Hello
Another quick question please.
Do you think it is worth paying the extra money for Spindrifter Bottom Drains over the price of standard bottom drains baring in mind the Spindrifter Bottom Drains will also need the high pressure pipe as well.
Thanks for all your help.
Tim
Bottom Drais #2
Moderators: B.Scott, vippymini, Gazza, Manky Sanke
Re: Bottom Drais #2
Hi TimTimHall wrote:Hello
Another quick question please.
Do you think it is worth paying the extra money for Spindrifter Bottom Drains over the price of standard bottom drains baring in mind the Spindrifter Bottom Drains will also need the high pressure pipe as well.
Thanks for all your help.
Tim
In a Nutshell yes
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Gazza
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Hi Tim,
One of the things with building a Koi pond is it is normally expensive and even when you set bout a budget....you blow it
There are certain things you can do now which will cost just minimal expense but if you want them later they ether cant be done or it just costs too much
Aerated bottom drains are a must on a koi pond not just for the beneficial extra air but also the current that they produce which helps with waste removal.
Do it once......its cheaper
One of the things with building a Koi pond is it is normally expensive and even when you set bout a budget....you blow it
There are certain things you can do now which will cost just minimal expense but if you want them later they ether cant be done or it just costs too much
Aerated bottom drains are a must on a koi pond not just for the beneficial extra air but also the current that they produce which helps with waste removal.
Do it once......its cheaper
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vippymini
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i think Gazza is 100% right.
buy them and fit them now as your building the pond, as digging/tunneling under the floor of your pond once youve built it takes some very expensive and rare little trained moles.
anything above-ground can be cut up and changed but the rest is as they say set in stone(concrete) remember to use good quality high pressure pipework with swept bends and lots of solventweld glue.
buy them and fit them now as your building the pond, as digging/tunneling under the floor of your pond once youve built it takes some very expensive and rare little trained moles.
anything above-ground can be cut up and changed but the rest is as they say set in stone(concrete) remember to use good quality high pressure pipework with swept bends and lots of solventweld glue.
Tim you get what you pay for basicaly. I have used both cheap and the Spindrifters. I have never had a spindrifter fail on me, however one of the other after maket ones I have used did seperate from the drain stem. Luckily for the client this was covered by me as I fitted it I fixed it by diving on the pond and reglueing the stem to the dome. I am confident it will not come off again.
Jules
Jules
bottom drains 2
a tip
if you fit female end cap to the inside of the drain,
drill and thread it 1/4 bsp , fit 1/4 to 9mm barbed
adaptor short length 9 mm pipe to aireator, ditto
the other end ,( but to pump) ,you have a pipe all air and no dirty
dead water !! please what ever you do, do not put an air
pipe inside a 110mm drain pipe ,did this on a build ,the
green stuff loves it!! blocked solid in 3 months
cant spell cant type
davebms
if you fit female end cap to the inside of the drain,
drill and thread it 1/4 bsp , fit 1/4 to 9mm barbed
adaptor short length 9 mm pipe to aireator, ditto
the other end ,( but to pump) ,you have a pipe all air and no dirty
dead water !! please what ever you do, do not put an air
pipe inside a 110mm drain pipe ,did this on a build ,the
green stuff loves it!! blocked solid in 3 months
cant spell cant type
davebms
I am on my second pond and have never used anything but the cheap drains. I have my doubts about the need for all that extra air and have seen many cases of fish acting skidish when the drains get turned off The cheap drains cost about 20 quid and frankly I don't see the need to pay 5 times that amount for a spinthrifter drain. While we are at it I have heard about some incidents of the airline to the spinthrifters failing. Is this a problem and can it be fixed if it happens?
B.Scott
B.Scott
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vippymini
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- Location: hertfordshire
being a true ebayer i've spotted something that might interest you with regards your expensive bottom-drains.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-bottom-drain-for-ko ... dZViewItem
this bloke obviosly makes them himself which will be much cheaper than buying them from a major koi outlet....
what do the questers think.
i'm sure our brother jules will be interested!!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-bottom-drain-for-ko ... dZViewItem
this bloke obviosly makes them himself which will be much cheaper than buying them from a major koi outlet....
what do the questers think.
i'm sure our brother jules will be interested!!
Tim,
If it's any help, I had the same thoughts when I built my pond some years ago. I decided that they were probably just gimicks and didn't fit one.
There wasn't so much advice about on the internet in those days!!!!
I've regretted it ever since because I went for the over the side air stones just like they have at my local koi dealer. I thought they looked good. (still do but wouldn't admit that on here).
The problem is, that where the air stones hang over the side, an uplift current is created and alot of the crap gets pulled towards these stones away from the bottom drain. This IMO proves that airated bottom drains work!!!
I bought a retrofit kit 2 summers ago but haven't got round to fitting it yet.
Cheers
Carl
If it's any help, I had the same thoughts when I built my pond some years ago. I decided that they were probably just gimicks and didn't fit one.
There wasn't so much advice about on the internet in those days!!!!
I've regretted it ever since because I went for the over the side air stones just like they have at my local koi dealer. I thought they looked good. (still do but wouldn't admit that on here).
The problem is, that where the air stones hang over the side, an uplift current is created and alot of the crap gets pulled towards these stones away from the bottom drain. This IMO proves that airated bottom drains work!!!
I bought a retrofit kit 2 summers ago but haven't got round to fitting it yet.
Cheers
Carl
Like the bottom drains on there Sister cheers. Wouldn't cost much more to change the lid for an airated one.
Personaly I would never fit a bottom drain unless it is airated. why? 2 reasons. 1. The up lift you get from the drain also increases the sweeping motion of the pond floor by assisting to pull waste and muck into the drain where it should be. The koi also get to experience a different form of current and with the currents from your pond returns you should aim to get good flow around the pool for circulation and also if you do fit 1 be advised it will split your pool in half and you will need to think about a skimmer at each end of the pool to collect all surface waste.
Hope this helps?
Jules
Personaly I would never fit a bottom drain unless it is airated. why? 2 reasons. 1. The up lift you get from the drain also increases the sweeping motion of the pond floor by assisting to pull waste and muck into the drain where it should be. The koi also get to experience a different form of current and with the currents from your pond returns you should aim to get good flow around the pool for circulation and also if you do fit 1 be advised it will split your pool in half and you will need to think about a skimmer at each end of the pool to collect all surface waste.
Hope this helps?
Jules
If any one is in doubt about a bottom drain, have a look at this from you tube. They used pvc flakes instead of fish poo and the pump is a 45lpm Hakko 
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcHejoDGGPY[/url]
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcHejoDGGPY[/url]
Nice film Daz. But I think this is a small tank with a huge flow rate. Those shavings are not being sucked toward the drain but are being pushed by a TPR. Look at the vortex movement about the drain. It's not coming from the air movement if you ask me. The other think I feel about air drains is the filth that misses the drain and comes into the water column tens to get broken up into much smaller bits and clouds the pond.
B.Scott
B.Scott
Does anybody have any thoughts on the bottom drains advertised on eBay in the link above.
I emailed them today and the airator is £28 making a total of about £65, about half the price of the spindrifter.
What do you think?
Thanks
Tim
I emailed them today and the airator is £28 making a total of about £65, about half the price of the spindrifter.
What do you think?
Thanks
Tim
being a true ebayer i've spotted something that might interest you with regards your expensive bottom-drains.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-bottom-drain-for-ko ... dZViewItem
this bloke obviosly makes them himself which will be much cheaper than buying them from a major koi outlet....
Tim,
As they all say , you have to put one in as if your thinking about it now and dont you will forever regret it i think
I find that if i turn my air (medo 45) off i do get dead spots where all the crap does just sit , and we spend all this money on filtration to give us this gin clear water that for me the cost off an airated B/D is tiny
in the bigger picture of a koi pond.
Ive also just read in the Selective koi catalouge that airated domes work 30% more effectively, this i would have to 2ND
Hope this helps.
As they all say , you have to put one in as if your thinking about it now and dont you will forever regret it i think
I find that if i turn my air (medo 45) off i do get dead spots where all the crap does just sit , and we spend all this money on filtration to give us this gin clear water that for me the cost off an airated B/D is tiny
in the bigger picture of a koi pond.Ive also just read in the Selective koi catalouge that airated domes work 30% more effectively, this i would have to 2ND
Hope this helps.