Inventive recycling

This easy-to-build water feature, made from discarded household items, bubbles soothingly in the smallest of spaces and takes recycling to a new level.

What you Need
Sump (this is buried in the ground and provides a small ‘pond’ for the pump to operate in)
Pond liner, or a small plastic or fiberglass ‘pond’ – we used a 40 kg chlorine container
Empty plastic cold drink bottle for the fountain nozzle
Waterfall submersible pump
Low pressure irrigation pipe or hosepipe
Pipe fittings to join irrigation pipe or hosepipe
Steel mesh and pebbles for décor (optional)
Pebbles, rock or slate to hide the pond edges

Steps

Step 1
Make a paper template in order to mark the position of the holes on the bottom of the cold drink bottle. This will become the fountain nozzle. We used a computer program in order to be more precise and we printed out the template.

Step 2
Use the template to mark out the holes to be drilled in the bottle. Drill the holes, being careful not to split or distort the bottle. How many and what size holes will depend on the effect that you are trying to create and the strength of pump that you have available. Try a few different configurations and mixed hole sizes until you are satisfied with the effect.

Step 3
Use a pipe fitting to connect a length of pipe between the submersible pump and the nozzle. We used a plastic bottle and glued the pipe fitting into the bottle.

Step 4
Optional: Mount a steel mesh over the pump and cover it with pebbles in order to hide the pump from view.

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Step 5
Use pieces of rock or slate to surround the pond in order to hide the container or bucket and make the overall effect more attractive.

Total Cost
Most of these items should be available around the house, with the possible exception of the pump. We had everything, so our only cost was time.

NOTE: Should you experience difficulty in making the nozzle you can purchase a nozzle attachment for any pump from most nurseries.

For all your water feature requirements contact KLB Engineering on 011 668 1923 or visit www.klbengineering.com. This water feature was installed by Craig de Necker of The Friendly Plant in association with KLB Engineering. Contact Craig on 082 805 0910 or visit www.thefriendlyplant.co.za