How to Build a Rock Fountain for My Swimming Pool

You can enhance a shallow swimming pool with the rugged, organic beauty and tranquil rushing sounds of a rock fountain. A simple rock fountain requires basic construction skills, takes only a few hours to build and uses materials found at most aquarium, garden and hardware stores. Rock fountains work well in pools or pool sections used for ornamentation, dipping or light swimming, but for safety reasons they should not be installed in areas used for diving or water sports.

Large, flat garden stones of varying circumference
Measuring tape
1/2-inch-diameter copper pipe
Hacksaw
Plastic laundry basin or any heavy-duty plastic tub 20 inches or larger per side
250 GPH or lower submersible pump
Window screen large enough to cover the plastic basin
Tin snips
1/2-inch-diameter ball valve
1/2-by-1/2-inch female compression adapter
Wrench
Wood boards, bricks or cinder blocks
Drill with 5/8-inch masonry bit

Instructions

- 1
  Stack large, flat garden stones in a vertical arrangement in ascending order from largest to smallest circumference. Make the stack as tall as you wish. Measure the height of the stones, using a measuring tape.
- 2
  Measure and cut a length of 1/2-inch-diameter copper pipe 2 feet longer than the height of the stones, using a hacksaw. Measure and cut a 4-inch section of this pipe.
- 3
  Lay a plastic basin in the pool where you want the fountain to go. Center a 250-gallons-per-hour submersible pump inside the basin.
- 4
  Use tin snips to cut a circle in the center of a piece of window screen large enough to fit the pipe through. Cut another hole in the screen large enough to fit your hand through. This allows you to access the pump’s plug.
- 5
  Slide the nut and ferrule from one end of a ½-inch-diameter ball valve onto the longer length of copper pipe you cut earlier and tighten the nut. Slide the nut and ferrule from the other end of the ball valve onto the 4-inch length of pipe.
- 6
  Connect the pump’s outlet to the compression adapter. Slide the compression adapter’s nut and ferrule onto the 4-inch length of pipe.
- 7
  Tighten all the nuts with a wrench to secure the connections.
- 8
  Place the window screen over the basin so the copper pipe goes vertically up through the hole. Place wood boards, bricks or cinder blocks over the window screen to hold it in place.
- 9
  Wet the stones and drill 5/8-inch holes through their centers, one at a time. Keeping the stones wet prevents the drill bit from overheating.
- 10
  Place the stones onto the copper pipe in their original arrangement. Saw off the top of the pipe so that only 1/4 inch sticks out over the top of the stack.
- 11
  Fill the pool with water and plug in the pump to start the fountain.

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