I made a floating fountain out of a manifold off a hot tub with 7
outlets and a long run of 2" pvc pipe a 5 galbucket and powered it up
with my gas powered water pump. Worked fine. So then I started on
making a better looking fully funcional floating fountain. What I came
up with is a Linzea submersible pump 60 some GPM flow rate. I used a
plastic blow formed outdoor umbrella base for the float. These are the
umbrella bases you fill with sand or water. The hole the umbrella pole
goes though fit a piece of 1 1/4" PVC pipe perfectly. I inserted the
pipe through the hole in the umbrella base, and then attached the sub
pump to it using an elbow and a 2" x 1 1/4" reducer bushing. Used a 1
1/4" male adapter fitting on opposite end to attach the Sugar Creek
Fountain nozzles (29.00 for a set of 4 different nozzles)...Pump hangs
from the discharge pipe through the umbrella stand about 18 inches
into the water so there is little frictionloss from a long run of pipe
or fittings..(less than 20") I wrapped a piece of aquatic enclosure
type netting around the pump to act as a guard, but pump will pass
3/8" debri easily. I also attached a nylon strap from ther pump to thr
base of the umbrella base so all the weight of thre pump is not
hanging just from the discharge pipe. Put it i the water and it
floats perfectly level with the water surface with just the top of the
umbrella base above water and the fountain head itself.......barely
noticeable.........turned it on, and I can get a nice full pattern of
24 foot diameter and approx 12 feet high out of just the one nozzle I
tried so far. I cant install it where I want it yet as my power cord
is only 16 feet, and I am still waiting for my underwater splice kit
to come in so I can add an additional 60 or so feet of wire to it. I
have some 13 pound weights (hollow plastic filled with cement from a
weight exercise machine) that I will use to anchor it in place, with
nylon or poly lines. Was quick to m ake once I figured out what I
could make it all fromand best of all it was better than half the cost
of a factory made unit and utilizes the same exact pump and
nozzles....My ponds water has never looked as good as it does right
now after a couple of days of aeration.....I can actually see about 16
to 18 inches deep, and its getting nicer every day. I figure it will
take 25 days of continual running for a complete turnover, but clear
water is not what I was after as much as I was looking to get rid of
surface film and accumulated pollen etc that turns the water a yellow
color with a yellow like powder throughout the year, and keep grass
clippings etc along the shoreline until they sink. Now I gotta add me
some lights to it...on the cheap!
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

I made a floating fountain ............
....My ponds water has never looked as good as it does right
now after a couple of days of aeration.... Roy

A few years back there was a guy on here involved in aerating big ponds,
his mantra said that was all one needed to do to clear them up. He was into
golf club ponds, etc. You just proved him right, not that we doubted him,
get enough aeration to the bacteria in the pond and it will do the work. We
only had a problem when he kept telling people with small ponds and too
many fish, and small to no filters, that aeration would clear their water.
He'd did quite grasp the surface area needed part of the equation.
;o) ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

I made a floating fountain ............
....My ponds water has never looked as good as it does right
now after a couple of days of aeration.... Roy

A few years back there was a guy on here involved in aerating big ponds,
his mantra said that was all one needed to do to clear them up. He was into
golf club ponds, etc. You just proved him right, not that we doubted him,
get enough aeration to the bacteria in the pond and it will do the work. We
only had a problem when he kept telling people with small ponds and too
many fish, and small to no filters, that aeration would clear their water.
He'd did quite grasp the surface area needed part of the equation.
;o) ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 08:25:36 -0700, ~ jan JJsPond.us
wrote:

===
===I made a floating fountain ............
===....My ponds water has never looked as good as it does right
===now after a couple of days of aeration.... Roy
===
===A few years back there was a guy on here involved in aerating big ponds,
===his mantra said that was all one needed to do to clear them up. He was into
===golf club ponds, etc. You just proved him right, not that we doubted him,
===get enough aeration to the bacteria in the pond and it will do the work. We
===only had a problem when he kept telling people with small ponds and too
===many fish, and small to no filters, that aeration would clear their water.
===He'd did quite grasp the surface area needed part of the equation.
===;o) ~ jan
===
===
=== ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~


Well aeration to a poiint is great, and its really the only practical
(read cheap but efective) way to do a larger body of water........but
surface aeration on a smaller typical water garden would be something
I wuld not look to as the sole means of conditioning the water. As
nice as fountains are, calm peacefull resting water plays an important
part as well espcecially if you have plants like lillys
etc........more aeration means more evaporation as well. In a smaller
pond mechanical / bio filtration is the way with some external
aeration both for aesthetics ( if thats your desire) and
functionality. I know my fish like to play in the larger portion of
the pond in the water ripples the fountain creates, but the fish in
the enclosure seem to shy away from the stirred up water and the
ripples...........unless its feeding time! Not much deters them from
eating...............
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 08:25:36 -0700, ~ jan JJsPond.us
wrote:

===
===I made a floating fountain ............
===....My ponds water has never looked as good as it does right
===now after a couple of days of aeration.... Roy
===
===A few years back there was a guy on here involved in aerating big ponds,
===his mantra said that was all one needed to do to clear them up. He was into
===golf club ponds, etc. You just proved him right, not that we doubted him,
===get enough aeration to the bacteria in the pond and it will do the work. We
===only had a problem when he kept telling people with small ponds and too
===many fish, and small to no filters, that aeration would clear their water.
===He'd did quite grasp the surface area needed part of the equation.
===;o) ~ jan
===
===
=== ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~


Well aeration to a poiint is great, and its really the only practical
(read cheap but efective) way to do a larger body of water........but
surface aeration on a smaller typical water garden would be something
I wuld not look to as the sole means of conditioning the water. As
nice as fountains are, calm peacefull resting water plays an important
part as well espcecially if you have plants like lillys
etc........more aeration means more evaporation as well. In a smaller
pond mechanical / bio filtration is the way with some external
aeration both for aesthetics ( if thats your desire) and
functionality. I know my fish like to play in the larger portion of
the pond in the water ripples the fountain creates, but the fish in
the enclosure seem to shy away from the stirred up water and the
ripples...........unless its feeding time! Not much deters them from
eating...............
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.