The following may be overkill, but it helped me with our fountain several years ago. I dug it up from the New England forum. If you search that forum under "installing fountains" there are four posts and these were in answer to my desperate questions. Marie clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by carl18 z6 NJ (My Page) on Tue, Jul 7, 09 at 19:53 O.K. Take a deep breath. . .kick the vole out of the way, and let's start over again from the beginning. Years ago, when I tried my first fountain/watefall, I was just as flummoxed as you are now, but eventually I got the hang of it. . .it's really no more complicated than installing a supercharged flush toilet or replacing the mainfold in a '54 T-Bird. . .but I jest, of course. . . Real solutions: we need to know the exact dimensions of your fountain. . . specifically, how deep is the "bowl" on top of the pedastal?. . .and how high is the fountain from the bottom of the pedastal to the top of the fountain? My guess is that the bowl itself isn't deep enough to hold the pump (which MUST be submerged, as everyone has pointed out), and the plastic (or rubber) tube which supplies water to the fountain from the pump must run down the center of the pedastal. Are we guessing right so far? If this IS the case, your only solution is a reservoir SEPARATE from the founain (which is why I prefer larger fountains where the catch-basin is an integral part of the fountain). . .personally, I would find the idea of an adjacent bucket (or reservoir) unappealing; you were actually on to the most logical and efficient solution with your five-gallon-pail. . .you just need to expand and refine that idea. Here's a cheap-and-dirty idea I've used over a dozen times in the past years for simple waterfalls, overflowing birdbathes, or fountains just like yours. You need to create a small pool to act as your water reservoir: my favorite comes from an animal supply source (such as AgWay) and it's a small watering trough for horses or other animal, very tough, 24" round, black vinyl bowl, about 8" deep - an alternate, would be a black vinyl mortar tray (from HD or Lowe's), the kind you mix concrete in, which are about 6" deep and usually rectangular in shape (roughly 24"x30"). Sink this vinyl reservoir into the ground, so it sits FLUSH with the ground level - it helps to dig your hole, tamp the bottom really hard, and fill with water (and let it drain away). . .this helps to keep the much heavier reservoir (filled with water) and the massive concrete fountain from sinking further down once it's installed. O.K. This next step is important. We don't want the reservoir to remain FLUSH with ground level, because dirt and rain run-off would tend to spill into it. So: we pour about an inch of clean sand into our hole-in-the-ground and set the vinyl reservoir on TOP of that. . .now, your black vinyl pool is sitting a perfect 1" (approximately) ABOVE ground level, which is exactly where we want it ! Take a sturdy piece of scrap wood that is STRAIGHT (a 3-foot section of 2x4 is ideal), lay it across the edges of your reservoir in at least three different directions, and with a carpenter's level on top check to see if your pool is completely level. Here's why we used the sand: if it's not quite level, you can tap on the bottom of the reservoir to gently lower one edge - the sand will give just enough to allow this - using your balled fist or a flat brick. Gentlly, now - you don't want to over- compensate ! Once everything is level, backfill with dirt around the vinyl basin (since you obviously had to dig the original hole a bit wider than necessary) and tamp that backfill firmly, being careful NOT to disturb the reservoir - water this backfill well (and gently) until really saturated, and let it all soak in well (maybe an hour or so) before proceeding. Now, we need to support the fountain. Using concrete bricks or patio blocks (HD or Lowes - the perfectly flat, machine-made ones that will stack securely) you create a "piling" in the center of your reservoir on which to stand your pedastal/fountain. Depending on the depth of your reservoir, and/or the thickness of your bricks, you might need only one layer (which would mean the pedastal base would be underwater - that's my preference), or perhaps two. Remember, if you use THREE piles of bricks instead of just the minimally necessary TWO, you'll make the pedastal/fountain steadier, thanks to the tripod effect). Your small little pump can rest on its side anywhere you like around the perimeter of the reservoir, with the power cord snaking up and over the edge and running off to the power source. By placing a small piece of slate (or a flat dark stone) on TOP of your pump, it won't be visible once it's underwater. Stand your pedastal/pump in place, hook up the pump tubes, fill carefully with water, and you should be good to go. Try flipping the switch and see how it works. . .your only job now is to keep the water level in the reservoir, if not full, AT LEAST covering the pump. Finish off the edge of your reservoir/pool with irregular slates around the OUTSIDE edge, resting solely on the ground, but abutting the vinyl pool - since these slates are roughly 1" thick, they are about level with the edge, and a SECOND layer of slates can perfectly jut out over the edge of the pool and disguise it's presence. You could easily substitute stone, bricks, or whatever suits your fancy. . . As for cleaning, I rarely ever need to clean my reservoir/pools (save for the occasional stray leaf or twig) If suicidal voles tend to start hurling themselves into your pool, why, just do what I'm sure Marty will be doing with all the voles in HER new pools - she'll be dipping them in kerosene and having little festive floating votives in her fountains ! Yes, at the end of the season, I siphon all the water out of the pool, remove (and clean off) the pump for indoor winter storage, and then stretch a small, dark brown or black tarp OVER the fountain and all the way to the outside edge of those slates surrounding the pool - in fact, remove that second layer, stretch your tarp and re-apply that second layer of slate to hold the tarp in place. The idea is to keep as much water/snow/wind-blown-debris out of the pool as possible; it not only makes Spring hook-up easier, but there's no freezing/thawing to stress the concrete or vinyl. Hate the tarp? One friend buries hers under a mound of pine boughs; someone else I know built an elaborate minature shed/house which drops in place OVER the whole pool/fountain, complete with little translucent windows that light up ! I told her all she needed was smoke coming out of the chimney - I'll bet she adds it this next winter. . . How long do these vinyl pools last? Well, I can only tell you that one I installed nearly 15 years ago is still going strong. How dense was I about pools/fountains when I started? My major concern was how I was going to extend the water lines from the house, underground some fifty feet to the pool's location - it was quite some time before I realized that pools and fountains require a POWER source, not a water source. . .duh ! Thank heaven I figured that out BEFORE I called a plumber. . . Carl P.S. Any questions? Let 'em rip. . . RE: How to install a fountain....desperately clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by ctlady z5 CT (My Page) on Tue, Jul 7, 09 at 21:09 RE: How to install a fountain....desperately clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by idabean 5A (My Page) on Marie Posted by idabean 5A (My Page) on Tue, Jul 7, 09 at 21:40 RE: How to install a fountain....desperately clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by cloud_9 z6 CT (My Page) on Wed, Jul 8, 09 at 21:21 clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by nhbabs (My Page) on Thu, Jul 9, 09 at 18:43 Idabean - My DH is the one in the family with hands-on practicality, and I have slowly absorbed a tiny amount of his wisdom and experience . . . Get a wet-dry shop vacuum to clean out the bottom of the reservoir, and the extension cords needed to reach as far as the pond if necessary. I have seen pictures of fountains with reservoirs filled with water smoothed pebbles or with a heavy duty screen covered by water smoothed pebbles. I guess you'd need a larger reservoir if you have pebbles filling it, but it's a nice effect. Here's a blog entry on fountains, and the 11th photo has what I'm trying to describe. Michelle may have directions somewhere else in the blog, but I didn't go hunting for that. Here is a link that might be useful: garden fountains - Michelle Derviss' blog

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.

I loved reading this too! As a result of reading these tips and techniques years ago, we always make a 'filter box' from a plastic file folder type container with a handle lid, we've also used shorter ones depending on the pump size. I like for the box to be twice the size or better than the pump. I use hubby's hole saw attachment for the drill to create many holes all over the container, leaving the bottom and a couple of inches of the bottom sides undrilled. I buy the nylon netting in the fabric department at Walmart for maybe 79 cents a yard and wad that up in the bottom, place the pump inside and route your power cable and pump output through the holes in the top. Stuff another wad of the nylon netting over the top and close the box. Sink it into the pond and finish your plumbing. I place a pot of iris or a decorative rock on top to disguise the filter. I do the whole thing for $10 or $15. I do leave the foam filter in place to prevent the netting being sucked into the intake. If you have fish, I highly advise rinsing all of the materials (plastic box and netting) just to be safe.

Yellow Jackets, wasps, move toward light so if they got into that tubular feeder they would try to get out, not by the way they got in but upwards. I would, very carefully, remove the top and allow them to escape. kimmq is kimmsr