[lisacj]

Hello everyone,
I'd like to build me ducks their own pond, but have heard that draining is a big problem because of the silt they build up? I'd planned just a simple 'trap door' system to open an outflow pipe but this won't work if it gets bunged up with silt. Does anyone have any ideas/ solutions? I'd rather not have the paddling pool / empty onto the grass system because I'll have about 12 of them (mainly runners but also aylesburys and a couple of magpies) and I'd like to give them a larger pond to swim (and mate!) in. Thanks all!

[8doubles]

An idea i have seen used in fish ponds is to have a horizontal draining pipe at the bottom of the pond with a 90 degree push-fit elbow and you cut the upstanding pipe to the depth you want it to overflow.
To drain the pond you just lay the pipe over to one side.
The silt will still be a bucket job.

[RichardA]

we used a liner and a dirty water pump to recirc and aearate and with a hose attached to empty the pond every few weeks --- works as intended and copes with silt but every few days you need to clear the pump inlet of feathers, leaves and grass etc -- so very troublesome in that regard. And of course you need power. We will next time use a sewage pump as they are designed to chew up things like rags and debris.
Problem with pipe or trap method is getting a seal around it onto the liner. Concrete is easier in that respect. Let us know how you get on.
R

[lisacj]

Thanks so much 8doubles and RichardA - the final decision will be down to what my other half can cope with I'm really grateful for your help and advice

[RichardA]

we built ours half in and half out of ground by using excavated material from a 500mm deep dig to form a bank about 500mm high so overall the pond is about 1 metre deep so they can dive if they want to.
It occurs to me that if one side of the bank was removeable in some way and the liner fabric was in some way loose it would flop down and half the water would spill out every time the bank was "pulled away". That would still be  a mess but my ducks like the mess. You would still have a lot to bail out which is what we did in the early days.
When I talked about my dirty water pump blocking that is because it is running in the pond all the time - when I used it just for emptying it was fine and got within a few millimetres of the bottom. In fact if I had thought it out I could have left one end deeper as a sumphole and then would have got 99.99% out each time. They also have a half barrel of water that we change every day for washing faces and drinking. We know that is what it is for but they don't seem to understand that and hop up and then swim in it as well.
In theory you can syphon water out of a pond -- just do NOT use the suck it up the pipe method of getting it started -- not pleasant !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you go anywhere to see what they do about ponds and tanks for birds or animals such as a rescue centre or big water gardens or zoo etc ?
Chemical contamination rescue units use inflatable ponds and then let the air out so the sides collapse when job done.
What about an industrial scale tank with a tap on its base
Best of luck
R

[lisacj]

Thanks SO much Richard- lots for me to think about   I can't do the 'release and empty out ' thing because the drainage in my garden is too poor so some sort of pump is essential, but only for emptying. If silt isn't a problem for this, I might be fine? My local rescue centre has big concrete pools but it's a fab idea to ask them about emptying thanks! Thanks for taking the time to answer me and for all your advice xx