D.I.Y. STACKED ROCK WATER FEATURE
Attract more birds to your yard or garden with this D.I.Y. stacked rock bubbler water feature. It is the most visited feature in my yard by birds and mammals. Moving water equals healthy water. This easy to build feature allows for great views of birds and the sound alone gives us instant relaxation.
I am a little fish over here in the big world of KZhead. Thank you for subscribing to my channel. I look forward to growing over here with your help.
VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:20 Original Fountain Discontinued
00:42 Fountain Location
01:13 Basin / Bucket Preparation
02:42 Stacked Rocks Needed - Flagstone
03:10 Drilling a Hole in Flagstones
03:35 Pond Liner Preparation
04:34 Submersible Fountain Pump
05:51 Fountain Assembly
06:18 Electricity
06:30 Stacking Rocks
07:30 Cover the Liner
07:52 Same but Easier Version
SUPPLY LIST
Shovel
5 gallon bucket with lid
Playsand
Drill 1/4 inch bit
3/4" and 1 1/2" circular drill bit like a Forstner bit
Half inch fountain hose, length dependent on rock stack height.
Diamond or hammer drill
3/8 inch diamond drill bit (Find a drill bit that is little larger than 1/2" for hose wiggle room)
Rubber pond liner
Rubber EPDM Liner Double-Sided Seam Tape
Flagstones (your preferred size and height)
Extra flagstones or river rocks to cover pond liner
Scissors, X-acto knife or similar
Water hose that reaches feature
Submersible Fountain Pump, Size dependent on rock stack height
Extension, cord if applicable
Please comment with any questions. Happy birdwatching! ~ Alison Kondler
The BEST water feature by far. Easy and cheap. Thank you for this video 🌊
Thanks. 🙏
Love this idea. I have been wanting to add a water feature to my garden. I like the system you presented in the video. Thanks for sharing great ideas!
Great video, really well done!
Beautiful
Hello! I came to say that I was very disappointed to find that you do not have hundreds of videos up on your channel for me to watch. It’s a shame because your voice, humor and mannerisms are absolutely delightful. You are perfect at this! Absolutely perfect! I immediately thought I want to watch more from her. Sooooo…. Chop, chop get busy! lol, just joking! I really do think you have what it takes to be a hugely successful KZheadr. Blessings!
Haha! KZhead has been on the bottom of my content creation list because it doesn’t have the reach like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok nor does it pay small creators. I will for sure make more videos here when I hit all the YT requirements and start monetizing like the other platforms. Hope it won’t take too long. But, in the meantime, check out my Shorts or go over to my Insta, or TT to binge hundreds of my bird related videos. 🥰
Can’t wait to make this when I have my own home 😌 I’m going to make sure I attract all the birds lol
Yay! Great to hear.
This is one of THE BEST videos on making a bubbling stacked rock fountain! Great explanations, visuals, and tips from your experience. Plus you have a fun personality. We could be fast friends. 😂 Thank you!
Wow! Thank you. It’s so neat that people are finally seeing it. It took so long for me to produce.
@@birding_by_ear I bet. I hope you will make more. 😊
@@chelle7362 I agree wholeheartedly! I want to hang out with you guys too! 😃 I immediately thought “Oh I want to watch more of her videos, what a delightful person she is.” Great content. I will build one of these.
Love it! Thank you for showing the second option, I can do that one on my budget.
I wanted a bubbling bird bath and needed a spring project. This is perfect! Thanks for sharing
Yeah! Glad you are inspired. Did you see my other video, floating rock in a pot? It’s so much easier to make and clean. Good luck!
Ive been thinking about doing this very thing! Thank you for the great info! 💚🐦🦋💚
So a post on Facebook and now i subscribed here! Your voice plus the sound of the water in the backgrouns is literally relaxing.... ❤❤❤
Oh neat. Thank you for your support over here. KZhead is a tough one to grow on.
Great idea about the two sided tape! This video is really great; very informative. I appreciate you!
Thanks Jophie.
I love this. I will try to find those stones, and get this made
Awesome! Try a rock landscape yard, ask if they have flagstone scraps. Good luck. 👍🏼
Excellent tips. Thank you.
You are clever and articulate
Very cool, how often do you clean the filter and how?
..I love the pose, ..perhaps ahhh~!!!
Enjoyed your video -- great instruction and humor. The hole drilling feels a bit intimidating, however; so maybe I'll just creatively stack flagstone and rocks to hide the hose. Or maybe I put my big girl panties on and drill the darn holes ;) Best of luck to you. Subscribed.
Yeah! The rock drilling is the fun part. Find thinner flagstones. Good luck. 🍀
I just bought diamond bits so I can drill in rocks, and ceramic pots (for gardening) - problem solved😂❤!!
@@dreed1058 hurray! Let me know how it goes. Don’t forget your safety goggles.
This is great! Thank you for showing us the way. Been wanting to do this for some time now. I may start with the simpler pot one. I do have a question... how do you keep the water fresh? Thanks. 😊
It's a commitment and requires taking the entire feature apart every 2-3 weeks. In between, I drain the water out by adding a hose over the existing tube and water my plants with it. Refill with fresh water from the top. ❤ The birds make it all worth it. The flower pot feature is a lot more manageable with the same draw.
Where you store your wings 🪽
I love this idea I just don’t see it as being practical where I live and how my plumbing is set up.
You are right. It’s a pain to clean having to take it all apart, clean, and put all back together. I do it for the birds it’s their favorite. You might like the bubbler in a pot idea in my videos. Much easier.
Your fountains are lovely. We are in New Mexico and the birds love our water fountains, too. I’m always looking for new fountain ideas. One thing I am really wondering is how to prevent algae in the fountains. Do you have a solution? Thanks.
Yes, algae is a pain. The only solution i have found is to use the existing pump to pump out all the water every two weeks. I water my plants with it. Spray out completely and pump any extra water. Then refill. Someone talked about a UV pump filter that sounds like it may work. I’m planning on posting a video about cleaning them once it gets warmer out.
@@birding_by_ear Thanks for the reply. I’ll share with you the things I do to make my fountains easier to deal with. First, I make my fountains all above ground, usually out of large, pretty pots. If the pot doesn’t already have a hole down low, at or near the bottom, then I drill one to accommodate a short piece of 1/2” drip irrigation tubing (6 inches or so) and seal it to the pot with silicone caulking. Then I insert a 1/2” drip irrigation shut off valve to the end of the tubing that’s outside the pot. This way I can easily empty the pot by turning the valve, and I let the water drain into whichever garden the pot is in. This allows me to change out the water every 2-3 days. I keep the fountains in the shadiest areas of the yard to help prevent fast algae growth. Also, I have a roll of polyester quilt batting that I cut pieces off of to wrap the fountain pumps in a couple of layers of it, securing the batting with string to keep it in place. The batting acts as an extra filter, and it doesn’t impede the flow of water. On the tops of the pots, I place plastic pot saucers that I’ve drilled a hole into to bring the pump hose through, and several smaller holes for the water to drip back down into the pot. Then I place gravel and rocks on top of the saucers so you don’t really see the saucers. Sometimes this requires I give extra support underneath the saucers depending on the weight and size of everything. Feel free to use any of these ideas in future videos. I know you’ve got some similar ideas in your videos already.
@@rocksinmyhead do you have a video on this? Thanks.
@@birding_by_ear Hi, I’m heavy into preparation of my large gardens for the next 2 to 3 weeks. I hope to have time to set up a couple of fountains during this time as well. But, to be honest, I need to get several other things done first. I’ll try to take pics or a short video and get them to you sometime soon. I also like my set up because even if you use a solar pump, the mosquitoes can’t lay their eggs in it at night because there is a physical barrier between them and the water.
you can drill only one hole on top and hide the flexible hole at the back or cover with stone..... i think
Great idea. I do that with one of my fountain, but the hose does get squished over time.
Hi there! What stone (if sandstone is not an option) did you use for your bubbler? I've been through the video a few times but must have missed your recommendation! Thanks! :)
Flagstone that isn’t composed of sand, where when touched sand crumbles off of it. You can get flagstone at a landscape rock yard. Look for a scrap pile for smaller pieces. Good luck with your project. :)
Great idea, what size is the diamond drill bit?
I would suggest a size just a bit larger diameter than the water pump's hose that is going to go through it. You may want to get a smaller diameter bit first and then use the larger size proper bit to ease the drilling process.
You lost me at "drill a hole in the rocks" !!
Lol
How else do you expect the water to be able to bubble in the center?
I just bought diamond bits so I can drill in rocks, and ceramic pots (for gardening) - problem solved😂❤!!
How mush time did it take to drill the stones?
I didn’t drill these rocks, but for my floating rock fountain, it took about 10 minutes per stone. The thinner ones are easier.
I’ve watched so many if these video but can’t find one where they explain about earthing the submersible pump… Did she do that or everybody making these videos are just plugging these pumps without ground wiring them? I’m so confused😪
Extension cord under landscaping rocks plugged into an outdoor GFCI outlet. 18 years now no electric problems.
@@birding_by_ear Thank you so much!!!
So what is the cost per month to run the pump?
Very little. Exact cost not sure.
75 cent