koikeepr
01-31-2012, 04:38 PM
Product Name
Aqua Art Retro Bottom Drain Model Number
large model Approximate price paid
$89.75 Where purchased?
aquaart.com How long have you used this product?
1-2 years Pros
lightweight
easy to install
does the job it's supposed to
pipe lays on pond floor Cons
must be weighted down if used with flex pipe Overall Rating
This is a solid product **** Good Value? Yes
Recommend to a friend? Yes
Your review
The Aqua Art Retro Bottom drain can't be a simpler device to act as a vacuum/retro bottom drain on the bottom of pond that has no installed BD. I used this on a 20 year old pond that I inherited with a house I purchased that was 1,500 gallons and had no previously installed drain. The continual muck collecting on the bottom was a terrible nuisance that had to be manually removed, which was back breaking work. The Aqua Art drain solved problems immediately!
I plumbed it with 2" pipe directly into a 55 gallon barrel that would settle out the crud first so it would not go into the pump. The AA drain works best when it gravity feeds to your pump, and though the company says it can go up and over the pond wall, I could not successfully get this to work even with a check valve. To solve the dilemma, I simply dug down right next to the liner, popped a hole through (do not be afraid to do this), and put in a bulkhead fitting and slathered it with P&L Roofing Sealant to prevent leaks. Perfect!
This drain comes in a small (under 1.500 gallons) and large. I used the large one for my purpose and it worked like a charm. The drain is black and once covered with a nice coat of green algae, you can' hardly see it. I used soft/flex pipe with my Aqua Art, and this meant I had to weigh down the little feet that stick out with a couple of pieces of slate to keep it from floating up. No big deal really. The company recommends you use hard pipe, but I opted for flex pipe as I could move the drain every few weeks to a new location if I wanted to.
The drain comes with an adapter so you can fit multiple size hoses, and I went with 2". I would not recommend using this product with a submersible pump as all the crap will go right through it and possibly damage it. I also would not plumb it directly to an external (though you could), as the idea would be to get the crud/crap to land in a supplemental settling chamber/barrel so it does not go through your pump. I plumbed a 55g barrel with a drain valve so that I could just exit the crud and remove it.
The Aqua Art drain looks like a flimsy piece of plastic, but truly what more do you need? It does the job a and is very simple. You can retrofit the AA drain to have an aerator or air disc on top by simply attaching one to it and running an air hose. This now gives you an aerated bottom drain!
I never had a stitch of trouble with this drain, and I preferred it over the tetra vacuum drain, because the Tetra drain plumbs from the top. This means that your pipe will be sticking up in the pond which is not only unsightly, but also gives fish something to bump into and perhaps get hurt if they get startled. The Aqua Art plumbs from the side, so it creates a low profile with nothing sticking up. The pipe goes along the pond floor, and again, once covered in a lush coat of carpet algae, you barely notice it.
Aqua Art Retro Bottom Drain Model Number
large model Approximate price paid
$89.75 Where purchased?
aquaart.com How long have you used this product?
1-2 years Pros
lightweight
easy to install
does the job it's supposed to
pipe lays on pond floor Cons
must be weighted down if used with flex pipe Overall Rating
This is a solid product **** Good Value? Yes
Recommend to a friend? Yes
Your review
The Aqua Art Retro Bottom drain can't be a simpler device to act as a vacuum/retro bottom drain on the bottom of pond that has no installed BD. I used this on a 20 year old pond that I inherited with a house I purchased that was 1,500 gallons and had no previously installed drain. The continual muck collecting on the bottom was a terrible nuisance that had to be manually removed, which was back breaking work. The Aqua Art drain solved problems immediately!
I plumbed it with 2" pipe directly into a 55 gallon barrel that would settle out the crud first so it would not go into the pump. The AA drain works best when it gravity feeds to your pump, and though the company says it can go up and over the pond wall, I could not successfully get this to work even with a check valve. To solve the dilemma, I simply dug down right next to the liner, popped a hole through (do not be afraid to do this), and put in a bulkhead fitting and slathered it with P&L Roofing Sealant to prevent leaks. Perfect!
This drain comes in a small (under 1.500 gallons) and large. I used the large one for my purpose and it worked like a charm. The drain is black and once covered with a nice coat of green algae, you can' hardly see it. I used soft/flex pipe with my Aqua Art, and this meant I had to weigh down the little feet that stick out with a couple of pieces of slate to keep it from floating up. No big deal really. The company recommends you use hard pipe, but I opted for flex pipe as I could move the drain every few weeks to a new location if I wanted to.
The drain comes with an adapter so you can fit multiple size hoses, and I went with 2". I would not recommend using this product with a submersible pump as all the crap will go right through it and possibly damage it. I also would not plumb it directly to an external (though you could), as the idea would be to get the crud/crap to land in a supplemental settling chamber/barrel so it does not go through your pump. I plumbed a 55g barrel with a drain valve so that I could just exit the crud and remove it.
The Aqua Art drain looks like a flimsy piece of plastic, but truly what more do you need? It does the job a and is very simple. You can retrofit the AA drain to have an aerator or air disc on top by simply attaching one to it and running an air hose. This now gives you an aerated bottom drain!
I never had a stitch of trouble with this drain, and I preferred it over the tetra vacuum drain, because the Tetra drain plumbs from the top. This means that your pipe will be sticking up in the pond which is not only unsightly, but also gives fish something to bump into and perhaps get hurt if they get startled. The Aqua Art plumbs from the side, so it creates a low profile with nothing sticking up. The pipe goes along the pond floor, and again, once covered in a lush coat of carpet algae, you barely notice it.