I recently completed a fun and fairly easy DIY project for my house. I love the sound of water but I can’t afford to spend a bunch of money on a fountain. You can spend anywhere from $300 - $2000 on a quality fountain. So I did a little Pinterest research and found a bunch of sources with similar techniques. This is my version :)
At the bottom of this post are all the items you will need to complete your project.
I found a large ceramic planter that I liked that also had a coordinating saucer (I call it a saucer but not sure what it’s really called). I got mine from Sloat Garden Center in the Bay Area. They are wonderful, if you are local definitely pay them a visit. If you can’t find a planter with a matching saucer you could improvise with a smaller size planter which can sit inside the larger planter. Or even use a plain terracotta saucer that is spray painted.
I purchased a small 200GPH water fountain pump. Since my fountain is fairly small, I purchased the small pump and it works very well for my needs. You could use a solar fountain pump but then you wouldn’t need these instructions. haha But beware, I have yet to find a solar powered pump that operates in cloudy weather, which is exactly why I chose this pump!
Fish the pump’s power cord through a drainage hole then fill all drainage holes.
I needed to fish the pump power cord through a drainage hole but the hole was not large enough so I bought a carbide tip drill bit at my local hardware store and enlarged the hole. The carbide drill bit is also used to make a hole for the tubing in the saucer. My tubing was 1/2” so I bought a slightly larger size drill bit of 5/8”.
Once the cord was through the hole I used a bit of leftover foam backer rod and exterior silicone sealant (shown above). Note: I ended up adding liquid rubber Flex Seal on top of the silicone because I was worried it would leak. I think you could also just use Sikalex or any heavy duty sealant. Whatever you use just make sure it is waterproof and rated for exterior use. You’ll want to make sure it is completely dry before proceeding to the next steps.
Attach 1/2” tubing to the pump with provided adapter.
Let’s pretend that these photos show completely dried silicone. haha I attached the 1/2” tubing to the pump with an adapter that was included with the pump, as shown above.
Fish 1/2” tubing through pots.
I used two equally sized terracotta pots to act as a base for the saucer. You could also use a bucket if that works; but since my planter is tapered at the bottom a bucket would not fit and still be tall enough. If you go the plastic bucket route, you would need to drill a hole in the bottom for the tubing and flip it over so the saucer rests on the bottom. I used the silicone to glue the pots together. I then fished the 1/2” tubing through both drainage holes in the small pots. You do not want to affix the small terracotta pots to the bottom of the large planter because later on you may need to access the pump, which is under the small pots. They should sit just fine without needing to be glued.
Fish 1/2” tubing through hole in planter saucer.
I didn’t take a photo of it but I drilled a hole through the center of the saucer. Take it slow and easy so as not to crack or damage the ceramic saucer. Gently fish the tubing through the saucer. Let it is rest on top of the terracotta pots. Then trim the excess tubing so that it sits flush with the top of the rocks you are using. I found that scissors worked just fine for trimming the tubing.
If you wanted to add more height to your fountain you could add another smaller planter to sit on top of the saucer, and then add your rocks to that base. You would want to keep the tubing longer of course.
Trim excess 1/2” tubing so it will be flush with top of rocks.
At this point I moved the fountain outside to the spot I wanted. I added the rocks, filled it with water, and plugged it in to an outside power source. The pump is on the lowest setting because I wanted the water to just bubble over the rocks but if you’d like a more dramatic effect you could turn it up.
So that’s it! Right now we have it sitting near the front door but eventually I want to move it further into the garden so it’s more of a feature from the street as well. I will add some pea gravel and maybe some succulents.
The finished product! I love it!
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:
Large glazed ceramic planter (at least 16” diameter)
Large glazed ceramic saucer (slightly smaller than planter)
Two smaller terracotta pots (or plastic bucket)
Silicone exterior sealant, Sikaflex, Flex Seal, or any heavy duty sealant
Drill
Decorative rocks
Scissors
The links above are Amazon but I recommend you try your local hardware store first if you can… Jeff Bezos doesn’t need anymore money. LOL
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!
~ Kerry