We had two goals with this stone; to have the stone bleed at multiple levels, and a more secure base. If you choose to build one of these, please be careful since it does involve water and electricity.

¼” Plexiglas was used for the tanks which provided a stronger tank. The lower tank is the only thing that supports the stone. “Fins” were placed in the tank and the stone slides down in between the fins. Triangles were also glued to the bottom which would “dig” into the stone.
However, when it was first tried outside, wind moved the Styrofoam back and forth causing it to dig into the fins, so pieces were added between the fins. Holes were notched out of the bottom spacers to allow the water to flow back to the pump.
The back supports are higher to support the stone from falling backwards. If we were to build this tank again, we would use a solid piece going all the way across the tank, and the fins behind it, instead of cutting pieces to fit between the fins.
Here’s the Styrofoam structure of the base. The small sections are for visual appearances only.
The lower tank (before modifications) sitting inside the base.
We used an indoor / outdoor fountain pump. This one cost $19.00 at a home improvement center. When looking for a pump, make sure it can pump the water high enough for your stone. The ratings should be on the packaging.
The upper tank has one ½” feed tube and five ¼” tubes which feed the bullet holes.
At first the tubes were placed inside the holes, but the water shot out of the holes and could not be contained.
So another method was created. Slots were carved out of the stone and the tubes was glued flush into the slots. A small piece of Plexiglas was glued over the hole.
This allowed the water to pour into the hole without any force, resulting in the water running nicely out of the hole.
A picture of the stone before it bled. The bullet holes were easily created by taking a ½” piece of wooden doweling, placing on the back where you want a hole, and quickly pushing down on the Styrofoam which causes a piece to pop out. The sides are ½” pieces of Styrofoam. We glued and pushed in toothpicks to hold the piece in place, especially around the curved top. See other projects for more information regarding creating a stone.
A side view of the bleeding. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or to send us pictures of your work. We would like to see them!