Saw this really cool pondless fountain on Yard Crashers (DIY Network) that involved a heavier top grate between the water tub and the surface rocks with a semi tall fountain coming up through the middle. Children could play, like a water park, if they were willing to stand on the smooth river rocks. It made lots of loud water noises which I liked.
Thought I had my husband talked into digging a hole for me, when he told me that I would have to tear the whole thing apart every fall to get the water and pump out before winter arrived. Is that true? Must I move all those rocks and the grate every year?
Pondless tear down in bad weather
You will have to remove the pump, so if the pump is directly below all that rock and such, then yes you'll have to "tear it apart" every fall.