DesertPond,

I use to have my settlement chamber divided into 2 compartments.I then
had 2 4" pipes going threw the partition at the top.I had an elbow on each
facing up in the first chamber.Most of the solids remained in the first
chamber.

I redid my settlement chamber this year and made a cone shape on the bottom
like vortex.I put a 2" pipe in the middle of the cone at bottom chamber.I
then plumbed it out and up the side with a ball valve.I just open the valve
and it cleans all the solids out.It was the best thing I could of done.



"DesertPond" tapetrade@[No Spam]cox.net wrote in message
...
The bottom drain has a 2" opening on the bottom and is connected to
2' of 2" pipe. From there it connects to a 4" elbow - 4" pipe - 4"
elbow - to 9' of 4" pipe to connect to the settlement chamber. So
except for the bottom drain itself it's all 4" pipe. The pump is a
Sequence 4800. The only problem so far is that the flow rate is a bit
fast for proper settlement so I'm playing with the adjustment valve
connected to the pump. So I've certainly got some decent waterflow.

Do you happen to know the best layout for media in a settlement
chamber?

On Sun, 6 Jul 2003 19:24:48 -0400, "Doug"
wrote:

DesertPond,

Do you get good waterflow to settling chamber using 4"
pipe
reduced to 2" for settling chamber??

I was wondering what size pump you have from the settling chamber??

I have the same hook up. I used 2" pipe all threw to settling chamber.I
have
a Sequence 3600 pulling from settling chamber.I had to add another 2"
pipe
with basket on end from pond to settling chamber to keep up the pump.I
wanted 2000 GPH threw pump??

Thanks
Doug


"DesertPond" tapetrade@[No Spam]cox.net wrote in message
.. .
I neglected to place a bottom drain in my pond last summer and have
regretted it ever since. So over the last week I added a Tetra Vacuum
drain retrofit to the pond. Seems to be working exceptionally well.
The photos of the upgrade are here if your interested

http://community.webshots.com/user/tapetrade

A bottom drain will make cleaning a heck of a lot easier and improve
the overall health of the pond.


On Sun, 6 Jul 2003 10:21:18 -0700, "stricks760"
wrote:

I'm planning a pond. The books say 'put in a bottom drain to make
cleaning
easier.' The (few) people I've actually spoken to say 'don't put a
hole
in
your liner - don't need a bottom drain.

I plan for about 1500 gallons, 24-30" depth. Probably no Koi, because
I've
heard they generate a lot of waste (and get huge).

What's the feeling on bottom drains?

"stricks760" wrote in message
news:QTYNa.120093$MJ5.54275@fed1read03...
I'm planning a pond. The books say 'put in a bottom drain to make cleaning
easier.' The (few) people I've actually spoken to say 'don't put a hole
in
your liner - don't need a bottom drain.

I plan for about 1500 gallons, 24-30" depth. Probably no Koi, because
I've
heard they generate a lot of waste (and get huge).

What's the feeling on bottom drains?

I have a DIY bottom drain and am in my first season so I can not attest to
how well mine works. I can tell you I use the Bickal boot on mine and did
not have a pipe clamp big enough. So I have a hole in my liner with no
clamp, and it does not leak that I can tell. I also do not yet have a
diffuser on there, so I need to do some scuba soon.

Upsides to BD...
....should keep gunk off my pond bottom, 42'' down
....all plumbing hidden under water...no unsightly hoses or pipes to hide
....good water circulation from bottom to top

Con's...
....destination of bottom drain pipe...must be gravity fed
....drain is at bottom of pond, so any maintenance happens under water
....can't be used in winter because of circulation

BV.

The results have been impressive since adding a retro fit bottom drain
to my pond. It is a DIY job that combined both a drain and an Oase
BIOsys IP-200 in-pond skimmer. Here is a photo of what it looks like.

http://www.pobox.com/~ehanson/images/aq_IMG_2926.jpg

Pipe is 1.5" ABS. I could not find the shower drain and tee fitting in
ABS, hence the white PVC. I sanded them to roughen the surface and now
algae has made them not visible in the water. The skimmer works quite
well. I did not plan ahead, so I had to add an in-pond skimmer. I had
to replace the supplied tube with a longer 6" sewer/drain pipe as my
pond is deeper than the supplied one. It was impossible to find a
black one, so I just went with the standard pale green. I then wrapped
it in black plastic.

--
Eric Hanson


"stricks760" wrote in message news:QTYNa.120093$MJ5.54275@fed1read03...
I'm planning a pond. The books say 'put in a bottom drain to make cleaning
easier.' The (few) people I've actually spoken to say 'don't put a hole in
your liner - don't need a bottom drain.

I plan for about 1500 gallons, 24-30" depth. Probably no Koi, because I've
heard they generate a lot of waste (and get huge).

What's the feeling on bottom drains?

Yes, put in a bottom drain!!! My first pond didn't have a bottom drain.
Experience taught me to put one in. This pond is twice the size and the
same amount of work.

The only 'con' I have about bottom drains is with Koi. They picked out all
the gravel in the potted plants, so I put in lava rock. That caused a clog
in the plumbing. Mind you, it took only a few minutes to snake it out, but
still... For me, koi are a love/hate thing.
--
Wendy* in N. California,
"Hear and you forget; see and you remember; do and you understand." -
Confucius


"stricks760" wrote in message
news:QTYNa.120093$MJ5.54275@fed1read03...
I'm planning a pond. The books say 'put in a bottom drain to make cleaning
easier.' The (few) people I've actually spoken to say 'don't put a hole
in
your liner - don't need a bottom drain.

I plan for about 1500 gallons, 24-30" depth. Probably no Koi, because
I've
heard they generate a lot of waste (and get huge).

What's the feeling on bottom drains?

Yes, put in a bottom drain!!! My first pond didn't have a bottom drain.
Experience taught me to put one in. This pond is twice the size and the
same amount of work.

The only 'con' I have about bottom drains is with Koi. They picked out all
the gravel in the potted plants, so I put in lava rock. That caused a clog
in the plumbing. Mind you, it took only a few minutes to snake it out, but
still... For me, koi are a love/hate thing.
--
Wendy* in N. California,
"Hear and you forget; see and you remember; do and you understand." -
Confucius


"stricks760" wrote in message
news:QTYNa.120093$MJ5.54275@fed1read03...
I'm planning a pond. The books say 'put in a bottom drain to make cleaning
easier.' The (few) people I've actually spoken to say 'don't put a hole
in
your liner - don't need a bottom drain.

I plan for about 1500 gallons, 24-30" depth. Probably no Koi, because
I've
heard they generate a lot of waste (and get huge).

What's the feeling on bottom drains?