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siphoning methods

hey y'all,

i just had a question. i have a fish pond in the ground, one bed about 4' above the pond, and one bed that i will have to quite literally put directly on the ground. too low to the ground to get an auto siphon to work properly, but, i was thinking i could use a tube weir, a u bend, or an outside loop.

basically looking for anything that allows me to drain as much bed as possible, without having to have too much going on underneath the bed. Im leaning towards the tube weir, but understand that its typically used for raft systems; anyone see any issues with this or have any thoughts?

would the u bend be better? itd probably be easier for people to visualize with a picture, but i dont have one as of yet...my main concern with the u bend is that if it comes out of the side of the bed, i will have to put too many 90s in it to reroute the water to the pond, and if i put it directly on the front of the bed, that it will risk being stepped on or damaged by someone working on the bed above.

thanks for your thoughts!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joseph Michael Martino on February 4, 2014 at 11:54am

i was also wondering; are there any ratios for bed size to weir tube sizing? or any ratios for bed size and number of siphons in the bed? and randomly, can anyone advise me as to the use of PT lumber in building beds?

thanks

Permalink Reply by Jeremy Cook on February 7, 2014 at 7:31am

PT lumber in building beds is ok provided that you don't have any water making regular direct contact. Because the wood is treated chemically, water that makes regular direct contact may obsorb and leach the chemicals into your pond and possibley kill your fish. Many people build their frames with PT wood for strength & long lasting durability (and it looks nicer) and their bed boxes out of regular wood to ensure that this doesn't occur. Once your boxes are lined and sealed you should be good to go. On another note, if you have hard plastic beds like the picture below then this won't be an issue whatsoever.

I'm sorry I can't help you with your routing. I'm not too sure what the difference between tube weir and u bend is (and I'm a glorified plumber).

Permalink Reply by Joseph Michael Martino on February 7, 2014 at 9:33am

Hey Jeremy,

Thanks for responding, good advice! And, arent we all?

Permalink Reply by Jeremy Cook on February 7, 2014 at 10:46am

LOL. No, seriously... By trade I am a marine pipefitter (glorified plumber). I hope you can get answers to the rest of your questions :)