I want to make a fountain... preferably cascading. I want it above ground for easy maintenance. And can probably bury it a little if need be. But don't want it so low that grass clippings would get in it when mowed. It would be nice if the birds could get a drink and/or take a bath there. I'd probably add some plants and maybe a couple of fish? I'm thinking of placing it on the "backside" of my galvanized stock tank. It would get LOTS of sunshine and there are poles or that old shelf on which to mount the solar panel(s). proposed fountain site ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Thinking of using this plastic tub as my reservoir. It holds 40 gallons. Is 40x27 inches and 13 inches high. proposed tub ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) It would fit just about perfect from the corner post and overlap a tad on the galvanized tank. The Solar Powered Fountain Pump I'm getting has the following specs: Maximum water lift 2.5 ft (approx) Maximum flow rate: 42 gallons per hour Peak power of solar panel: 1.2 watts Operative voltage: 7 The pump is 2.5" L x 1.5" W x 2" H From what I've read, they recommend using something like a plastic milk crate to strap the fountain pump to. A standard crate is about 11" square. I don't think that'll work with only 13" depth. So would have to find something a bit smaller. Right? I have this old well pump. It's about 12" tall and the bottom of the spout is at 6 inches. Not sure about how it will need to be mounted. old well pump ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) I want the water to flow out of it and onto something and then spill out to the reservoir. Perhaps a shallow dish that could be the bird bath? I ordered two of the solar fountain pumps... so maybe one could be on the other end just bubbling as a fountain? I'm envisioning the tub surrounded by rocks... flat one's sorta like the one's brother & Hubby used on the new flower beds at his house (doesn't that look nice?!) Brother's New Flower Beds ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) So now the questions begin... Does it look like I'm on the right track? Will the fountain pump be strong enough to pump the water? Is the depth of the tub sufficient? How do I mount the old well pump? What am I forgetting? Will somebody come over and do this for me? :-D And I'll apologize now for aggravating everyone with questions until it's done.
Hi Cheryl, yes i believe you are on the right track,..and a good project in the making. First.. there is a location for your Solar Panel. Second.. you can position the Old Well Pump anywhere along the back of your Galvanized Tub,..and have it hanging over enough that the water can cascade down on to a dish before going into the Galvanized Tub. Third.. you can attach a plastic type hose from the spout of the Fountain Pump and run it into the Old Well Pump so the water comes out of the Old Well Pump. Fourth..you are restricted in moving the Old Well Pump downward only as far as the spout will allow,..but you can move it higher. Fifth..i would check just how the Fountain Pump acts as you raise and lower your Reservoir Plastic Tub because this is where your Fountain Pump will be secured,..gravity will play a small part as i am sure the Fountain Pump is a strong one if i recall what Toni said,..but you should have plenty of room to adjust it to within convenient working level for maintenance. I hope this will help a tad as i am sure you will get lots of suggestions. ( photo / image / picture from Philip Nulty's Garden )
45 GPH typically used for table top units. I'd look to 100+ GPH. Of course if you want to attract birds, you may want to put a terra-cotta saucer underneith the spout, and let that overflow into the basin.
Hi Cheryl, you may have looked at my suggestions and are pondering as to where to position everything?. The following will really have you thinking, Remember that your Water Fountain Solar Pump has restrictions,..it will only give you a water lift of approx 2.62 feet,..so the lower you position your Reservoir Tub the less power it has to pump water up to your Old Well Pump,..so the higher you position your Reservoir Tub the more power you will have. Something VERY important is to consider that your Galvanized Tub is full of water,..as will be your 40 gallon Reservoir Tub,(optional)..therefore water will need to overflow back into the Reservoir Tub,..otherwise the Galvanized Tub will overflow and your Reservoir will empty. Green Algae is something that anyone with a pond or water feature will suffer from,..so to help cut this down provide a cover for the Reservoir Tub as its the sun that causes Algae to grow.
Thanks FountainMan and Philip for responding. Philip... the new fountain feature will not be connected to the stock tank. The water lilies do not like alot of movement, so the two tanks will remain separate. What kind of cover could be used and still allow access for the birds to bathe? I read something about using an UV clarifyer to control algae... perhaps in one of FountainMan's posts? here's a link that tells more about it. http://www.pondsolutions.com/uv-clarifiers.htm Also... Wouldn't fish and plants help keep the algae down? I don't have much problem with it in the other water containers. Thanks for the advice and tips! I'm sure I'll have more questions as I began to piece this together.
Hi Cheryl, the new feature not being connected to the other tank makes it a whole different ball game,..however its easier,..you can have the water cascade on to a dish like object for the birds to bathe. The picture below is of my friend Davey's pond,..it has a water feature allowing water to cascade down from up high at back,..he does have a fair amount of fish,..though often they are eaten by Heron's,(he is working on a prevention),..he does complain about Green Algae,..now he does have a powerful pump and filter which filters at the rate of 2,000 GPH (Gallons Per Hour),..and despite trying various Ultra Violet products,..he still has Green Algae,..he wants to be able to see his fish,..plus not have green water,..i have suggested part covering the surface of the water,..with real or artificial "Water Lilies" therefore preventing light from starting algae to grow,..it wont grow in semi shade or dark plus it helps the fish have cover and feel secure. Davey's Pond. ( photo / image / picture from Philip Nulty's Garden ) Back in the 1980's i had a company called "Bray Aquariums Ltd",..it was based where i used to live,.in a very picturesque location close to "Powerscourt Gardens",..Bray,.. County Wicklow. I sold the Company and the sister company "Aquarium Rentals and Maintenance",..but i think "Bray Aquariums",..is still running,..below is a link to "Powerscourt Gardens",..there are three ponds there interesting to see,..the huge one is not presented very well . http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansvander ... otostream/
I'd be thrilled to have something like that... but alas... only in my dreams! It's beautiful. And so are the other's in that link. Sorry I wasn't clear about the new tub not being incorporated with the stock tank. But I still appreciate all the info!
Cheryl, I agree with Fountain man that the pump capacity is too small, for my fountain I am using a 2000liter per hour or 528 gallons per hour submerged pump for creating a continous flow from a vase which is about 3 feet above the pump. You can have a look here The vessel where the 2 frogs are is a bio-filter and the water is pumped by another 528gallons per hour pump. For the pump that I am using, they have rubber suckers mount which can be stuck anywhere inside the tank below the water line. In my case I just dropped them in and had them buried under the pebbles because I do not want them to be seen. Surrounding the tub with rocks is a great idea and you can mount the old well pump anywhere along the perimeter of the tub maybe by anchoring it to one of the rock or maybe you can use a seawage pipe as a stand. My idea of a setup base on your description is something like this. Setup ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) As for the green water matter, I guess if you keep the sunlight condition same as your other containers it should not be a problem. Hope it is helpful for you.
Thanks KK for the diagram! Looks I'll need a larger pump. My brother did donate this one. GPH at Open Flow: 1100 GPH at 3.35 ft.: 790 pump ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Wonder if the solar panel(s) will be strong enough to make it work?
Cheryl, just wondering if using the slower flow in the stock tank would work. I have water lilies and had a fountain in it for a number of years. As long as it is a slow flow they weren't bothered by it and it helped to aerate the pond for the fish.
Jewell...The stock tank is strictly for the water lilies, I wouldn't want to risk them in any way. That's why I'm setting up an entirely different "pond" just so I can have a fountain feature (and some different types of water plants, eventually).
Yes I believe this would definately work and with a T-junction and a ball valve to control the pressure, you can have the bubbling thingie as a fountain at the other end too! I understand that your solar panel have an operative voltage of 7 volts and this pump needs 12 volts so I guess it would not work. Guess you might need to get another panel and also you need to check on the wattage.
Hi Cheryl, well you have had a few ideas thrown at you but in the end i think i would settle for your original idea,..one Solar Powered Fountain Pump emitting water down from the Old Well Pump on to a something that birds can have a bath from,..and the other Solar Powered Fountain Pump just bubbling water at the opposite end,..the water disturbance will be enough to oxygenate the water enough for your fish,..and you can still add oxygenating plants,..and no electric wires coming from the house.
Just waiting on the solar powered pumps to arrive and give them a test to see what kind of pumping power they have. If they won't work, I do have that pump my brother gave me, but then I'd have to find a strong enough solar panel to make it work. If the cost gets too prohibitive, I may have to rethink the design. The one thing that won't change will be the fact that it will be solar powered. But have no fear... one way or the other, I will have a fountain feature! I do appreciate everyone's input. It's helped so much.
I know they make these, but it would be cool to have an old fashioned wind mill style power generator. But of course on a calm day it wouldn't do any good. It would accent the garden though. Have a little generator inside the spindle and power backup source.
