Pumps are rated for lift, which is the biggest detail you need to investigate. The packaging and product info will tell you that. Then you need to understand headloss, which is caused by such things as gravity, pipe diameter, obstructions, friction, changes in direction, etc. What you want to do is not necessarily easy or cheap depending on the force you want. A more narrow tube propels the water with more force than a larger diameter tube. Fountain heads are cheap and widely available. They are simply a cap that has holes or divisions that redirect water flow and can increase the force of the discharge. They are attached by pushing them onto the end of the discharge pipe. They are often included with pumps. I have acquired a box full that give different spray patterns. All just cap the end of the discharge pipe. What kind of spread do you want? Any bowl or surround of the tubing or the fountain head is pretty much ornamental rather than functional unless the tubing is really flexible. Then it can help keep it in position. Filtration is important for fountains. They rely on small holes to separate the spray and propel it. Blocking part with even a bit of algae can change the dynamics with drastic results. Debris of any sort will be a problem. Water loss will be a problem with such a tall spray. Wind will redirect the water very easily and evaporation is going to be increased especially if the spread is wide. I don't know a thing about the pump you show. I've never seen it before but then I don't buy pumps a lot. Mike in Illinois may know something about it.

Yep, that's what I meant. He really likes to play around with cooking techniques and food display. Some others like food presentation too and there are always interesting cooking ideas and recipes too (well duh). When I first googled dcarch, he was known as the inventor of the square tomato. Perhaps he still is.

Sounds like something my son would be interested in...what is the brand, etc.? Son has a big pump that runs the filter & two rather big waterfalls but it uses a lot of elect. & waterfalls run too fast & so (in our SW desert climate!)much evaporation so he has to add water frequently. He says it would be hard on his $$ pump to slow it down so think a solar pump to use most of the time would be great! Would keep a hole melted in the ice for gas removel in winter too? We are big solar enthusiasts anyway! Thanks for any info.!

OK, I don't have a fountain, but I have a solar pump for my rain barrels. There are certain things you need to take into consideration. #1 - does it have a battery. How long is the battery rated to work without a direct solar charge to the panel (after dark, on a cloudy day etc). How easy is it to buy a replacement battery - does the source of the pump sell the battery (important, since they last about a year). As with any fountain, you need to size the fountain to the pump but it's even more important when it's solar simply because it's working on less power in general. Eg. the size of this panel is about 7x7" and I don't see a battery housing. At $17 a review states it's good for 5 gallons, and that's only in direct sunlight on the panel. It won't work at any other time. This is not a good buy at all. Now this one will work on battery power for 4 hrs. http://www.sears.com/sw-closeouts-3w-solar-powered-water-fountain-pump/p-SPM8016585511?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3 it's $100, you can see the size of battery you need for 4 hours with this extra large panel. It will move much more water and is a better deal for the money, but 4 hrs. is still not very long. In my opinion this large pump would be http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YROZMY/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ecovilgre-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004YROZMY This last pump has a battery and a timer, and an energy saver mode. It's pricey but looks well designed. Make sure you can replace that battery with one found easily on the market. My solar rain barrel pumps were sold in many places but nobody had a replacement batteries in a year. We were able to convince our local water reclamation equipment source to find them and carry them. Lastly I'd recommend contacting http://www.ntwgs.org/ and ask some questions. As if there is a place that carries your pumps locally and someone you can talk to.