Create a water feature with ease with Atlantic’s 3 Piece Natural Basalt Kit! Atlantic Basalt Kits have everything included to create a working water feature with natural stone with minimal time and effort. In this blog and our YouTube video, we’ll walk you through every step of installing a 3 Piece Basalt Kit!
What’s Included in the 3 Piece Natural Basalt Kit?
- 18″, 24″ and 30″ Natural Basalt columns
- FB4600 Fountain Basin
- TT2000 Pump
- FBKIT3
- Triton 3-Way Diverter
- 20′ of ¾” diameter kink-free hose
- (3) standpipe sealant strips
- (3) ¾” insert x ¾” socket fitting
- (2) 1½” cord stopper for conduit sleeve
How to Install
The 3 Piece Basalt Column Kit, with two people, should take less than two hours to install! We’ve created a how to install videos to help walk you through the process.
In our install videos, we show you how to complete this water feature, step by step: excavating, installing the basin, installing the plumbing and adjusting the columns.
Watch our how to install video here!
Tools You’ll Need
For the Excavation
- Wheelbarrow
- Shovel
- Tamper
For Setting the Basin
- 4ft Level
For the Plumbing
- Tubing Cutters or PVC Saw
- Screw Driver or Nut Driver
Step-By-Step: Installing the 3-Piece Basalt Column Kit
Excavating & Installing the Basin
After selecting the site, excavate a five foot diameter circle about 18″ deep, leaving the soil evenly spread around the perimeter. Level and tamp the bottom of the hole. Place the Fountain Basin in the hole orienting the pump chamber towards the electric supply.
Please note: you will need to provide 115V service for the pump and optional lights within ten feet of the Basin. Check that the Basin is level.
The matched Fountain Basin, Pump and plumbing kit make installing the Triple Basalt Columns easy. To make it even easier, remove the basin to install the pump and Diverter before setting it in the hole.
Installing the Plumbing
Following the provided diagram, thread the Male Adapter into the top of the pump, glue the Street 90 into the Male Adapter and the close nipple into the other side of 90. Glue the 45 degree elbow to the nipple, then loosely fit the rubber coupling over the 45. Insert the 3-Way Diverter into the hole on the side of the pump chamber, then tighten the rubber coupling around the 3-Way Valve and the 45 elbow to complete the pump installation
If you desire, it’s easiest to install the Automatic Fill Valve now also (Not Included). Drill a 7/8″ hole on the outside wall between the pump chamber and the conduit chases and install the valve following the included directions.
Replace the basin in the excavation and check again that it is level in all directions. Connect the Autofill, then backfill and lightly step the soil in around the edges.
Installing the Columns
It doesn’t matter which columns you use where, but it is easiest to plumb the longest, outside tubing run first, then the middle, then the short inside run. Figure out which column you are setting to the right of the pump chamber, where the longest run of tubing will end.
Move the column to the top of the basin, aligning the hole in the bottom with the plumbing channel. Carefully, lean the column over and set it on its side with the bottom of the basin still lined up with the channel. Push one end of the kink-free tubing up into the column from the bottom out the top.
To keep the water from running back down the bore alongside the tubing, instead out of the top of the column, you will need to apply putty to the tubing at the top of the column. Sealing around the tubing keeps all the water bubbling out the top of the column and keeps water from freezing and expanding inside the column, potentially damaging the column in a cold snap.
Then run the tubing back along the outside channel to the 3-Way Diverter. Set the column upright so that the tubing sits in the plumbing chase. Cut the tubing and slip it on the barbed outlet of the outside valve.
Repeat for the other two columns.
When all three Columns are connected, open all three valves on the 3-Way Diverter, fill the basin and plug in the pump. Adjust the valves as needed to balance the flow starting with the shortest column, then the middle, finally the tallest. Remove the valve handles and store, then cover the basin with the ¾” or larger gravel of your choice.
Installing Optional Lighting
Columns can be lit two different ways – from the inside and from the outside. To light Atlantic’s Basalt Columns from the inside, use Atlantic’s Fountain Lights. To light from the outside, use Atlantic’s Spotlights or Ring Light.
To make lighting the plume of water at the top of the column from the inside easier, Atlantic takes two extra steps that others don’t. First, Atlantic bores the entire column to 1 3/8″ in diameter, large enough to accommodate both the tubing and the light cord. Then, Atlantic opens the bore at the top of the column to a full 2″ in diameter, creating a pocket 5″ deep, where the water comes out. This larger pocket helps to buffer the jet of water shooting up from the stone and also accommodates 2″ diameter fountain lights. These fountain lights cannot be directly seen in the pocket. This gives the effect of a liquid torch at the top of the stone at night.
You can also combine the fountain lights with external lights. Set small spotlights at the base of the stones to shine upwards onto their sides or place a ring light in the center of the group of three columns .
If you have decided to illuminate the water flowing out of the tops of the Basalt Columns, to give an attractive “liquid torch” effect, install Atlantic Fountain Lights before installing the plumbing.
Attach the light to the fitting, gluing the light into the fitting if necessary. Thread the light cord through the Column from the top out the bottom and pull the cord through, leaving the light a few inches from the top of the column. Push one end of the roll of tubing up from the bottom of the column to the top until it sticks out a few inches, then insert the barbed fitting into the tubing. Apply the included putty to the bottom of the light as shown.
Gently push the light down into the 5 inch deep pocket at the top of the column, using the other end of the tubing to press the putty firmly but gently into the pocket. Do not pull on the tubing, to avoid disconnecting the light.
Carefully stand the column up, making sure the tubing and the light cord are safely seated in the channel under the column, and not pinched.
Now you know all the steps to create your own 3 Piece Natural Basalt Column Kit on your own!
Be sure to check out our YouTube for more how to install videos! And if you create your own Basalt Column fountain set, be sure to tag us in your pictures on social media!
About the Author:
Caitlyn Winkle
After graduating from the University of Akron, Caitlyn joined Atlantic-OASE in the fall of 2019. Caitlyn manages the social media and online content for the company. She also supports the Atlantic-OASE Professional Contractor (APC) Program and Marketing Departments in creating marketing and advertising strategies and plans.