For those that have a existing pond with no bottom drain installed, the Retro-drain may be what you are looking for. It sits on the floor of the pond with the pipe running along the contour of the ponds bottom. The pipe is then brought up the walls and out of the pond where it ties into the suction line just like the previous bottom drains. It comes with adapters to fit it to 1 1/2″, 2″, 3″ and 4″ pipe.
- Easy Installation/Minimum maintenance
- Handles high volumes of water, easily
- For Ponds 1400 to 10,000 gallons
- Multiple option pipe sizes – 1 1/2, 2, 3, or 4″
- Low profile vortex design, 15″ diam x 6″ h
- Balanced water velocity entrance rate
- Durable ABS plastic construction
- Compatible with Matala™ filter media
- Ideal for gravity fed filter systems
- Extended feet for unsurpassed stability
Illustration 1: Water is drawn from the bottom of a pond without existing bottom
plumbing through the Aqua Art Retro-Drain and delivers it through your pump.
Illustration 2: Installation of a settling chamber (or other gravity fed filter systems such as niche skimmers) When plumbing a retro drain to a niche skimmer, it is not recommended that you use the “alternate feed pipe route” shown above, rather use the below surface water level route shown. For this application you would need two bulkhead fittings. One to pass through the pond liner wall and one to pass through the skimmer wall into the “dirty side” of the niche skimmer. You should also provide a isolation knife valve and swing check valve as shown.
When plumbing a settling chamber or a niche skimmer, always use large pipe. General sizing guidelines are:
- 2″ pipe from drain into gravity feed unit for ponds up to 750 gallons
- 3″ pipe for ponds up to 3000 gallons with pipe lengh no greater than 15′
- 4″ pipe for ponds larger than 3000 gallons.
PVC or ABS plastic pipe slip fits into the inside diameter of the given port size used, just as any PVC fitting would be glued. (note that 3 inch Tetra drains, 4 inch drains and 2 inch drains are made out of PVC where as Retro-drains are made of ABS. If cementing ABS to PVC, use specialty cement.)
