Care and Maintenance of your Patio Paradise Fountain
It is very important to NOT add any type of coloring agent to the water in the fountains. The pool finish material that I use in the Coquina veneer is a raw concrete product that will absorb any dye-like agent and leave a stain. Concrete is hydrophilic, it has an affinity for water, it gets stronger when wet; that’s why I leave it as a raw concrete product rather than coat it with any type of sealant, which might react with water “the universal solvent”, and harm the fountain in the long run.
Pump Replacement information below
Heart Fountain Installation Video
A client filmed my installation of her Heart fountain and posted it to YouTube
Care and Maintenance
Mosquitoes: Mosquitoes can be controlled several ways. First, you can run the fountain continuously; mosquitoes cannot complete their life cycle in moving water. If you run the fountain infrequently, you will need to use liquid chlorine or Bromine tablets to keep the mosquitoes from growing and becoming a nuisance or health hazard. There is also a natural product called: bacillus thuringiensis israelensis; it is sold under brand names such as Dunks. It is effective in controlling mosquitoes.
Algae: as stated below in the maintenance section, algae can be controlled by using liquid chlorine or bromine tablets. You can run your fountain 24 hours a day if you like.
Every several days or as much as every day, you will have to fill the fountain up with fresh water. You have a small volume of water recirculating many times in an hour. Depending on the exposure to drying sun or wind or air conditioning, you will lose
a lot of water due to evaporation. This is normal.
Some people like to use distilled water in their fountain. This is not necessary. However, non distilled water naturally has mineral deposits that over time will build up on the fountain around the edges. As long as the fountain is running this is barely noticeable. But when you allow an older fountain to dry out, you will really notice these white mineral deposits around the edges. Simply fill the fountain and begin running it and these deposits will return to their barely noticeable state.
Should the fountain veneer Coquina finish become damaged due to a blow or abrasion, contact me and I can mail out a patch kit to you (no charge). Directions for the patch kit are easy. You will receive two packets, one with the pool finish product, one with the shell. First moisten the area to be patched several times with clean water. Meanwhile, wet the dry pool finish with water until it is the consistency of toothpaste; don’t add water to the whole amount; reserve some of the dry powder so you can add some if you get it too wet. Apply it to the damaged area using gloves or any small tool. Quickly throw some of the shell onto the patch while it is still wet. Keep the area dry for 6-8 hours, longer if the temperature is below sixty degrees. Cover with a plastic tent or some other means if the fountain is out of doors so that rain or the sprinklers don’t wash it away. Clean up any loose shell. Your patched area should give you years of service.
Maintenance is easy. A wet/dry shop vac is great to remove the water and any debris when it is time to clean your fountain. Some people can’t wait for a beautiful algae growth to appear. Others want to maintain their fountains like new, so they drop in Bromine tablets from time to time. Chlorine bleach can be used directly on the Coquina veneer finish to remove any algae. Be sure you rinse the fountain with fresh water and Vacuum up the debris. Should the fountain water become cloudy, perhaps a better brand of Bromine is called for. Frequent water changes always seem preferable to me to trying to use a bunch of clarifying chemicals. Use your own judgment.
A small amount of loose shell is normal on the fountains.
Anywhere a small shell comes off, a nice fossil like impression remains that is very much like real coquina stone. As the fountain ages, the concrete finish becomes stronger and any loose shell will be even less noticeable. When I install a fountain, a small amount of patching is often necessary, where
the fountain pieces interconnect. This is normal. I bring a small amount of the finish material and patch it at that time. If at any time the finish needs a slight touch up because of a nick or bump, I can do a mail out to you of the patch material, as mentioned above.
Heart Fountain Installation Description
If you receive one of the small 20″ fountains and you aren’t sure how to set it up, don’t panic. It is quite simple. A few years ago a client took a video of me installing her fountain. It is above on this page. Below is a written explanation.
The smaller top half of the fountain fits directly on top of the lower, larger piece. Place the top piece face down on top of the bottom piece. The pump should be attached to the clear tubing that is attached to the plumbing fitting in the top section. The cone shaped intake of the pump should be aligned so that it will be facing the front. Note that there is a small lever between 10 and 12 o’clock on the front of the pump above the cone shaped intake. You will be able to reach in from the front of the fountain and adjust that control lever.
Once the pump in in the correct position, simply set it on top of the lower piece. As you raise the upper piece with the pump attached into place, be careful that the pump does not “hang up” on the back of the bottom piece, which could damage the pump. You can set the top piece more to the front to begin with
and placing your hand in the front of the bottom piece make sure that the pump is sitting flat in the bottom piece. There is a small raceway in the back of the fountain for the cord to go in and allow the two pieces to fit together perfectly with only a small seam showing. Fill the fountain before you plug it in. Note the full water level. Once you plug it in the water will fill the upper pools. Note the water level is slightly lower now. That is the level to which you should fill the fountain from now on. If you were to fill it up to the maximum level in the front and turn the fountain off or have the electricity go off, then all that water in motion and from the upper pools will go into the bottom pool and overflow the fountain. This could be a big deal if the fountain is indoors. If the fountain is outside, this issue with the water level will not be a problem, as the fountain can overflow just as it will when it rains or the sprinklers keep it filled.
Your new water feature will give you many years of enjoyment.
Call 813-263-2989
Pump Replacement
When I deliver your fountain I show you how to replace the pump and leave you with the box the pump came in. Store it in a safe dry place. The Four Classic Design fountains use the AquaClear powerheads by Hagen: Heart uses AquaClear #20, Harmony and Serenity use AquaClear #50, and Tranquility uses AquaClear #70. Some of my larger fountains use Laguna 600 gph. Enter your pump’s information into any search engine online and several companies will be anxious to take your payment information and ship one to your door. In the pump boxes are lots of small parts that would otherwise be used to mount the pump on an aquarium. Discard them. The #20 has a square to round fitting you need to use. If that little fitting becomes cracked, you will find it in the parts list in the instructions for purchase. I don’t stock them. There is a long piece of small clear tubing that needs to be knotted and cut short and inserted in the orifice on the pump to keep water from shooting out. Note on the pump box that if the powerhead was mounted out of the water on the edge of an aquarium then that tube would create air bubbles for the fish. Writing this all out makes it seem complicated. Relax. It’s really fairly simple. Feel free to call me if you have any problems.
813-263-2989