How to Make a Gazing Ball Tabletop Fountain

Bring the relaxing sound of flowing water inside with a tabletop fountain.

Tabletop fountains are fairly easy to make and the materials list is short and inexpensive. A gazing ball tabletop fountain brings a little bit of old-fashioned gardening to the home or office. Gazing balls, also known as yard globes, originated in 13th century Venice but were quite popular in Victorian times. A gazing ball for a tabletop fountain can be made of mirrored glass, which would be most similar to the traditional yard globes. Stainless-steel globes are available in a variety of sizes, but can be quite heavy. Alternatively, a solid glass sphere, either translucent or opaque, can be used.

Things You'll Need

• waterproof bowl
• submersible pump
• flexible plastic tubing
• rocks or marbles
• gazing ball or globe

Instructions

1. Select a container for your fountain. Use almost any kind of waterproof material for the bowl, and it doesn't have to be round. Ceramic, plastic, glass and metal containers will work well. Make sure that any ceramic container is glazed; terra cotta is not a good choice.

2. Place the submersible pump into the container. Secure the pump with the suction cups that come with it, or weigh it down with rocks. Place the pump at the bottom of the container so that it will sit in enough water to remain completely covered.

3. Connect the plastic tubing to the pump's spout, and secure the tubing where you want the water flow to start. For a slow water flow, use tubing 1/2 inch in diameter. For a faster water flow, use thinner tubing.

4. Fill the container with decorative rocks, shells, or glass pebbles. Place an upside-down plastic container or wire metal cage over the top of the pump if you are going to add a lot of stones to keep the pump from being damaged by the weight of the rocks.

5. Scoop out a depression in the rocks and place the gazing ball on top of them. Make sure the depression is deep enough that the moving water will not make the ball roll off the fountain.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean the fountain monthly.

• Clean the tubing with a wire brush or pipe cleaner.

• Check flea markets and online auctions for unique gazing balls.

• Put rubber feet on metal containers so they don't scratch furniture.

• Don't let the pump run without water.

• Don't let algae build up in the fountain.

References

• HGTV: How to Build Tabletop Fountains
• Old Fashioned Living: Build a Tabletop Water Fountain
• Kent Kobayashi: Building Your Own Indoor Tabletop Water Fountain

Resources

• Pond Doc: Legend of the Glorious Garden Gazing Globe
• Fountains n Slate: Fountain Pump Information
• Fountain Pump and Supply: Fountain Making Advice and Consultation