You must rinse off all surfaces of your fountain, including the polished decorative stones (if provided with your unit the fountain for the first time. Any dirt of residue which remains on the fountain may obstruct water flow, thereby causing unnecessary noise. Should you experience noise from the pump, please disassemble it, flush parts with water to remove particles, wipe dry, and reassemble. Please refer to our instruction manual should the noise remain, as this may be caused be a variety of the other factors. Due to the imperfect edges which are inherent in this fountain of any made from natural stone, water may splash outside the base of the unit. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you place your fountain on a waterproof surface or that you cover the surface with some waterproof barrier. For further information, please call 1-800-serenty or e-mail us at custservfe@serenity.com