I am thinking I'll take a 5 foot section of PVC (or about however long my pond is), and slice slits into the pipe. Each slit would be 3/4'' to 1'' in width and they'd be spaced about 1-2 inches apart. Then lay those flat in the pond, and hook that up with T-fittings to my plumbing. Then I would have a 5 foot long bottom drain running the length of the pond. Depending on how I dig the pond, I could also optimize the bottom of the hole for such a design, slanting the whole bottom in one direction towards the drain. Any thoughts? Aside from it possible being very visible, what are the downsides to this idea? -- BenignVanilla tibetanbeefgarden.com x-no-archive: yes Remove MY SPLEEN to email me. |
#3
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Bottom Drains, A Design Question
Each slit would be 3/4'' to 1'' in width and they'd be spaced about 1-2
inches apart. Any fish that might find their way through openings that large? A nice long pipe with slits like that would be a very tempting refuge for smaller fish. Another thought: I'm no fluid engineer but I suspect 99% of the water going into the drain would enter through the slit closest to the closed pipe that takes the water away. You'll probably get no draw from the end of a 5' length of pipe. If you go ahead with this design, I strongly suggest you dig the pond so there is a channel for the pipe to lie in, have the slits on the underside, and slope the floor of the pond so all the gunk gravitates toward the pipe. Keep in mind this would be difficult to clean should the slits become clogged with leaves or some other stuff. I'm very happy with my dome drain. ~ Gary |
#4
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Bottom Drains, A Design Question
Uh, clogging? A big opening will not clog as easily, and can be unclogged
with a garden hose or by simply closing the valve before the settlement tank, draining the tank, then opening the valve. The resultant "swooosh" will clear the clog. However, if you wanted to do the slit pipe thing (which is one form of a retro-fit bottom drain), you can use black pipe or paint the PVC to blend in. Personally, I wouldn't go with slits. Regarding why bottom drains are domed: if there was no cover, the water would only be sucked from directly above in a tornado fashion. Your fish and anything that came close would get sucked in. The object is to force the water to come in from the sides, not from the top, thereby sucking the "stuff" from the bottom of the pond to the drain. If the cover is too flat, it restricts the water flow. Therefore, a dome allows a greater flow of water. Something else you should consider while you're thinking of bottom drains: get the ones with diffusers in them. The air serves several purposes, including introducing extra oxygen into your pond and giving the fish bubbles to play in. But the greatest benefit is this: the rising air bubbles change the barometric pressure and forcibly sucks the waste to the drain. Something ELSE to think about G! Lee "BenignVanilla" wrote in message ... Why are the majority of bottom drains that I see shaped like upside-down bowls? My intent was to install two such drains in my pond, but now I am thinking I may have an idea for different design. I am thinking I'll take a 5 foot section of PVC (or about however long my pond is), and slice slits into the pipe. Each slit would be 3/4'' to 1'' in width and they'd be spaced about 1-2 inches apart. Then lay those flat in the pond, and hook that up with T-fittings to my plumbing. Then I would have a 5 foot long bottom drain running the length of the pond. Depending on how I dig the pond, I could also optimize the bottom of the hole for such a design, slanting the whole bottom in one direction towards the drain. Any thoughts? Aside from it possible being very visible, what are the downsides to this idea? -- BenignVanilla tibetanbeefgarden.com x-no-archive: yes Remove MY SPLEEN to email me. |
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