8W 80GPH Solar Pond Filter Fountain

#PopoSoap - as mentioned in the last review, PopoSoap has been helping me to achieve a project as we did it know how the pump would work in a tall planter used as a reservoir! We are using the 8w solar battery run dry protection pump as supplied by PopoSoap to see if it works! This is a follow up to the last review!
Attempt 2!
So after the failure of the drainage sealing I had to start again! Took it all apart and re sealed the planter drainage holes this time sandwiching the hole with plastic cut from a old box lid and used aquarium silicone sealer to encase the plastic block on the inside and outside of the drainage holes. Then re inserted the smaller plant saucer used in the base of the pot and sealed with aquarium sealer the. Left to dry. I. Bought a second 30cm plant saucer and adapted the first one to form a base with more drainage in and 3 piece of wood as a support for the top saucer, when stacked this left a small air gap all around so that when the water reaches the overflow holes drilled around the top lip of the upper saucer it flows round the underside of the saucer onto the saucer below and back into the reservoir. Worked! Then set up the pump adding an additional brick under to lift the pu p higher and shorten the height the water has to go up to try and help the flow. This time we used the copper pipe at the bottom by the pump help in place by rubber o rings and the pipe goes through so it cannot fold over or kink, we cut the pipe longer this time to allow the saucer to be lifted or removed without dismantling totally. Then placed the pump in on top of the brick, then place a round pond basket upside down over the pump with the output and power coming through holes in the basket and sat a brick on top to keep it in place. Then to the top. We found the old food of a camping chair which was basically a shot pipe with a flat round base, perfect to take the fountain pipe and fountain head this let us glue that in place flush to the saucer giving the fountain a stable starting point and stopped it falling over, the pipe and short plastic pipe that the fountain connects to then sit in this perfect keeping it in place no movement and support. We drilled a hole in a rock which sat over this pipe and then filled rocked under to support the tock. Once all in place using tufts of filter cotton and tweezers to stuff the cotton into gaps in the rock then flooding that cotton with aquarium rock glue which sets instantly forming a bond between the rocks that can be tapped loose to remove, this held the main rocks in place so it could be moved. We put anoth er piper disc in the saucer and drilled a couple of holes in the base to let water flow out from the bottom to prevent stagnant water (then later stuck gorilla tape over them as too many) and drilled around the top lip for over flow all round the saucer. Then connected it all up carefully sizing rh r pipe so there wasn’t too much pipe which could kink but enough we clause lift the saucer off without disconnecting. We found that the flow worked better the shorter and less bent the pipe, the height of our plant pot reservior is our issue, with a mains powered one it would be fine but solar needs a little more omph to lift it the height we need. In a shallower wider pot this would work amazing just we need the height to keep the dog out. We also found that when the reservoir was FULL the pump worked better! We still had issue with irregular flow and flow coming and going which in part is due to the power needed to lift the water the gp height we have and the intricacies of solar power, then I had a idea, when I kept my finger on the bell fountain head it kept the flow consistent and unaffected by wind or movement, I popped a “skimmer” type river rock on the top and it worked! Ideally I need a slightly bigger one but for now it’s working it keeps the flow regular and wind or movement can’t affect the screw in flow adjuster! This pump is amazing, for a lower pot and wider would make a amazing bird bath or water feature and the fact you can get a power adapter if you find the solar isn’t consistent is good as you have that option to add in. We have no power there so solar is all we can do, I’m loving the effect and without a dog about you could make this so much more effective by using a smaller wider pot and the flow would be a lot better. I’m looking forward to talking with Smile again and discussing the progress. Smile thought a 12w solar would be better for the height so we are waiting for stock of the normal without LEDs to come in, LEDs woudl scare the birds! I love how helpful Poposoap are and how interested in what you want to create. I’d recceomend this to anyone, the limit is your imagination with less height!

#PopoSoap I contacted Poposoap with a few questions prior to purchase, and they were interested in what I was trying to achieve and kindly sent me this 8w solar pump to see if it would work! I chatted to a person called Smile, they were so helpful. Still are! We are working out a few hiccups which is more to do with how im using the pump rather than the actual pump. Smile sent me a pump with dry run protection and a battery back up! Very glad too as after creating the first attempt my pot sprung a leak and emptied overnight, so we took it all apart and started again!
I wanted to make a bird bath to keep the birds out of my dogs water bowl, I didn’t know that birds can transfer Giardia Parasite and also bird flu to dogs vi the water! Sadly our puppy got a Giardia parasite, which started this project. I can thank PopoSoap enough for their help in trying to work out what will work and the size of pump we will need. Ideally a powered pump would give far better results nd consistent but as we have no way to get power there solar it is. However smile did say that you can get an adapter to connect to the solar pumps to then power them direct so that is good to know.
Attempt 1!
We bought a tall plant pot as a reservoir and a single 30cm plant saucer and a smaller one that fit in the base of the pot, a 23cm round pond basket, a china cup, a couple of bricks and a selection of river rock washed. We sealed the drainage holes in the planter, then using the same aquarium sealer we sealed the smaller saucer inside the base of the planter. We threw in a copper disc and then sat a brick in the bottom. Set the pump up and tested it in a bucket to see how to worked. Did very well on the little extensions but on the pipe the flow was less the more pipe the less flow, due to the force needed to get the water up the pipe. As our reservoir pot is tall - to keep the dog out - we cut the pipe a little short, it reached the plant saucer just. We secured the pipe to the saucer with a few o rings and a bit of copper pipe! Wasn’t very straight! Before connecting it all up we took the pond basket and made a hole of the cable and the pump output and carefully slid the pond basket over the pump to help keep debris away from the pump, and sat a brick to keep it in place. We submerged the cup in water then slowly drilled a hole in the base to let water drain and so circulate without getting stagnant water. We then drilled a few holes on the base of the larger saucer. Then stacked pebbles and rocks about the pipe in the middle and propped it so the little bell fountain filled the cup and the saucer. It was working okay. Not perfect but due to the height the flow was struggling. Smile thought we needed the next pump up, a 12w, we are waiting for the non led one to come in stock to see if that works better. In the mean time I thought I’d post this. If you were using a ground based pot sunk in the ground a shorter planter the 8w would work amazing. We did learn it over over flows well too, so we drilled a few holes around the upper lip so when it reaches that level the water flows back inside and this worked well. It wasn’t exactly as I thought but as a project in progress it worked. We struggled with the flow but this was due to the pot height and planned to investigate however the dry run protection was tested over night and saved the pump! We sprung a leak! It was working well and looked amazing. Will post attempt 2 seperate as there isn’t enough characters in this text box!

We built a small garden waterfall and pond. The pump and solar/battery unit are working very well. It even survived a tree branch falling on it. The pump generally runs with daylight. A larger battery would have been nice. Also, we are very happy with the responses from Technical Support.

Great for small ponds. I wouldn’t recommend for large ponds because the spout doesn’t have very strong power. Works great and a good addition to my pond.

So far so good! This fountain was easy to set up & get working immediately out of the box, pretty much. I have cleaned the filter once so far which was easy to do, and quick. We are using the fountain to filter & aerate a 100-gallon stock tank with fish and I am happy to see the water clearing up. The fish must be happier!

We just started dabbling in water features for our garden so we went with this pump/fountain for a half barrel patio pond. So far, it’s been working great and we’re happy with the purchase.

works very well. It is true that it is very sensitive to clouds and shade.
My pond is a mini-pond: 2 feet 16 round and 7 inches deep. Elevated the pond with a small brick.
Very easy set up.

I love this solar fountain! I got it for my chickens (and any other creatures who want a drink), but what I didn’t anticipate is how much I would enjoy it, too! I spend more time just sitting outside now. Water features create a sense of peace and I love, love, love that it is solar.

The fountain is the perfect size and power for a small pond. I initially used it as a fountain in a sunny spot and later moved it to a part-shade pond and attached it to a spitter. Set-up was a breeze and the fountain even works on partly cloudy days.

Flow rate, elevation, everything works exactly as I needed.

Love it!

Had this for a few months now and only had to clean it once. The water is fairly clean for a pond. Only works when the sun is hitting the panel so a tip to note is to make sure it's in a super sunny location. It's perfect for my little pond.

At the time of review this setup was under 50 dollars which I feel is an awesome price. I have the ability to test lots of solar pumps for my three different outdoor ponds. Nothing about this particular one is unique on the market. The box, medium, pump, and parts are all replicated thousands of times by different sellers.The draw on this one is the little battery behind the panel.It genuinely makes this one better than all the others out there.Getting full sun for about 8 hours a day keeps this thing running nearly 24/7.Now thats not to say that it works at full power that entire time and it is much strong when it has direct sun on the panel.It took my husband, my dad, and me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that the attachments are best on the hose itself, which is first attached to the pump.It's a very slow flow even in full sun but that's something I wanted in this particular case.

Exactly what I wanted. It took 10 minutes to hook up and it looks fantastic. It’s the perfect size for my small pond.

So far so good not strong but works great

Great little powered pump/filter! Using it in a little pond that has some minnows and a tadpole. Eventually we will add 1 or 2 koi. Currently it is working great!

Edit: Battery backup does not work. As soon as the sun sets and the ambient light is too low the pump stops working.Works well and was easy to set up. Comes with a ground stake or you can attach it to a fence (assuming you don’t have a block wall since the screws look rather small). I am going to hazard a guess that you would want to upgrade the screws. Right now I have it on a pipe that I happened to have that fits where the stake would insert. I bought the one with the battery backup. At the moment the fountain does not last long once the sun has set. It is dusk and the pump just turned off. I need to get a longer pipe so that I can angle the panel to capture more sun. At the moment it gets morning and midday direct sun, but is also in a party shady part of the yard. For now it runs from sun up until sun down.ProsEasy to put togetherComes with filter mediaEasy to follow directionsHas decent flow even when elevating the tube to the highest level.Doesn’t seem to need bright full sun to run.Sounds lovelyDecent priceI have it in a 25” diameter 80 liter half barrel pot and it does a great job of circulating the water.Seems durable.Cord is a decent length, and seems to be adequate.ConsThe clip that holds the panel to the mounting bracket does not snap into place. It pretty much depends on gravity to stay together. So don’t tip it upside down or it will crash into the top of your foot. That said, the panel survived the fall and still works perfectlyUnsure about the ability to charge the extra battery. Seems like it requires strong sunlight to both run and charge the battery beyond being able to run when clouds block the sun for a bit.Two of the disks have the same star pattern which means you have one less option than advertisedDoes not come with a diverter to adjust the flowThe head that makes the water form a dome is meh. Forms a very small dome that is underwhelming and not worth using.The panel is not a discrete size, which could be a negative for some. I don’t mind. I will be placing it behind a rose bush that will mostly camouflage it without shading it.

Surprisingly it works well. Wish the fountain was a bit taller but works for what I need it for. Had to place a brick in the pound for it to stick out of the water.