Container Fountain Guide: Building & Installing One in Your Garden

Warm spring and summer evenings call us into the outdoors. For those fortunate enough to have a fire pit, we may spend time sitting around a crackling fire, enjoying the movement and the gentle crackling sounds of the fire. For renters, urban-dwellers, or those with little space, running water can provide the same sort of natural meditative experience of motion and sound. While we might wish to put in a small, permanent pond, a container fountain is much more versatile, requires less time and expense to build, and can even be put indoors or on porches. Building a container fountain can often be done in a day, and will bring years of calm and joy into your life. The first thing you'll need to do when building your container fountain is to acquire your materials. You'll need the following:

· Container

· Waterproof vessel or sealant, if required

· Fountain kit or pump and hoses

· Cement, caulk, or mortar, if needed

· Accents and decorative materials

· Fish, if desired

Container
Choosing a container for your fountain is the first step. Perhaps you already have an attractive planter, pot, bowl, or box that you'd like to use. Choose a vessel that fits the space you'd like to use. Anything from one gallon for a small fountain to accent a corner or shelf to fifteen gallons or more can make nice fountains. Consider terra cotta planters, ceramic bowls, or even wooden boxes for your container.

Sealant
While planter pots and wooden boxes can make attractive containers, neither are designed to be waterproof. There are many ways to waterproof these containers. The easiest is to find a pot, bowl, or Tupperware container that will nest snugly into your chosen vessel. In this arrangement, the outer container is purely decorative, while the inner container holds the water. You can seal ceramics and terra-cotta with a sealant such as polyurethane, available at any good hardware store - several coats will ensure that the job is done right. You may be able to do the same thing with wood, but I'd recommend a sealant labeled for "marine use," in order to ensure that your wood doesn't soften and rot.

Pump
In container fountains, water is pumped from the bottom container, upward through whatever trickle, stream, or spray makes up the fountain head, and back into the container. All of the work is typically done by a submersible pump. Smaller fountains can easily be powered by an inexpensive aquarium pump, available at pet stores. Larger fountains require a little more throughput. Consider purchasing a pre-packaged commercial fountain kit, or build one yourself with a multi-purpose submersible pump.

Accents
Small river rocks, water plants, stone carvings and ceramic figurines all make attractive additions to your fountain. Water-resistant wood such as Cyprus is a great accent, and bamboo can be added, as well.

Installation
Place your pump into the vessel, and try to get it as close as possible to the surface, without effecting aesthetics. The less distance your pump needs to move water, the stronger the flow will be, and the longer the pump will last. Use bricks or stones to elevate the pump, if needed. Of course, the pump will need power. Some kits come with solar power arrays, to keep the fountain running all by itself. If yours doesn't, you'll need to run a power cord to an outlet. Because a container fountain is a water feature, it's important that you always use GFCI outlets, and if you fountain is to be placed outdoors, make sure to use an outdoor-rated outlet and box.

Some people like to drill a hole in the side or bottom of their containers, allowing the power cord to exit through he vessel itself, rather than up and out along the top of the vessel. I feel strongly that this approach is the wrong one, and invites future leaks, no matter how carefully you try to seal the entrance hole. The cord can be easily camouflaged when you decorate your finished fountain. Run the outlet hose from your pump up to your spray nozzle or fountain head. Alternately, you can devise your own water feature from wood, stone, or bamboo, and run the outlet hose to this. When all of this is done, add water, plug in your pump, and away we go! Adjust the outlet hose for best effect.

Decoration
Liberally lay stones, plants, or other decorative touches out around the fountain and along the edge of your vessel. Consider small accents that extend outside of the edges of your container, such as a "dry stream bed," made from small river rocks on the floor or ground around the vessel. This creates unity and cohesion between the water feature itself and the surrounding environment.

Other Considerations
One major consideration is the addition of fish. Koi or carp are obvious and attractive choices, but these species are often much too large for the typical container fountain. Certain species of goldfish closely resemble their larger cousins, yet are smaller and quite hardy. An added benefit to the addition of fish is the good work they do in keeping mosquito and other insect larvae under control in your fountain basin.

A good container fountain extends a sense of calm, while highlighting the personal creativity and tastes of the builder. This project can be as simple or as complex as you choose to make it, and can go a long way toward the creation of your own personal paradise.