I've about decided against having a bottom drain. There is no
advantage that I can see. While I have the pond on high ground, that
is relatively speaking. I'm thinking *inches* of relief. Most of the
land here is 154 ft above sea level. Some is 153 ft, some is 155 ft.
Even if I drain the little pond into the big pond, I'd still have to
start a siphon or pump it out. In other words, I'd have to go through
the exact same process whether or not I utilize a bottom drain. I
live in a rural area and already possess several pumps, one
specifically designed to suck up pond water and pump it that I have
for fire fighting purposes (gas operated in case the power fails) and
another one with a 2 inch outlet that will pump the little pond dry
well inside of 10 minutes. I can see it for a larger pond, but this
one seems to be far too tiny to fuss with, besides, I don't count on
having any fish.

On another note, the acorns have pretty much stopped falling on my
(metal) roof. Now it no longer sounds like I'm under direct attack by
..50 machine guns, it's only occasional random sniper fire.
--
Galen Hekhuis
I may have mispoken