Large and Small Fountain Aeration Packages for Ponds & Lakes
Fountains. Who hasn't seen a fountain in a park or Botanical Garden or on a golf course and said to themselves: "Wow! That is beautiful!"? I know I have! I also know that I've seen some fountains that look like someone had run a garden hose from a sump pump and screwed a spray nozzle on the end and rigged up a homemade float out of white styro-foam to make a floating fountain for under $50...whoo-eee did that thing like horrible, more like a stream of piddle coming from a over pressurized cherub than anything decorative. Of course, not everyone has the budget of a golf course or the botanical gardens and some of the higher-end fountains, wether they be floating or fixed-base, can cost thousands of dollars and up but with most people's ponds a fountain can be built or installed at a reasonable price.

First, why would someone want to install a fountain? A fountain can be a very decent form of aeration actually! The pumps in floating fountains can draw anywhere from 50 to 500 gallons per minute fo water through the nozzle or propeller sprayer and this water is hoisted in the air where oxygen transfer takes place; oxygen rich droplets of water fall back to the surface of the pond. The surface tension is broken, the water is circulated and more mixing occurs! What a great way to combine aeration with aesthetics! The sound of the water cascading down in a lovely pattern onto the surface creates a beautiful sound that can mask any unwanted traffic noise or background sounds so prevalent in urban areas; but the more delicate and fine spray mist is created the more subtle and unique the sound will be...the best fountain should almost be like hearing ocean waves and not like the sound someone dumping a bucket of water into a toilet bowl!

Before we go too far, let's look at the different kinds of fountains so you can make the best choice for your pond.