How to prime a koi pond pump?

Question

a have a bottom drain leading to the strainer basket in to my pump. How do i prime the pump? i have a ball valve from the pump to the filter. I close it and let the pump go but it dosnt pull any water out. I have a 2000 gallon pond and the pump pulls 4200 gph. please help i want to finish this project allready.

Answer 1

I guess it's a little late now but buying a self priming pump is always the best idea.  Pondmaster pumps are magnetic drive and self priming built to run 24/7.  If your pump is an exrernal pump and it needs to be primed there should be a s***w in cap just unscrew it have a couple gallons of water handy turn the pump on and begin to pour the water in the hole once it starts just s***w the cap back on.  

Then invest in a self primer and forget the headache of priming.  My pond is 2,000 gallons as well but I use submersible self primer in my skimmer box.