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Fountain Construction guide (Domestic) Fountain construction is similar to water feature construction? You are going to construct a fountain, you dig a hole throw in a sump put a pump in the sump and attach a nozzle to the pump, fill switch on, done, right? Well, no, please read on. The sump So how big should the sump be? First of all it must be deeper than the pump, (yes people do get a sump that is too shallow) It should also be big enough to catch water splash. (see the JW rule) Now you know why some fountains you see are almost empty, or why you see water marks / damp patches surrounding it. So what can you use for a sump? The most common sump for the DIY person is a 25 gallon water storage tank, due to the depth you may wish to cut it down in size. (but they are wide.) You can also have a sump purpose built from concrete, brick or other material. You can also increase the catchment area by installing a liner in the sump. The sump should stop the walls from collapsing.
Most fountains do not have a grille, but if you have small children we suggest that you do fit a grille or cover. The pump There are a variety of pumps, the pump should be chosen in order to operate the required nozzle. You may like to read this Nozzles All nozzles require a specific amount of water to actually work, this is called the water demand (for more information, please click here) most pumps will have a guide on the box as to how high they can pump and how much water at a specific height. It is always better to get a bigger pump than you need because you can always turn a big pump down, you can not turn a small pump up. All pumps are NOT the same, please read our page here Lights Lights can be used to bring your fountain to life when its dark. The colour of the light can vary the look of your fountain some fountains also have several lights of varying colours which are automatically changed. Cost The cost depends on how high you want the jet and which jet you want, the bigger the jet the more powerful the pump will have to be. As mentioned some fountains have different coloured lights which change automatically, this does look very good but can add a lot to the cost Other things to consider Say you opt for two or more outlets in your fountain, each at a different height, you just supply each from the same pump? in theory yes, but in practice if you do, most or all of the water will come from the lowest outlet, since water will always take the easiest route (the lower outlet) the way round it is to "balance" the flow click me Another thing to be considered is the height of the jet in relation to the pool dimensions, see the JW rule click me Some times the best fountains really are the simplest.
Above is a simple fountain as described above, although you could say its a pump with a nozzle and some lights the correct nozzle and pump configuration had to be thought out. Please note: We specialise in large fountains, not ponds. Nozzles etc are available from the components website Back to DIY Fountain |
