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We are having a marble fountain made for a niche in our back yard. It will be heavy and I want to get the installaton right the first time. My understanding is that this will be a stand alone system, that is you fill it with water, top it off as needed, but essentially you are recirulating the same water. It works with a small submersible pump and you have to get the one with the correct power and tubing to keep the water circulating. I understand that if we install an inline filter that it will have to be cleaned weekly probably. I'm not sure that is going to happen. There are chemicals also that one can use to keep the water free of algae. This will be within a few feet of a pool, which is being filtered and treated. Would it make sense to fill the fountain (as needed) with water from the pool?
I welcome your advice.
--Don
PS I'm attaching a pic of the fountain we ordered; ours will be in a soft creamy yellow marble. They make these in China and the prices are more affordable than I imagined. They can make any fountain to different scales. We had them extend the basin of the fountain so it come out more from the wall and imitate the roman shape of the pool. Here is the link [HYPERLINK@marbleunique.com]
I wouldn't fill it with pool water--the chlorine in pool water can be a little corrosive so you wouldn't want to run it through a pump that wasn't designed to handle it. You're better off using regular tap water for the fountain and then add the stuff for algae prevention if you need it. Also if the fountain is really made of marble, marble is sensitive to some chemicals so again I would definitely avoid the chlorinated water and I would also doublecheck that the algae chemicals are OK with marble--if they lower the pH of your water then absolutely don't use them, that will etch the marble.
I concur with Ecrane in regards to using the pool water.
Not a good idea.
As far as the inline filter I doubt you will have to clean it once a week.
The filters that we use are connect directly inline and even in the worse conditions ( heavy leaf drop ) they need to be cleaned about every two weeks.
There are simple non corroding liquids and pellets that you can set into the water that are safe for animals and the marble.
The product we use the most is called 'Clear Water'. It is a liquid and the homeowner puts in a few drops once a week.
Resist the temptation to keep your water clear with bleach. It will VERY quicky eat away at the plastic parts in the pump and filter.
You may want to consider to use an automatic refill devise connected to your irrigation system of hose bib. They work like a toilet refiller but are much smaller.
If your tap is very bad (mine is) you may want to consider using a filter on the spiget you use to add water to it. Very bad tap water will leave a white haze on the fountain and everything that any of the water might hit and it will get very bad over time.
