What you keep and what you add
The logic of a retrofit is simple: you keep the most expensive and most permanent parts (basin, plumbing, nozzles) and replace only the control brain and, where needed, the drives.
| Nozzles / jets | Kept |
| Basin, dry-deck and plumbing | Kept |
| Pumps (if speed-controllable by a VFD) | Kept |
| VFD (variable-frequency drive) | Kept if present, added if not |
| Control electronics | Added / replaced with Arcus boards |
| Lighting | Optional Arcus RGB units |
Pumps that cannot be speed-controlled by a VFD and only run on/off can still be retrofitted, but the choreography is limited to on/off patterns; jet heights will not vary smoothly with the music. Also, if a single pump feeds many nozzles, those jets move together; independent control of each jet requires separate speed control per jet.
The board-only path: keep your hydraulics
In a retrofit you buy only the Arcus control boards and the AI; you supply your own pumps and nozzles. The system is built like this:
- Each jet is an end-unit: a Driver board that drives the pump and/or an RGB light.
- End-units are grouped on buffers; each buffer carries up to 30 units.
- All buffers connect to a single Main controller — the brain of the system.
- Pump speed is modulated through VFDs to set jet height.
- An optional Raspberry Pi gateway adds internet, audio and remote control.
For reference: an example sold system is 150 units — 75 Driver + 75 RGB across about 10 buffers. In a retrofit this topology scales to your existing jet count; your water infrastructure is untouched.
Does my fountain qualify? Checklist
Your answers to the questions below define the scope of the retrofit:
- Pumps
- Are your pumps electric-motor driven and speed-controllable by a VFD? (Three-phase induction-motor pumps are typically suitable.)
- Jet-to-pump relationship
- Is each jet on its own pump, or does one pump feed many nozzles? Independent motion needs separate speed control per jet.
- VFD status
- Do you already have VFDs, or do they need to be added?
- Unit count
- How many jets / units are there? Each buffer carries up to 30 units; all connect to a single Main controller.
- Power and access
- Is there access to the control panel, power and cabling?
- Lighting
- Do you also want colour-light choreography? Arcus RGB units can be added.
- Connectivity
- Do you need internet, audio or remote control? An optional Raspberry Pi gateway adds these.
Before and after
| Before (existing fountain) | After (with Arcus) | |
| Jet motion | Fixed height or fixed pattern | Anticipatory, authored jet heights that change with the song |
| Music | None or not synchronised | Choreography to beats, sections and drops |
| Making a new show | Specialist + hours to days of hand programming | Upload the song, AI composes in minutes |
| Control | Manual / local panel | Phone app, scheduling and optional remote access |
| Water infrastructure | Existing | Kept exactly as is |
Cost: why it is far cheaper than a new system
The most expensive parts of a fountain are the hydraulics: the basin, the dry-deck, the plumbing, the nozzles and the pumps. In a retrofit you keep all of them and pay only for the control electronics, the AI and (if needed) the VFDs. The civil and water-works cost disappears.
Recurring saving: hand-programming a single 3-minute show takes a specialist from 2-4 hours to a week and needs roughly 1,500-6,000 DMX commands. Arcus does the same in minutes, with no specialist. That saving repeats on every new song.
Arcus pricing is quote-based: you configure the system online and receive a quote. The total depends on your jet count, whether VFDs are needed, and whether you want RGB lighting. There is no fixed list price.
Upgrade steps
- Step 1 — Qualify and quote
- Share your pump/VFD type and jet layout, define your pool in the online configurator and receive your quote.
- Step 2 — Hardware
- VFDs on the pumps if absent, Arcus Driver boards on the jets, RGB units if wanted; buffers and the Main controller.
- Step 3 — Wiring and commissioning
- Boards connect to the Main via buffers, VFDs connect to the pumps; units are registered and tested.
- Step 4 — Design and simulation
- Model your pool in the browser studio and validate the show in the real-physics 3D simulator beforehand.
- Step 5 — Compose the show
- Upload the song, let the AI compose the choreography in minutes, then play and schedule it from the phone app.