New here, getting ready to build my second pond and have some questions on Bottom drain piping. I am building a 35' long X 16' wide X 40 inches deep pond and was wondering if using ABS is acceptable or only PVC and can it be foam core PVC since it is suction side? Also if my pump only has a 1.5" inch suction Quiet Drive QD6050 Medium Pressure External Pump then what is the proper size bottom drain 2" or 3".
2nd question, my first pond I just used a long pipe with holes drilled into it laid across the length of the pond and it seemed to work great for 10+ years before I moved out of that house, why do I not see anyone doing this?
Thank you all for your help and time, I also include my first rough draft of what I thought I would do but as of right now I just have a large hole in my back yard as I slow down to make good decisions on this build.
You will need multiple (at least 3) bottom drains for that size pond. A long pipe with holes drilled in it will work to some extent. But a 3” or 4” piped bottom drain will ‘sweep’ a 4’-6’ dia area of the pond floor “spotless”. If spaced properly and connected to an appropriately sized pump, you will have a cleaner pond floor than any drilled tube can hope to accomplish.
‘Ideally’, each bottom drain will most likely need its own pump. You can get away with running two 3” drains from one strong pump. But you will need more than a single 1.5” inlet pump to get the best results. You will need to support skimmers as well.
For me, implementing a bottom drain and skimmer to an Ultrasieve III was a game changer. My pond floor is almost spotless. I have never cleaned the bottom of the pond since I built it 13 years ago.
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