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#1
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DIY Floating Fountain ideas
I was thinking of going with a floating fountain, but the commercial ones
are insanely priced and too big for my pond. The blurb I saw for a smaller one said that it clogs easily and would require considerable maintenance. So I thought I would build my own. Cheap idea #1 was some polystyrene with a cap and a pipe through the middle. I thought I might use the water catcher from a plant pot for a cap. This may not be too durable, but it would be cheap. Cheap idea #2 was a large container filled with Great Stuff and a pipe through the middle. Should also be cheap, but perhaps less durable. Fancy idea #1 fill a container with polyester resin with a pipe through the middle. I would use micro-spheres to make the resin buoyant. This is how some of the commercials ones are made. I would likely only do this if I liked the results from the fountain above. I was also planning on adding one of the colour changing LED light rings to the fountain. Any better ideas? .. |
#2
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DIY Floating Fountain ideas
Bill,
I am not sure I follow your ideas clearly. Pics or drawings somewhere might help my visual mind. We were able to get a small fountain/sprinkler item and plumb it onto 1/2" PVC. It did not float, but it ran from the pump. The water from it looked like an umbrella. Jim |
#3
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DIY Floating Fountain ideas
"Phyllis and Jim" wrote in message ... Bill, I am not sure I follow your ideas clearly. Pics or drawings somewhere might help my visual mind. We were able to get a small fountain/sprinkler item and plumb it onto 1/2" PVC. It did not float, but it ran from the pump. The water from it looked like an umbrella. Jim The cheap floating variety: http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/prod..._Fountain.html The lake sized version: http://pondfountain.com/ I'd like something in the middle, with a bubbler nozzle I think. .. |
#4
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DIY Floating Fountain ideas
Bill Stock wrote:
The cheap floating variety: http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/prod..._Fountain.html The lake sized version: http://pondfountain.com/ I'd like something in the middle, with a bubbler nozzle I think. The big one has a 1/2HP or 1HP motor! Kricky! OK, the top may float but the bottom is sure tied to a power line so can't move all that much. What's the diff, if you put a 1/2HP anywhere, out or in the pond, and run 1" PVC along the bottom and then up to the top platform. It wouldn't look any different because the big one has a pipe running up to the top anyway. Chip |
#5
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DIY Floating Fountain ideas
Chip" wrote in message ...
Bill Stock wrote: The cheap floating variety: http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/prod..._Fountain.html The lake sized version: http://pondfountain.com/ I'd like something in the middle, with a bubbler nozzle I think. The big one has a 1/2HP or 1HP motor! Kricky! Yeah, I've seen them advertised at 5HP+. I'm looking at more like 1200 gph, which is probably soemthing like 1/8 HP at most. OK, the top may float but the bottom is sure tied to a power line so can't move all that much. What's the diff, if you put a 1/2HP anywhere, out or in the pond, and run 1" PVC along the bottom and then up to the top platform. It wouldn't look any different because the big one has a pipe running up to the top anyway. I was originally thinking of letting the pump sit on the bottom as you suggest, since a much smaller float would be required. The one big reason I can see for not doing this would be the clog factor and the risk of emptying the pond. I guess I've got another use for the milk crates discussed last year. Most of the platforms I've seen have small weight(s) that sit on the bottom to hold the flloat in place. Since I have much less tolerance for error I need a better anchoring solution. I'm thinking of using a couple of eye hooks and some string to anchor the float to the side of the pond. I picked up some lighting fairly reasonable, so if it's too tacky I'll add it to my pile of 'good ideas at the time'. http://www.wholesalepumps.com/Produc...DID=79&PID=921 .. |
#6
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DIY Floating Fountain ideas
Bill Stock wrote:
I picked up some lighting fairly reasonable, so if it's too tacky I'll add it to my pile of 'good ideas at the time'. http://www.wholesalepumps.com/Produc...DID=79&PID=921 All you need now is to dress your fish in white suits and have the hi-fi playing "Disco Inferno". Chip |
#7
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Followup: DIY Floating Fountain ideas
"Bill Stock" wrote in message -Free... I was thinking of going with a floating fountain, but the commercial ones are insanely priced and too big for my pond. The blurb I saw for a smaller one said that it clogs easily and would require considerable maintenance. So I thought I would build my own. Cheap idea #1 was some polystyrene with a cap and a pipe through the middle. I thought I might use the water catcher from a plant pot for a cap. This may not be too durable, but it would be cheap. Cheap idea #2 was a large container filled with Great Stuff and a pipe through the middle. Should also be cheap, but perhaps less durable. Fancy idea #1 fill a container with polyester resin with a pipe through the middle. I would use micro-spheres to make the resin buoyant. This is how some of the commercials ones are made. I would likely only do this if I liked the results from the fountain above. I was also planning on adding one of the colour changing LED light rings to the fountain. Any better ideas? HD does sell plant pot bottoms separately. They were in a hideous terracotta colour, but some black plastic paint solved that. I used a couple of layers of 2" styrofoam for the float, glued together with some polyurethane glue. The glue did not stick to the HDPE plastic at all, but it did stick the styrofoam together. But the weight of the pump keeps it all together. I probably could have used one layer of styrofoam and a smaller planter base, as the whole thing seems very buoyant. I'll probably redo it when I move the pump to a support and take the added weight off the float. One problem I had originally was that the fountain would not float straight, since the weight of the pump was pulling it off center. A short section of flexible hose between the pump and the fountain head solved my center of gravity problem. I'm pretty happy with the LED light ring BTW, it's not quite as Vegas as I'd feared. But then I'm a big Bellagio fan. :-) I'll post a few night shots somewhere once I get everything else finished. .. |
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