Helpful Hints for Fountains
Change the fountain water and clean it thoroughly every four to six months for larger fountains, and more frequently (every 2-3 months) for smaller fountains. When doing so, it’s also a good time to check your pump to ensure that it is free of debris that could have been pulled into the rotors. For smaller fountains, pour the used water down the toilet and disassemble the fountain if necessary in order to clean it. Simply scrub it well with a sponge and, if necessary, some dishwashing liquid (in the case that algae has accumulated inside the fountain). Make sure that you rinse it very well, or you’ll get soap bubbles when you set it back up. For larger fountains, you’ll want to pump the water out. Just take the existing fountain pump, attach a long tube to it (you can get this very inexpensively at the hardware store), place the pump in the basin with the tube going into the toilet or into the grass outdoors, and start the pump. You could also siphon the water out, although you’ll have to be careful not to get any in your mouth. Most fountains come with instructions that will direct you in the best way to go about cleaning your fountain.
To adjust the water sound, look for an inline flow adjustor switch on your fountain pump. This is a small, usually round black switch that slides toward a ‘high’ or ‘low’ position. Try a few different settings and choose the one that gives the water a volume that is most pleasant to you. You could also use one or more of these suggestions:
- To decrease water sound, add river rocks to the basin of your fountain which will decrease the ‘splashing’ noise as water drips into the reservoir.
- To increase the water sound: The water level in the reservoir, or basin, of your fountain also affects the volume of the water sound. If you decrease the water level (always making sure that the pump is completely submerged), the volume will increase.
Maintaining the beauty of your fountain is easy and doesn’t take much time at all. Once set up, fountains simply need to be wiped clean every now and then with a damp cloth. The water level must be maintained to prevent damage to the pump. If you need some help reminding yourself to re-fill your fountain water, just get in the habit of doing it the same time you water your plants. We recommend using water treatments to prevent the growth of algae, as well as the development of unsightly mineral stains caused by hard water. Don’t use harsh cleaners on your fountain and never use bleach – not only does it damage the pump, it could also damage the surface of your fountain. Clean your fountain and change the water regularly according to the tips above.
Don’t modify your fountain in any way, or put foreign objects or substances in the water. Doing so could void your manufacturer’s warranty, not to mention damage to the fountain and pump. This includes, but is not limited to: cutting tubing or wire, bending metal frames, permanently marking any surface on the fountain, removing any part in such a way that it cannot easily be put back in, etc. If you are having some sort of problem with your fountain and feel that you need to modify your fountain in order to correct it, please call us first and we will help guide you through a solution or put you in contact with the manufacturer so that your warranty will not be affected. Some people ask if they could put glitter, perfume oil, bubbles, fish, and all sorts of other things in their fountain water. We never recommend doing any of these things. There is always a chance that what you are adding could clog the pump, inner components, and tubing which will cause it to stop working. It could also seriously damage the finish of the fountain. Unless otherwise explicitly specified (such as with garden ponds), fountains are not safe for marine life of any kind including plants, fish, and amphibians. Please do not put live animals in your fountain.
If you are looking for a fountain according to the kind of water sound it makes, we do have a few guidelines you can follow. However, it’s difficult to characterize the sounds of a water fountain – it’s a matter of opinion rather than fact. You can shop by water sound (low, medium, or high) but for more specific information on the sounds that water fountains can make, use these tips:
- For a dripping, highly audible sound, look for fountains which have a good amount of distance for the water to drip before reaching the water in the basin. You want a fountain that has a gap between the spout and the basin, in which there are no materials blocking the flow of the water. The further this distance and the more water that is coming out of the spout, the louder the water sound.
- For a softer, trickling water sound, look for a fountain in which the water is traveling over a stone, slate, glass, or other solid surface and into a basin filled with river rocks or pebbles. When the water has no distance to travel between the ‘mouth’ or ‘spout’ of the fountain (where the water comes out at the top) and the basin, or it is traveling over a hard surface, the sound is reduced to a much gentler tone.
- The loudest sound you will get from a fountain comes from those in which a spigot or other large opening pours water directly into the ‘reservoir’ or ‘catch basin’ full of water, with no rocks, slate, glass, or any other material in between.
- Of course, the other factor in water noise level is the size of the fountain. Larger fountains generally make more noise than smaller ones.