"Pat" wrote in message
...
I have 5 Rubbermaid tanks as part of my set up. Water trickles into the
top of each one and leaves through the drain. Muck would build up on the
bottoms and plug the drains so I added a elbow and 8 inches of pipe to the
inside of the drains. That way the water that leaves comes from the center
of the tank height rather than the bottom. I don't use a pump. My tanks
are stair stepped down a hillside. The water that comes from the bottom of
one tank trickles into the top of the next. I poured thin concrete slabs
for each tank to sit on. I found that the tanks would crack sitting on
dirt. Part of the tank would settle unevenly and a crack would form near
the top. Concrete slabs fixed the problems. My tanks are my filters
however they function as ponds too.

Thanks Pat,

I did not realize that the drain plug was that close to the bottom of the
tank. I don't expect too much muck in my location, but an elbow may be a
good idea in the event of a hose leak. I won't drain the entire tank that
way. My tank will be going in a basement hallway near the floor drain. I'm
hoping the floor is flat enough, but it does slope towards the drain, so I
better check.

It looks like having the pump suck the water back into the pond may be my
best option. Would I be able to thread a pipe through the drain plug, so
that I could put an elbow on the inside and a reducer on the outside?