The sound of running water is very calming to almost anyone, and it doesn’t matter if it is raindrops, a stream or a river, the sounds produce a feeling of serenity and peacefulness. When water is combined with a beautiful bronze fountain, the overall effect is extremely pleasing to both the eyes and the ears. Water fountains add a marvelous touch to almost any yard.

The making of bronze dates back to antiquity. It consists of copper with tin as an additive. Bronze is well known for its resistance to corrosion and durability. Bronze is found in springs, motor bearings, bushings, fittings, tools, musical instruments, statuary, weatherstripping, and other hardware. This metal has many appealing features, especially for outdoor fountains.

Because of the higher manufacturing costs, bronze is normally not used for indoor water fountains. Open-air bronze fountains, on the other hand, exhibit a huge assortment of styles, sizes, and shapes. It’s possible to buy an elegant bronze water fountain to place on your patio, or in your garden or yard for as little as a few hundred dollars. There are fountains that are small and delicate-looking, just the right size for a tiny backyard, while others are huge structures, weighing a ton or more with a price tag to match. These works of art are shaped as animals, plants, fish, birds, mountains, butterflies, and those ugly shapes found in city parks and public squares. Because there is an incredible variety of products offered, finding one that fits your décor and budget should be painless. A word of caution: you should never put plants or fish into a fountain (regardless of size) because the excessive oxygen could kill them, plus the continuously falling water causes a turbulent situation, which puts a strain on the fish.

If you have a pond on your property, adding a fountain, either fixed or floating, will definitely improve the water through aeration, thus keeping out the algae. A second benefit is that the flowing water works as a natural sieve keeping the water clean. And remember that falling water is very hard on fish and plants, so keep them separate. The biggest concern with a pond fountain is the problem of getting electrical power to it. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, hire a qualified electrician to install the circuit. Do not forget, water, electricity and humans don’t mix well. Leaves floating in a quiet pond are infinitely more attractive than dead people!

Building your own fountain is another possibility if you are somewhat electrically and mechanically inclined. Some of the materials you will need to buy are a basin, underwater pump, tubing, electrical wiring, switches, lights and the tools necessary to put it all together. The topic of constructing your own is outside the scope of this article, however, there are several websites that have advice on setting up a bronze fountain. I have built outdoor fountains in the past using rocks and mortar (but not bronze, unfortunately) so here’s some advice: carefully plan it thoroughly ahead of time so you can avoid the anguish of redoing the parts that do not complement your backyard.

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yard-maintenance