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  • Results 1 to 7 of 7

    Thread: Are TPRs an absolute necessity with aerated bottom drains?

    1. #1
      DragonFireSG is offline Senior Member
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      Are TPRs an absolute necessity with aerated bottom drains?

      Hi folks,

      The current iteration of my pond redesign has it being a round-edged square, 10ft by 8ft and probably 6-8 ft deep. Total pond volume including filter will be about 6k gals, with 4.5-5k gals free swimming space.

      I plan on putting in two 4" aerated bottom drains and one gravity fed skimmer. These will feed a RDF, probably an electronics free Blue Eco at this time as the RDF pit will likely be filled with water.

      Do I need to install TPRs in this setup?

      A bakki running about 10k gph will be the main return.

      I also plan to have an airlift running about 3k gph pulling water through a moving bed filter and oyster shell bed for backup in case the bakki pump kicks the bucket, and parts take a while to come in. I also expect to need to turn down the bakki at night.

      I will set up a pond build thread with drawings when the design is more finalized.

      I ask about the TPRs as I'd like to avoid coring holes through the pond's main walls. Insurance for bottom holes is an extra thick layer of waterproofed concrete. Not a hole lot of room for that with side holes. Pardon the pun

      Cheers,
      Ken

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    2. #2
      fishin4cars's Avatar
      fishin4cars is offline Senior Member
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      Not absolutely necessary, but you will find over time that if you can't get the bottom to circulate and help draw the waste to the bottom drains it will be a regret down the road. I didn't put in TPR's and I do regret it. H ended up putting a submersible pump in the pond and plumbing a pipe down to 18" above the bottom to help make the water at the bottom turn in a circular motion. It helped tremendously, the major drawbacks to this. 1-another pump burning additional electricity that will need replacing periodically. 2nd, another item in the pond for the fish to injure themselves on. 3- No where near as efficient as properly designed TPR placement. With todays designs in TPR's and how they are attached to liners it really no less of a risk that the bottom drain or the skimmer as far as leaking. IMO

    3. #3
      DragonFireSG is offline Senior Member
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      @fishin4cars

      Thanks for sharing your experiences. I was thinking that I might get away with not putting in TPRs since I have 2 aerated BDs in a regular shaped 10x8 pond. Each BD will only need to sweep a 4 ft radius around it. Flow rates will also be pretty high for a pond this size.

      Cheers,
      Ken

    4. #4
      Appliance Guy's Avatar
      Appliance Guy is offline Senior Member
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      I prefer pump fed tpr's over gravity fed tpr's. I have known of several people who have bubbles from the gravity tprs, including myself. Me no likey bubbles.
      Tim can always be reached at 850-380-7824 or timnye850@gmail.com

    5. #5
      DragonFireSG is offline Senior Member
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      Indeed. Bubbles in the TPRs are not nice. Kinda a problem with the airlift types. Might just end up using a small 150W pump instead of the airlift.

    6. #6
      icu2's Avatar
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      13,000 gph is a lot to return over pond level, and I think it's hard to duplicate what underwater
      returns provide... even if you can't get them low enough to be considered "officially" tpr's , the
      fish thoroughly enjoy the extra current no matter where they are.
      I rented a core drill and added an upper return and it was amazingly simple. I don't know if you have
      access to hydraulic cement, but I just stuffed that around the pipe and sealed it with the waterproofing
      compound I was using.
      --Steve



      Koiphen 2021 Koi Person of the Year!

    7. #7
      DragonFireSG is offline Senior Member
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      Aye. I will plan for an underwater return to be put in to provide circulation if the koi will be happier that way.

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