Part of the appeal of koi keeping are the many DIY skills we can use

There often comes the time though, after the initial explosion of effort and enthusiasm, as the pond has had a year or two to mature and the dust of construction has well and truly settled, that what was once a novelty has now become a chore.

Linked directly to the submerged multi-chambered filter, it works 24/7 to remove the waste that settles in a pond.
To be effective, a bottom drain must be fitted efficiently.
Bottom drain efficiency can be improved even further by ensuring there is no raised lip around the circumference of the bottom drain.
Construct a drain in each filter chamber for easy cleaning. A drain in each chamber will allow you to purge a chamber at the pull of a slide valve.
Each separate chamber should have its own independent 4 inch drain to waste, installed flush with the chamber floor to allow rapid and unaided cleaning of the chamber.
A useful tip when cleaning out chambers constructed with a drain, is before filling the cleaned chamber to allow clean water to run down the drain pipe to avoid any sludge being retained in the pipe.
This is due to the time taken to empty or clean filter chambers, removing any residual filter media, cleaning that, reassembling the media in the chamber and topping up the pond.
In a pond where plans for such a regular eventuality have not been made, then topping up will soon become a chore.

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