Pondless fountain installation in Boise, Idaho

Pondless fountain installation in Boise is what I suggest when someone tells me, "We love the sound of water, but we have a two-year-old." Or a dog that swims in anything. Or no interest in cleaning a pond. A pondless fountain gives you all the sound and movement of water, with the water itself stored out of sight under the rock.

I'm Kabe Hockema. I've been building landscapes since 2012, and I run every job myself. My fountains use Aquascape components, and they're built pondless. This page explains what that means and why it works so well in Treasure Valley yards. For all my fountain work, start at the fountain contractor page.

What pondless means

A pondless fountain has no pool of standing water. Water bubbles out of a feature, like an urn, a basalt column or a drilled stone. It falls onto a bed of gravel and river rock, then drains through the rock into a buried basin, which is a plastic reservoir that holds the water underground. A pump inside the basin sends it back up to the feature, and the loop repeats.

From above, you see wet stone and moving water. You don't see a pond, a liner or a pump.

Why pondless works well in Boise yards

• Safety. There's no open water deep enough for a child or pet to fall into.
• Less upkeep. No fish, no algae bloom in an open pool, no pond to clean out every spring.
• Less evaporation. Most of the water sits underground, out of the sun and wind. That matters in our hot, dry summers.
• Nowhere for mosquitoes to breed. The water keeps moving and stays mostly below the rock.
• A small footprint. A pondless fountain fits a patio corner, a side yard or a front entry bed.
• An easy winter. In fall you pull the pump and drain the feature. There's no pond to keep open through a freeze.

What's under the rock

The parts you don't see decide how well a pondless fountain works.

The basin. Basin size sets how much water the system holds. A bigger basin means more time between top-offs in summer.

The catch area. This is the gravel ring around the feature that catches falling water and sends it back to the basin. If it's too small, splash lands on soil or pavers and is lost. I size it to the feature and to how windy the spot is.

Pump access. I set the pump so you can reach it without digging. You'll pull it every fall and clean the intake during the season.

The lid. The basin lid carries the weight of the feature and the rock on top. Gravel goes over it, so the whole thing blends into the bed.

Keeping water in during a dry summer

A pondless fountain uses far less water than a pond, but you'll still top it off. Hot afternoons and dry wind take water through evaporation and splash. Two things help. A lower, gentler flow keeps spray inside the rock. And an auto-fill valve, which adds water from a supply line when the level drops, means you don't have to remember. Fill it with house water, not irrigation ditch water, which can carry silt and weed seeds into the basin.

Winter shutdown

Before the first hard freeze, unplug the pump, lift it out and store it in a bucket of water where it won't freeze. Drain any urn or vessel so it can't crack. In spring, set the pump back, refill and run it. I show you how the first time, and after that it's a short job.

What a pondless fountain costs

Aquascape fountain kits start at $5,500. The final number depends on the feature you choose, the basin size, how far power has to run and how easy your yard is to reach. If you want more water movement than a fountain gives, a pondless waterfall with a small stream starts at $9,500. It uses the same buried basin idea on a bigger scale. You can read more on my pondless waterfalls page and my waterfall installation page.

How it fits with the rest of the yard

A pondless fountain doesn't need a big project around it, but it pairs well with one. Out back, it makes a natural focal point for a seating area, and my page on backyard fountain installation covers where to put it. To see the build step by step, look at fountain installation.

Where I build pondless fountains

I build pondless fountains in Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Garden City, Star, Kuna, Nampa, Caldwell, Middleton and Hidden Springs. I also work in Sun Valley and Ketchum, where a pondless setup makes the long winter shutdown simple.

Get started

Want the sound of water without a pond to babysit? Schedule a consultation for pondless fountain installation in Boise, and I'll show you where one fits and what it takes.