Repairing a Grow Bed Constant Flow Drain

While I was cleaning some debri from one of my grow beds I accidentally knocked into the constant flow drain pipe. When I did, it raised the pipe up just enough to let a few rocks get under it. The rocks prohibited the flow of water enough to cause the system to not function properly. The water would never fully drain which caused the auto-siphon to "trickle" burps of water at the end of the cycle, preventing the water to fully drain, thus never filling back up. The rocks had to be removed.

So I removed all the rock surrounding the immediate area of the drain to repair it. Removed the rocks that were, by that time, all the way down into the drain itself. I added another base to the pipe protection, drilled more holes fro better flow, and put it all back together again.

Here is what it looked like:

 

This is the CF drain after removing all the rock and pipe

 

This was the original drain cover which was too small

This is the drain cover and pipe after adding a new base to the cover and drilling more holes

 

Everything is back together and before I put the rock back over the drain, I make sure everything is functioning properly.

GROW BED CONSTRUCTION OVERVIEW

Grow beds act as filters for your pond. They are one of the most, if not the most, important part of the natural pond system. I have put together several step-by-step instructions for making your own grow beds that can save you a lot of money if you have the time and skills to do so. The list below has them in the order you should follow. That said, there are times when you might possibly have to reference another instruction for separate details. It is best to skim over all the them before you start. That way you will have an idea of what to expect. This article is for that purpose. It will give you easy excess to all the instructions from start to finish.

Please don't hesitate to comment if you can't understand something , find a problem, or just have a question or comment.

Building The Bed

Positioning a Grow Bed

The Support

Setting Posts

Mounting
Drilling Your Drain Holes
Preparing for Your Liner

Liner and Bulkheads

Auto-Siphon

Trim and Wood Protection

Here is a gallery for the construction of my custom grow beds, that I attached to my existing deck. Since they are custom, I am unable to give instructions with informative detail, because I doubt if anyone would require the exact same designs. If you want your own custom beds, you can leave a comment and we can discuss your needs. You can also look at the images and get a good idea of what is required.

IMAGES FOR MY CUSTOM GROW BEDS...