WATER FEATURE CHALLENGE - CONCLUSION
My fountain is done. When I get up in the morning and open the porch door, I can hear the water happily chirping away. So what else is there for me to say? Quite a bit, actually.
For one thing, I took apart and reassembled the fountain the next day. Why? I didn't like the way the top planter was sitting and decided it was easier to start over. Along the way, I also decided it was too cumbersome to thread the tubing through the hole on the plastic disc and it'd be better to run it around the edge. This is in keeping with my modular design, and it'll make it so much easier to disassemble the fountain for cleaning down the line.
One miscalculation was that the water pump would not run after dark, even with the battery. I read the manual carefully and it says that the battery will charge during the day if there's enough sunlight and keep the pump running after dark.
I live in Southern California, and this is the time of the year with longest daylight (June-July). But because of tree shades, the solar panel gets about 6 hours of direct sun per day. So, maybe it's not getting enough sunlight. This was a bit of disappointment - I paid more for a solar pump with a battery so I could enjoy my fountain in the evening. Next time, I'll try a more powerful/ expensive one, or just buy one without battery to save a few bucks.
I didn't like my fountain turning into a blob in the dark, so, I used some solar garden lights I already had to illuminate it. A spotlight is set up on one side; another smaller one inside the upper planter. This way, at least it looks interesting even after the water stops running.
And...one last modification (this is really it - I promise!). The water pump came with a bunch of attachments to create different water patterns. Initially, I wasn't going to use them because, intended to be attached directly to the pump, they had exactly the same diameter as the tubing.
But I thought it would be nice to be able to make water splash a little more and to hear more of a splashing sound. I tried using a bit of silicone tape to attach one of the fountain attachments to the tube. It was fiddly but I made it work!
You can see/hear the difference in the video below. I'm really happy now with the way it looks and sounds. It's such a nice way to start a day to sit outside with my first cup of coffee and listen to the calming sound of my fountain.
Here's my FINAL COST: In #2 SHOPPING LIST, I said the materials costed me a total of $160 ( see PART 2 Shopping List). I added a can of spray paint for $12 (see PART 3 Pre-Installation) for the planters, so, the final cost came to $172. This figure doesn't include the items that I already had around the house: landscape cloth, a concrete tile, solar garden lights, etc. or the cost of plants, etc. that I spent on landscaping.
And for the downloadable list of helpful websites, etc., please see Resources.
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