Adding a Filter to Solar Fountains for my Pond

When I planned on getting a pond dug for my wildlife here I knew I would need to keep the water moving or it would be nothing less then a breeding ground for mosquitoes and no one wants that in their back yard! Mosquitoes require standing water to hatch their eggs which usually takes 24-48 hours from start to finish. So, as long as the water is moving, their eggs can’t hatch so, even before I got my pond ready for water, I had already ordered five solar fountains.

I’m convinced these little guys are practically indestructible. I have one that’s five years old still going strong in my bird bath and I’ve left it out through two winters! My only concern is these five won’t be enough for such a large body of water but I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it.

First thing about these fountains that has always annoyed me is that their “filter” is pretty much useless. Yes, it will keep out big stuff but any kind of moss or algae or whatever will require me to clean it out several times a year or it will just stop working.

That’s not a big deal when it comes to my bird bath but I certainly don’t want to have to wade into my pond every few weeks to clean five solar fountains.

I’m really hoping with this modification that it may only be a once a year thing or longer.

Another issue I knew I would need to consider is that, with the slightest bit of wind, there was no doubt these little solar fountains would end up in a corner huddled up together and accomplishing nothing.

So I would also need to anchor them.

With a little wandering around my property I found some concrete remnants from the old barn foundation and a couple of big enough rocks. These solar fountains weigh almost nothing so it wasn’t like I needed some massive weight.

I did, however, need something to tie them off with so I ordered little stainless steel chains and black zip ties.

To add a “filter” to them I picked up outdoor weed fabric which is kind of like a commercial grade coffee filter.

I cut a large square and secured it around the outside of the solar fountain with zip ties. With it secure I pulled the landscape fabric tight like a needle point and trimmed off the excess. It was super easy and you can barely even tell its there.

I added a zip tie around the outside too so I had something to tie my anchors to.

My dad commented, “It looks like you gave them a diaper.”

As I mentioned earlier I am concerned these little guys won’t be enough for a pond as large as mine but at only $15 a piece I was willing to take the chance before going for bigger. Unfortunately there are not a ton of affordable solar fountains out there that are much bigger but, again, I will deal with that issue if it arises.

Regardless, this easy work around provides an awesome filter and guarantees solar fountains work for a very long time before they need to be cleaned out!

And my plan didn’t exactly go as planned…

I make it a point to be a “real” blogger so I want you guys to know that the chains were too heavy. I’m not terribly surprised but I’m always bummed when my plans don’t work out. It was SO close! I couldn’t even tell that the chains were pulling them down at all but it turns out it was just enough to put a skim of water over the top of the fountains so they weren’t able to get quite enough sun to work at full capacity.

I didn’t even realize for days besides that my fountains just weren’t fountaining very well!

The “filters” still work great though and, for now, I’m just using a daisy chain of zip ties to secure them to their anchors. Not ideal and will be something I’ll change in the future.

But they’re doing their jobs and that’s the most important thing!