Bond Scoria Indoor/Outdoor Fountain

Very Nice

My wife and I wanted a lighted fountain for a small garden close to and visible from our home. We bought a similar model first. We liked it a lot, but it leaked from...Read complete review

My wife and I wanted a lighted fountain for a small garden close to and visible from our home. We bought a similar model first. We liked it a lot, but it leaked from its base. The base is the reservoir for the fountain, so if it leaks, it eventually uncovers the submersible pump and of course flow stops and eventually the pump fails. Hayneedle [...] sent a replacement. That one leaked from the base. We tried another and it leaked as well. Beautiful design but very poor quality assurance. At that point we switched to the Scoria. We actually like it better in its setting. Some folks have trouble setting them up. I've done it 4 times now and am pretty good at it now. Here's how you do it. First and most importantly, make a solid, level platform. (If you're inside you already have one, of course.) Take the time to make it truly level so that the water will fill the pools and flow properly.Next, connect the light plugs to the transformer wires. Then take the caps off the lights and snap them into their holders. Don't turn on the lights until they are under water. They'll burn out if you do. Connect the pump to the tube inside the base. Now all you have to do is fill the base with water. Use a garden hose and fill it through the door until the water level rises to the lowest pool and fills it from the inside. That's the right amount of water. Now you can plug in the pump. It circulates water by pumping it up to the top pool. Now plug in the lights. Check the water level in the lowest pool frequently at first. If it drops below your starting level, either you have a leak or a lot of evaporation. I just took it inside for the winter. We miss it in the garden already. I used a small wet&dry vac to suck out the water. It holds around 8 gallons. Not being able to leave it out because of freezing is the only negative so far. If I could leave it outside in winter I'd have given it 5 stars.One other thing. I added pond clarifier and a little bleach. They may shorten the life of the pump, but there's no scum. Another other thing. The pump failed after 2 days. Bond immediately sent a replacement. I expect that I'll be replacing pumps and lights from time to time, but it's worth it. One more other thing. I ran underground wiring and set an outlet on a post. Maybe you can see it in the photo. I put an in-line lighted switch by the back door so that my wife can turn it on in the dark.