New Pump In Town

This is a tale of a typical summer afternoon when the phone rings but it isn't a "scam likely" call, as it turns out the voice on the other end asked if I could assist her in finding the pump in her fountain and replacing it. I assured her that I was up to the challenge and would be at her house the next morning. What I found was a neat stack of flat limestone rocks roughly stacked twelve to fifteen inches high surrounded with smaller river stones in a semi-circular basin emanating from the front porch of the residence.  The pump power cord was very well hidden so at first glance that pump could have been anywhere under those rocks. After moving a few stones, and exposing the power cord, the location of the pump was revealed and removed from the fountain. The next hour or so was spent visiting the three local stores that would or could sell submersible pumps of this size but to no avail. I informed the owner that I would source a pump online and I would get back with her on what I found.  During the discovery of the existing pump, the owner indicated that the old pump had a minimum flow and she wanted a more visual effect from the fountain. I found that Lowes sold the old pump and that pump had a performance of 150 gph. Here's where it gets interesting. I searched the internet for reviews on small submersible pumps, and three out of four reviews I looked at had this particular brand of pump that I had not heard of. I researched the company and I found that it has been around for more than 10 years. Now this company touches the fountain business but its main business is horticulture products. The pump I chose has a performance of 800 gph at a 10-foot head. This pump came with 3 adapters for 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" vinyl hose, it can be throttled by restricting the intake with a simple quarter turn from full close to full open. This pump came with suction cups for mounting inside aquariums which also isolates any noise vibration from the pump. I bought this pump through Amazon and had it within a couple of days. The amazing aspect of all of this is that this pump cost under $25. Online this pump is found by searching VIVOSUN 800 GPH, the model number is 332572J and the ASIN number is B07L54HB83. I had prepared myself to be disappointed with questionable quality and craftsmanship because of the price but truly I was not disappointed. That pump performed fantastically. Whereas the old pump had water trickling out of the top, the new pump had at least an 8 to 10-inch vertical stream emitting from the top of those stones. The owner had some small flat stones that she used to divert the water stream and direct it to where she wanted it to go. I relocated stones so that no support blocks were visible, added water to the basin to replenish what we had taken out and once again hid the power cord so if you saw the cord you were looking for it. The homeowner was happy her fountain was showing more white water than before and sounding much better.  I walked away with a satisfied customer and knowledge of another source for submersible pumps that don't break the bank.