Built a bioactive terrarium/vivarium for my crested rainforest gecko. Wanted a fountain to cycle the water through the substrate and also act as a water dish for my little guy. This was perfect. I installed a 95 GPH pump in the substrate so it would have enough power to give it a 2.5 foot lift (I doubt the pump it came with would have the power for what I needed). I was able to connect the tubing of my pump to the original tubing of the fountain so aesthetically it would appear to function how it was designed with the water coming out and flowing how it is shown. Setting it up with the higher powered pump allows the water in the substrate to get filtered all the way through the system to clean and maintain the water, while allowing it to flow out of the front of the fountain so I don't have to ever clean my gecko's "water dish". It also maintains the humidity of my tank and waters my plants. I took netting and wrapped a ball of small rocks. I placed the ball directly under the front of the fountain going out a few inches. Then I put a small layer of soil over them and covered it with a plant that likes to be continually wet. The rocks allow the water to flow through without soaking the surrounding soil so that my other plants don't get overwatered.
I hope all of this makes sense because this is the kind of info I was looking for when I was trying to figure out how to build my vivarium.
I really like that this fountain looks very natural while also having the small "pond" at the bottom. I found it to be the perfect size for my tank which is 12x12x24. It's pretty quiet, a small tinkling like you are somewhat close to a small stream. With my tank door closed I can hardly hear it. If you are looking for a fountain for your tank, this is perfect in appearance and function! This pump functioned exactly as I was hoping it would! I can't imagine how many pounds it is buried under and it pumps like it's was made for that kind of pressure. Last pics shows all the weight the pump is under and how it still works great under all that.