DIY Pet Fountain Guide (Ultra Cheap and Disposable)

Let me start out by saying one of my kitties is such a picky princess that she will absolutely refuse to drink still water to the point where she got sick and extremely dehydrated.

So out of necessity and lack of disposable income I built an effective fountain that she loves.

Let's start with tools, you'll want a sharp pair of scissors, 2 empty 1 gallon plastic publix square bottom water jugs, a box cutter, some ductape, cheese cloth and an aquarium pump. If you have an object that can punch pencil sized round holes that would help too

The pump should be cleaned throughly and make sure it's a submersible pump. The gallons per hour (or gph) should be around 90-175 but if it's faster don't worry that can be fixed.

Here's a cheap pump link.


Now take the box cutter and slice a horizontal slit under where the plastic handle is and then start cutting away everything above the slit. What you're left with should be a square half of the bottom of the jug.

Now woth the other jug simply repeat the process and now you have 2 square halves.

Now take your pump and place it in one of the halves near the middle flat area so it rests nearly evenly. Now take the other half and gently place it on top of the half with the pump and mark the area where the pump spout is and then cut a small hole to snugly fit the spout, then push the top half down and it should now be held in place by the spout.

If your pump is missing the plastic protruding spout you can take some rigid plastic tube that can be found at any Home Depot and use that instead. If the plastic tubing doesn't quite fit the hole on the pump you can place a small square of cheese cloth under the tube and push it in and it should fit.

Now once the two halves are together you want to poke a few holes in the center of the top half so the water will drain back in to the bottom half I do this with scissors but a knife or drill works too. The amount of holes you need depends on your preference and the flow rate on your pump.

Omce that's done push the top half down a bit and then tape up the area where the two halves meet. Don't worry if the corners have gaps, you won't be filling it that high anyway.

Now pour some bottled water in and plug it in to the wall and you're done.

It sounds like a long process but it takes me about 3 minutes and when it gets dirty I just throw away the jug halves and wash the pump with some soap. It's much cheaper than buying a pet fountain and if it breaks or stops working it's a piece of pie to throw it out and build another one.

Hope you and your furry friends enjoy!


"Hey baby, I hear the blues a-callin'
Tossed salad and scrambled eggs.."

 

Bump

"Hey baby, I hear the blues a-callin'
Tossed salad and scrambled eggs.."