Am I crazy???

[evesta]

This is my second pond. First pond 2000 gallons, no rocks on the bottom, 4 feet deep, koi, with bottom drain but this time I've been thinking of no bottom drain!:nono:

I know, I know they are nifty and make cleaning easier but this pond is going to be less than 1000 gallons with no koi, 3 feet deep in a small area for overwintering, just goldies and plants. I will have a skimmer, pressurized filter, waterfall/bog filter and still no rocks on the bottom. I do weekly water changes. If I go with this set up I could throw my pond together very quickly(and spend no more money, yeah!!!) but if I go the bottom drain route my plumbing gets more complicated, I'm not done buying stuff and because I am short on room, space for settlement is a major issue. I was planning on running settlement to my garage but then would probably need a new pump and flex pvc which could get pricey.

I thought maybe I would compromise and run my bd to the skimmer but I would probably need a new, bigger skimmer. Do you really need a bd for a goldie pond of this size? My friend has a very good pond vac and I've emptied a pond before and without rocks on the bottom it was a pretty easy thing.

Okay, talk me out of it.... lol

 

[taherrmann4]

I don't have a BD and wish I did. My pond is larger than yours, but before I put Koi in mine I had goldies and still had a lot of muck in the bottom from leaves, lilies flowers dying off and sinking, and leaves from pond plants. My water is crystal clear but I do have to get out my vac and suck up all the muck twice a year. Another reason I would put in a BD is sometimes especially during the fall but also during the spring my skimmer can get clogged up with debris and then the pump creates a sucking noise because there is not enough water moving through the skimmer. If I had a BD there would be another source for the pump to draw water from. This phenomenon also happens in the spring when the algae starts to take off before I can get enough plants in there to balance the pond out.

I am not sure if you are crazy or not though!!!

 

[fishin4cars]

It's very possible to run a pond that size without a BD. Our pond is 2500 gallons and doesn't have a BD and runs great. I wish I had one as I do have Koi andnit would be very helpful but It's not 100% needed. A BD helps in making the removal of waste easier, but a good pond maintance program and good filter and skimmer and you can have a very nice pond W/O a BD.

 

[j.w]

I have a 2500 gal pond w/ just around 24 or so goldies and no bottom drain. Just a bit more of the scooping of the muck w/ the net but if you have a schedule you can make it work. I don't have a lot of shedding trees near mine so that helps also. I've been doing this for over 9 yrs now and I'm happy w/ mine. I do a water change once in awhile.........maybe once a month and clean my outside filter now and then. It's all up to you and I am crazy but that has nothing to do w/ this issue :nono:

 

[addy1]

not crazy jw, just you lol................You can also do a retrofit bottom drain later if you think you need one.