I really wanted to like this fountain. It's very cute and my cats love to drink out of it which stops then from begging me to turn on the sink.

When I first got it, I did exactly as the instructions said. I cleaned everything thoroughly and carefully, even the rocks. I only put in clean big rocks and left out all the small gritty ones. Pouring in only filtered water, I turned on the fountain and it was beautiful and silent.

The next day, motor noise. I thought this could be from low water. Filled it up a little bit and waited. Now the sound was muffled but it wasn't as silent as the day before. So I dumped everything out, cleaned it again, and left out the rocks this time. Silence. Awesome.

Not even two hours later and my cats not even touching the fountain in this time, the motor sounds again. At this point I just try and ignore it.

I've cleaned the fountain EVERYDAY since then. And the motor sounds just keep getting worse and worse. WTF??? I woke up to it this morning and it seemed like it was practically shouting throughout all my apartment. Dumped out water. Cleaned it again. Plugged it in. This time, still a rumbling noise from the fountain. What the hell is this. Now I'm just pissed off at this point.

Only reason why I'm giving it two stars is because my cats still love this thing. I'm about to just throw it out. Please tell me if anyone has has any luck keeping this piece of !!!! quiet. I'm debating on whether to try my luck on a new one since it keeps my picky cats happy but it's definitely not worth this annoying noise.

To be honest, I always second guess myself when I read one star reviews on here. I really rely heavily on the advice of counsel when making my decisions, and sometimes that really works against me. Often times I'll find a product that has 70% or higher 5 star reviews, but even three one star write ups can make me doubt everything I've ever considered buying on this site.

The same would have gone for this fountain. Except, the critical difference was that I didn't look at the reviews and I didn't buy it. Browsing on the site one day to fill up my wish list for my birthday, I decided that a fountain would be JUST the accent piece that my room needed. So when I saw the look of this one, I was instantly sold! Amidst doing other things, I didn't want to lose track of this item, so I added it to my list to look into again later. Well, long story short I forgot. And when my birthday came around and I unwrapped it, I was both happily surprised and terrified. I would feel so bad if my family and spent the $20 and it didn't work, and when I saw all the one star reviews on amazon my panic only worsened.

Either way I set it up that day and turned it on, and at first it was great. But within twenty minutes the motor of the little fountain was louder than my ceiling fan! I was so disheartened thinking that I wouldn't ever use this fountain as I was breaking down the box, when lo and behold, a small slip of white paper fell out.

It was a note from the manufacturer, and it stated that you needed to first THOROUGHLY CLEAN the rocks provided and to use filtered water when running the fountain. Thinking that I had nothing to lose I tried it out. So I took out the rocks and cleaned them, and I cleaned the fountain itself too, and I boiled some water on my stove. After letting the water cool and the rocks dry I put the fountain back together, put in the rocks and poured in the water.

Turning it on I waited, hearing the motor sputter a bit before it went silent. I couldn't believe that it worked so well and so fast, but it has been a week now and I've been waiting for the motor to get loud again ever since! So far it's been ideal, and I just make sure to refill it when its low with purified water and I haven't had a single issue at all.

I don't know if this will work for everyone, and I know that this problem wasn't what others had faced (like cracked plastic bases, dead led lights, and leaking) but it has solved one of the most complained about problems-- the unwanted nosies-- for me!

Sorry about the long winded review, but I hope that if you took the time to read it that it will help you get the most out of your purchase like I am. Ever since the problem was fixed I've been in LOVE with this fountain!

I liked the light, the size and the style of the fountain but the most important... The sound... I was expecting to hear the relaxing water sound but the noise of the machine is louder and annoying! I don't understand how they could do a fountain when the noise of the motor is louder than the sound of the water! It's disappointing!

Regarding my pics: I put a 10" x 10" black square plate under my fountain. It does NOT come with the item. Same with the cool glass frog; it does NOT come with the fountain.

As long as you treat this fountain properly, it should work well for you. Let's face it, people, this is not an expensive fountain. I took a chance on it thinking, I can return it if it does not work well. It is doing great so far, and I have had it running nonstop for almost 2 months.

I put a square black candle dish from Ikea under this to catch any potential water drops, and it looks great with this fountain. I also removed a bunch of the rocks; I just didn't want so many in there. I added a couple cool rocks of my own, and a glass frog that I already had.

DETAILS:
*This is an item that looks great once it's together, but it is made of cheap plastic. It's fragile. (I wouldn't let kids or pets near it.)
*The light on it is warm/orange, like candlelight, not a bright white.
*Since I read some reviews and the instructions, I knew to do the following:
-Thoroughly wash everything before assembling, even the filter and the rocks.
-Use distilled water.
-Keep the water at the fill line (which is WAY at the top; if this is not on a level surface you'll almost spill over the top).
-Every day, I have added a little water to keep it at the fill line, and the pump has been quiet.
-Use an algaeacide so that algae does not clog up stuff. (I use one drop every several days)
-Periodically disassemble, wash everything out, and reassemble. (I have only done this once in 2 months)

Conclusion: This fountain works great for me so far (2 months in), and was the right price point.

Really loud and Leaking!! I fallowed the instructions, cleaned it so theres no dirt, and it's still loud. Not only that but it started to leak out of the bottom?? Very disappointed. Luckily my wood dresser didn't get ruined. Don't buy.