Solar Pond Aeration & Fountain Project

The details of the pond:

1. Existing AC Pump: 50 watts(much oversized)
2. The goal?: Replace the existing AC pump which stopped working with the AquaJet solar pump kit. Algae was starting to build up and we were forced to drain the pond.
3. How big was the pond: About 300 gallons
4. Time to build up the system: 1-2 hours (this was part of a BBQ project… let’s say it took a little longer than expected)
5. Settings on the AquaJet Kit: I used the 12V setting (there is a power control on the storage system), to optimize how long my pump would run into the evening. There are three settings, (12,18, and 24V).

What I used to build this fun project:

1. AquaJet 24V Pro night and day pump kit (Below)
2. Landscaping stones

Nice video to check out the different water levels / flows from the pump kit.

First I’ve emptied the pond, removed the old water pump and installed the new solar pump in place where the existing pump was located.

Finding the right location for the solar panel & battery backup. Make sure you select a location for the solar panel which receives the most direct sun during the day (facing south). It’s also import to make sure you don’t mount the solar panel behind a shrub / bush that could partially shade the solar panel during the day. Partial or complete shade on a section of the solar panel I found drastically reduces the power output from the solar panel. The battery storage fit’s nicely behind the solar panel.

You can connect additional extensions accordingly depending on how deep you want your pump below the waterline. We tested up to 4ft (PVC straight pipe), just to see how high we could pump the water. It worked just fine 🙂

Connect the solar panel connector to the connector from the battery storage (make sure to match the connector’s orientation when plugging in or the solar panel won’t charge the battery).

Plug the pump cable into the AquaJet solar pump box.

Test to make sure the solar panel is charging the battery and turn the pump on. Note: the pump needs to be in the water for the pump to turn on (dry run protection).

System light turns Green (showing the battery is charged and delivering power to the pump). The “charge” light is “orange” when the solar panel is charging. If the battery is not charged, the system light will turn red. I didn’t use the timer function, but if you want the pump to run 15 min every hour (for power consumption reasons), just push the timer button.

Slide the AquaJet battery storage behind the solar panel.

Picture perfect! I also changed out the fountain heads for the spray effect, however decided to use the “umbrella” effect first. Below are the two options I would suggest for this type of pond project. The larger AquaJet series pump kit would be more appropriate for a waterfall / pond project. I used the AquaJet-24V pump kit below.