Aquascape Pot to Fountain Conversion Kit
Courtyards and entries where a full fountain is too much
Gardens where the pot has to match what is already there
Anyone who wants moving water with nothing standing open
A pot you already love, turned into a fountain. This is the machinery that sits under a water feature, sold on its own so the pot can be yours. A sealed reservoir goes in the ground under a grate. The pump lives inside it; the water films down the outside of your pot before draining straight back. Nothing ever stands in open water, so there is nothing to fence, net or skim.
We do not sell you the pot. Choose it from a nursery, a pot yard, a salvage shop or your own courtyard, then pick the reservoir underneath it by weight.
Which reservoir do you need?
There is only one question that matters here, so start with it: how heavy is the pot once it is full of water? The three reservoirs are drawn below to the same scale, with the load each one is rated to carry.
Take the weight seriously. A 50cm glazed pot is commonly 15 to 25 kilograms empty, so once it is holding water it is already beyond the light duty reservoir. The light duty option suits a small pot, a resin urn or a light ornament. Most people converting a real garden pot want the standard.
How it goes together
- 1. Dig the hole and drop the reservoir in. Level it with the shims in the kit. Level matters more than deep: an out of level reservoir spills to one side.
- 2. Seal the tubing into the base of your pot. The rubber bulkhead goes through the drainage hole, the silicone seals it, the tubing pushes on.
- 3. Sit the pot on the grate and connect the pump. The pump lives in the reservoir, not in the pot. You can lift the grate to reach it without moving the pot.
- 4. Fill it, lay your pebble, switch it on. The water films over the pot, drains through the pebble and the grate, and goes straight back to the pump.
A confident DIYer can do it in an afternoon. The digging is the hard part, not the plumbing.
What is in the box
| Light duty | Standard | Heavy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reservoir | DecoBasin, 56 x 36cm, 57 L | AquaBasin 30, 76 x 76 x 25cm, 102 L | AquaBasin 45, 113 x 113 x 41cm, 371 L |
| Holds a pot up to | 23 kg | 227 kg | 680 kg |
| Pump | 680 L/hr statuary, 1.2m head | Ultra 2100, 2,000 L/hr, 1.95m head | Ultra 4200, 4,200 L/hr, 3m head |
| Max pump the reservoir takes | 6,000 L/hr | 7,500 L/hr | 15,000 L/hr |
| Also included | Rubber bulkhead, tubing, fish safe silicone, levelling shims | Rubber bulkhead, tubing, fish safe silicone, levelling shims | Rubber bulkhead, tubing, fish safe silicone, levelling shims |
| Ships as | Parcel, flat $29 Australia wide | Freight, calculated at checkout | Freight, calculated at checkout |
What you supply
The pot, the pebble or stone that covers the grate, an outdoor rated power point within reach, and the hole in the ground. Nothing else.
Why consider Aquascape
Aquascape has been building pond and fountain equipment since 1991 and is the range professional water feature installers in Australia specify most often. The reservoirs are moulded from high density polyethylene, the same material used for water tanks, with a moulded grate rather than a flimsy lid. The pump sits under that grate and lifts out for cleaning without touching the pot above it.
Questions, answered
Will it hold my pot?
That is the whole question, so we have put the numbers on the drawing above rather than leaving you to guess. Weigh the pot empty, then add about one kilogram for every litre of water it will hold. A 50cm glazed pot is usually 15 to 25 kilograms dry, which already puts it past the light duty reservoir once it is full. If you are between two sizes, take the larger one.
Does the pot need a hole in it?
Yes, one hole in the base for the tubing, sealed with the rubber bulkhead and silicone in the kit. Most glazed pots already have a drainage hole that is close enough. If yours does not, a diamond hole saw on a slow speed cuts one in a few minutes.
Can I use a pot I already own?
That is what this is for. Ceramic, glazed terracotta, concrete, corten and fibreglass all work. Unglazed terracotta will seep through the wall, so it needs sealing on the inside first.
What if the pot has no hole and I do not want to drill it?
Then run the tubing over the rim instead and let the water spill from the top. It is less tidy, so we would rather you rang us and talked it through before you buy.
How often do I top it up?
Evaporation is the only loss, because the water recirculates. In a Melbourne summer expect to add water every week or two on the light duty reservoir, less often on the larger ones, since they simply hold more.
Does it need a power point?
Yes, an outdoor rated one within reach of the reservoir. Sort that before you start digging, because adding it afterwards means lifting whatever you just laid around the feature.
