How to Install a Gurgler Water Fountain

I’m sharing all the details on how we installed a gurgler water fountain outdoors.

Gurlger water fountain in front of deck with cat in the window.

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I just shared my front yard reveal and promised to share how we installed our gurgler water fountain.

Catch up on all the outdoor renovation posts in this series:

Remember when I shared all my European style water fountains? I love the style of them but they were just too big for this area so we went with a gurgler fountain. It’s a show stopping basalt rock drilled for water fountain tubing. We bought it already drilled from a landscape supply place and got to pick exactly what basalt rock design we wanted.

It makes such a calm lovely sound and we can’t imagine not having a water feature now! We want to add a fountain to all our future homes.

Let me show you how we installed it.

How to Install a Gurgler Water Fountain

Here is a run through of all the steps needed to install a gurgler water fountain:

Location
Size
Basin
Install light and vinyl tubing into fountain
Install water fountain pump
Bury the wires and plug to electrical source
Cover with rock

Sources:

LED light with transformer
fountain basin (we used the AquaBasin 30 but this one is a bit bigger)
fountain pump – Aquascape Ultra Pump 400
vinyl tubing (we used 1/2 inch)
Z wave outdoor smart switch

1. Location

First you need to decide where you want your fountain to be placed.

We knew we had a void in the front yard that was just calling for a small fountain so this part was easy.

2. Size of fountain

We knew a smaller basalt rock would work best in this area so we decided on one that was 2 foot high x 1 foot in diameter.

Make sure to choose a gurgler that has the right size hole for the light (there’s a standard size for the light, see below). Most are drilled with a standard size but it’s worth checking before committing to your purchase. The LED light is a really nice feature and I highly recommend it.

3. Basin

We determined the smallest size basin was needed so we ordered the AquaBasin 30. It holds up to 500 lbs. and our basalt rock was around 200 lbs.

We traced out on the ground where we wanted the basin and dug it out. Then we placed down landscape fabric and some drainage rock before setting in the basin.

We followed the instructions on the AquaBasin 30. The height of the basin should be about 2 inches above ground height making sure it’s level.

Once it’s dug in the ground and you have your gurgler fountain on top, the basin will hold the weight of your fountain (that essentially why they are so expensive). There are drainage holes throughout the top of the basin and it will constantly recycle the water in the basin.

Water fountain basin ready to be dug into ground.

You can read all about the size of basin you need by heading to the Aquascape website. (I’m in no way affiliated with them but their products are everywhere and they are the experts!).

Aquascape fountain basin details. — via Aquascape

4. Install light and vinyl tubing into fountain

Determine the amount of vinyl tubing of you need based on the height of the fountain and distance to the pump.

Determine the placement of the fountain on the basin and where the vinyl tubing will come down from the basin. If the hole in the fountain is not in the centre (like ours), you will need to drill a hole in the basin that’s a bit off to the side. (Check basin for areas where it says do not drill).

Feed the wire of the light down the hole of the fountain.

Then stick the vinyl tubing to the underside of the light and push the hose down the hole too.

Installing water fountain vinyl tubing into water basin.

Holding the rock/fountain on its side, get the wire out from the bottom of the rock, put it in the hole of the basin b/c it has to then it comes out of the hatch.

Attach the light to the vinyl tubing then push the vin down the hole of the rock/fountain.

The trickiest part is aligning the holes so that the vinyl tubing and the wire aren’t pinched.

5. Install the pump

Place the pump in the basin underneath the hatch.

Connect the vinyl tubing to the pump in the basin.

Add water to the basin and test the pump before you bury the wires (in case it doesn’t work!).

Installing basalt rock water fountain over Aquascape water basin.

Bury the light and the pump wires to your electrical source. We had our landscapers take out the freshly laid pavers and add a PVC pipe running underneath the walkway for the power cord.

(We actually bought a solar-powered fountain pump but it was not powerful enough. We jokingly laughed that it was more like a ‘drooler’ fountain than a ‘gurgler’. ) For some reason, there was no electrical box outside of our house so we were trying to avoid hiring an electrician, which we ended up doing in the end.

Then we fed the electrical pump plug through the pipe under the walkway and plugged it into the wall.

Feeding wire through PVC pipe under walkway.

We have a Z wave outdoor smart switch that connects to our home security app. We’ve programmed it so the fountain turns on and off at certain times of the day. It’s a game changer as now we don’t have to worry about plugging and unplugging it!

Close-up of outdoor smart switch for water fountain.

Fill up the basin with water and turn it on!

What do you think? We love it and are surprised at how much we love it. The sound it makes it so calming and serene that we can’t wait to sit out on our deck in the nice weather.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

And be sure to check out our full front yard reveal here!