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    Thread: Convert Tetra 3" BD into aerated BD?

    1. #1
      Simi Koi's Avatar
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      Convert Tetra 3" BD into aerated BD?

      Anybody do this or have a link that shows how to do this? I really like Gene's 4" aerated drain, but I need two and can't afford $169 a pop. Plus I only have 2000 gallons and I will have 2 bottom drains...don't really need a 4". the Tetra 3" from AZ ponds is only $50 each. If I can convert these to be aerated, that would be ideal for my set up.

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      MCA is offline Senior Member
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      No good way to do that without a major redo of the drain. There is no place a 1" PVC for the air. I suppose you can clug in a hole on the side and try to glue on a PVC elbow....

      IMHO...not worth the effort. Get a drain that is designed for air from the get-go.
      MCA
      Too much sanity may be madness and maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be.



    3. #3
      Simi Koi's Avatar
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      yeah, thats what I was thinking too. I was hoping somebody had done it before and maybe had an easy way to do it. has to be a 1" pvc line? no way a 1/2 pvc pipe will work? even if I have two 3" aerated bottom drains with a 1/2" pvc line in 2000 gallons?

    4. #4
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      Last edited by Koi is the Best; 08-30-2005 at 01:19 PM.

    5. #5
      Valarc is offline The Mouth of the South
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      Where exactly do people find these "50 dollar bottom drains"?? The closest I've been able to find is 70!
      :beerorder
      "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
      -Frank Zappa

    6. #6
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      Valarc,

      Gene got a special buy on those a while back. The ones he has now area actually an improved design over the less expensive ones (if I understand correctly)

      EDIT: Surfhead mentioned the 3" bd at $50. The drained I mentioned above are 4"......

    7. #7
      Simi Koi's Avatar
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      would this diffuser work? Its only 5" dia. pop a hole in the side of the tetra and run 3/4" pvc through and elbow up and attach this little guy? Is there room for it under the 12" dome of the 3" drain? looking at the photo of the drain, I'm not all that sure.

      diffuser:
      http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/.../9722/cid/2344

      Tetra 3" bottom drain:
      http://www.azponds.com/Bottom%20Drains.htm

    8. #8
      Koi-Toys is offline Senior Member
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      I retrofitted two 3" bottom drains to add AES' 10" diffusers. It was quick ( 30 minutes each retrofite) and inexpensive:
      $48 each for 3" Tetra 3" bottom drains on EBay
      $12 each for diffuser disks
      $10 for 2 epoxy sticks
      ~$3 in PVC parts
      -------------
      ~$60 total per BD

      I've had them installed for over a year now with no problems. Don't be afraid of this retrofit, it is very easy.

      ~Raymond.

    9. #9
      MCA is offline Senior Member
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      how did you connect the dome's diffuser to an airline? Did you run tubing inside the 3" drain line?
      MCA
      Too much sanity may be madness and maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be.



    10. #10
      Koi-Toys is offline Senior Member
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      Came in through the side of the dome. I found the instructions on the LivingJewels website some time ago. I can't find the site now, but here is a pic.
      Attached Images Attached Images  

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    11. #11
      MCA is offline Senior Member
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      So the air line connects to the side of the dome...then how does it get out of the pond to air pump? Is the air line laying on the bottom of the pond ...or was it run inside the 3" drain line or???
      MCA
      Too much sanity may be madness and maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be.



    12. #12
      Koi-Toys is offline Senior Member
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      Bottom of the pond using heavyset airline tubing.

    13. #13
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      so the diffuser is above the dome...that will still work?

    14. #14
      Valarc is offline The Mouth of the South
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      Im confused why the air line has to come in through the side of the dome there, when the diffuser is just sitting on the top.

      I've been curious for a while exactly how aerated drains work - is it just air coming from the top of the dome to cause appropriate currents, or is it more complex than that?
      :beerorder
      "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
      -Frank Zappa

    15. #15
      Koi-Toys is offline Senior Member
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      The diffuser actually has a threaded stem to it that attaches it to the BD cover. Pictures are best...

    16. #16
      Koi-Toys is offline Senior Member
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      Here are some construction pics...
      Attached Images Attached Images    

    17. #17
      Simi Koi's Avatar
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      so why go through the dome? Why not just set the diffuser on top of the dome? the only benefit I see of doing it that way is to keep it in place so the fish don't knock it over (which I guess would happen all the time if it was just sitting there). I thought the diffuser was supposed to be under the dome to work. do they work when they are on top like that?

    18. #18
      okiekoi is offline Senior Member
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      All the airated bottom drains have the defusser on the top. Take a look at the pics on the sites that sell them and you will see the defusser on the top of the dome.
      "Everyday Above Ground is a Good Day"

    19. #19
      MCA is offline Senior Member
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      My point with the questions was to see if someone had planned the path for the air between the dome and the airpump. Running an airline along the pond bottom introduces something that can capture debris. Runnning the air line inside the 3" drain pipe is much worse as it can catch debris and cause the flow rate to decrease.

      For those that were at Nigel Caddock's presentation at Koi America he mentioned this problem. When he build his pond air domes were just coming to the market but, folks where running the air tubes through the 4" drains. He found out the hard way that those tubes capture debris and there is no good way to fix it. So he and others starting putting the 1" pipe fitting on the side of the basin and used 1" pipe to convey the air to the dome. Also you don't want tubing in th 1" pipe as the water in that pipe will go stagnant. Use the 1" pipe itself to carry the air.

      IMHO, drains and other plumbing that will be in the floor of the pond is NOT the place to skimp. Get a good drain that is either properly set up for an air dome or you can DIY into a proper setup supporting 3" or 4" drains pipe and 1" airline pipe.
      MCA
      Too much sanity may be madness and maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be.



    20. #20
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      Surfhead, I think you hit it spot on....the way Koi-Toy has pictured would keep it in place and is not a critical seal where it comes through the dome. Most of the purpose made drains with diffusers incorporate the diffuser into the dome or the diffuser replaces the dome.

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