DIY bubbler fountain

 

Ah, what a lovely run of warm weather we've been having here on the East Coast!!   Puts me right in the mood for lazy summer days listening to my fountain, sitting on a chair in the sun.  

Here's a fountain project you can make yourself!  

 

 

Materials needed
         - large pot (this one is fiberglass)
         -fountain pump and hose
         -smaller pots for inside the fountain
         -large ceramic saucer
         -GE silicone sealant
         -drill and drill bit for ceramic

     -I also used this hanging basket form for the center of my pot

First, take the silicone sealant and completely coat the interior of the large fiberglass pot.   Get right in there and spread it around with your hands.  

 

 

-also run a bead of silicone around the bottom drain part of the pot and spread it evenly with your finger. 

-let dry

While I was at it, and messy, I added a decorative row of small ceramic tiles for color.

While waiting for the silicone to dry, use your drill and ceramic bit to put a hole in the center of the ceramic saucer.   Add water to the saucer to reduce friction and go slowly!   Don't force it, just let the drill do the work.   This was a 1/2" bit to accommodate the 1/2" plastic tubing my fountain pump called for.   (This photo shows the plastic tubing at the top of the hole in the saucer, trimmed to the height of the fountain.)

When you buy a fountain pump, you will need a larger one than you think.   This one moves 60 gallons of water an hour (if I remember correctly)  The higher the bubbling you want, the stronger the pump you'll need.

To assemble, put the pump in the bottom of the pot, I added the wire basket frame to the bottom next to protect the pump and ensure I would have good circulation for the water.   On top of the frame I stacked terra cotta pots upside-down until they were the height I was looking for.   The tubing goes through all pots, through the center of the saucer and will be trimmed to just the height of the fountain at the top of the saucer. 

A top view.   The water bubbled nicely, but wasn't as noisy as I was hoping for so I added the rocks for splash.

This year I'm going to upgrade to a larger pump and add some taller pots for more of a cascading fountain.   I'll post the update, of course.

Like this one from marthastewart.com