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Placing your water feature in direct sun can speed up evaporation, leading to pump damage and algae growth. Shade or partial shade serves as the ideal location for most water features—just watch out for tree and plant debris that may fall in and clog the pump.

While they’re popular and have a lot of pros, the cons of river rocks include the following:

• River rocks don’t break down or provide nutrients to plants. 

• These stones can get hot and scorch nearby plants. 

• River stones may heat the surrounding soil to inhospitable temperatures. 

• Rocks can block rainwater from seeping into the ground if installations are too thick or tightly packed.

Most downsides occur when using river rock as mulch in gardens and flower beds. However, you can still incorporate river rocks into your landscape as long as you use them in the correct ways.

Smaller, pondless water features like bird baths, self-contained fountains, and bubbling rocks are much lower maintenance than their counterparts that include ponds. Pondless features help you avoid high pond maintenance costs and allow you to spend more time enjoying the water feature and less time on upkeep.

Most water features do not use a lot of electricity, averaging between 100 and 250 watts per day. The size of the motor can impact electricity usage. To reduce electricity usage, consider using a timer to turn the fountain off at night and when you’re away from your home. Solar power is another way to defray electricity costs after you recoup the cost of installing the solar components.