So we are looking into buying a house that has a pool. The one we have possibly settled on has a small backyard and I plan on packing it full of DIY projects. The first is adding a flagstone covered fountain that spills into the pool. Before I get too carried away I wanted to investigate a few things.

1. Can I just split the piping that flows to the jets and have it circulate to the fountain as well? I was just going to split that myself and run the piping up through the fountain and use the pool pump to run it.

2. Will the chlorine keep the fountain fairly clean or will I have to worry about treating the fountain with special care in order to prevent algae explosions?


Any help is appreciated.

I think you will have much better results if you just use the pool as the source for water and a separate pump for the fountain. This way you can regulate the flow rate for the fountain for the best look (and sound). You'll also probably spend less money for a fountain pump vs all the plumbing changes needed to regulate the pool pump pressure.

As long as you are using the pool water as a water source for the fountain, you should not have any algae problems. The chemicals in the pool plus the pool filtering will keep the fountain water clean too.

I agree with Jaybee, but you can split off a line to the fountain and regulate the flow with a valve. But be aware that you will be changing the flow to the pool jets

While a valve would indeed seem to be a good idea, a valve is not designed for that purpose and would cause a back pressure on the pump and could cause it to over heat and burn up or at least trip the over load.
I go with Jaybee's idea on this one.