When the hot, sticky days hit, you try to use all your senses to keep yourself cool. And no one can deny the fact that the elements of sight and sound have an amazing psychological effect, even when the temperature soars. And one of the most cooling and relaxing sounds is that of a trickling spring. It not only relaxes the mind but also helps the body to unwind. In the city, the sound of gushing water is enough to drown out the sounds of the daily hustle and bustle of life. It also works wonders to the cause of calming and refreshing the spirit.

The glinting, reflective surface of water can have the soothing effect on the nerves. It is this large list of benefits of the coolness of water that drives a number of people to recreate the effects of water in their outdoor living area. The most popular items are outdoor water fountains to serve this purpose.

These outdoor water fountains rely on pumps to circulate water through the feature. The water is pumped up through plastic tubing and released into the fountain, returning to the bottom where it is pumped up the tubing again.

Most pumps run on an electrical connection but some smaller fountains are operated using batteries. Also available are solar units that require no electrical hook-up.

In order to make an outdoor water fountain one might require the following elements:
-A "bottom" which is the place where the pump is located and the place where the water returns. This can be a large pot, an urn, a trough and so on.
-A "top" which is the place from which the water will emerge. This can be a small pot, a fanciful creature such as a frog, a conch shell, etc.
- A "middle" is the water course which will receive the water from the top and return it to the bottom. This can be pots, pebbles, shells, marbles, or even empty space, creating a freefall.
- A pump. Crucial attention needs to be given to two features of the pump: maximum gallons per hour (gph) and maximum lift.
The gph can vary from 35 gph for a small battery-operated tabletop unit to over 600 gph for large garden fountains. It is important to choose the appropriate pump with the right amount of gph depending on the size of the water feature.
The maximum lift figure tells you how high you can expect your pump to push the water. So now you are ready to soothe your senses with the calming sounds of moving water and keeping your outdoor space cool too.

 ~  author S.Kadiwala

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