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| Over the last few days I installed 2-4'' bottom drains in my pond and didn't spend a lot of $$ doing it. As much as this hobby isn't cheap, I hate wasting money on things ''made for a koi pond ''. One of the most expensive things is the bottom drain itself, so being an avid DIY'er I came up with the idea to use household sewer drains. The same kind, as what would be on a toilet. If we can use it then I don't see why a koi can't. I asked a few people what they thought of the idea and all agreed that it should work. It consists of a rounded 90* pipe, a toilet floor flange, 2-rubber gaskets, and a floor flange extension plate. |
| DIY Bottom Drain |
| Once the piping and 90*/floor flange were set, mortar was poured around them so they won't move. Then the liner was sandwiched and siliconed between the floor flange, gaskets and the extension plate, then the whole issue is screwed together using stainless steel screws. A 14'' rubber coated cement plate will be set about an 1 ½'' above the drain to prevent a vortex action. There will also be a fitting for an air stone in the plate. |
| So for about $80(Canada,) I got 2 bottom drains. So at this point I've only spent about $500(Canada) on all the pipe, valves, etc., which is less than what 2 ''koi pond drains'' would have cost by themselves. |
| The anti-vortex cap is a very important part of a bottom drain. It keeps water from being drawn from directly above the drain. Instead, it forces the water to sweep along the bottom and under the cap, into the drain. This helps keep the bottom clean! The first way I did it was with some cement caps ...That didn't work. Anti Vortex caps have to be dome shaped and hollow. I ended up using some garbage can lids. They are set about a 1/2'' above the bottom on some PVC legs and have a good draw. |
| Here is the finished anti-vortex cap in place. Notice the bubbles coming from it? When you pipe air from the top of the cap, it forms something of an "air lift." The rising bubbles push a column of water upwards, drawing water from the bottom towards the cap. This aids in keeping the bottom water moving towards the drain as well as helping to physically "turn the pond over. |
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