waterfall sound volume

Hi all,

4 months work. new 8'X17'X3' liner-based pond in. easypro small skimmer, 4700 gal/hour mag drive pump and medium aquafalls filter. waterfall is about 4 ft above the pond surface. 10 ft. stream bed contains three ledges and multiple rocks to break up flow. sound is very nice, musical and varied. However, it's not as loud as I'd hoped.

How can one increase the loudness of a waterfall. Raise the aquafalls unit? I could do that but building up side walls high enough to contain the falling water would be a challenge.

Has anyone tried amplification? couple mikes and speakers in the bedroom for open window sleeping. Or maybe even a couple three yard speakers to increase the volume.

we have a freeway 2 miles away, occasional talkative neighbors and cars out on the street. it'd be nice to mask a lot of that noise, if possible.

thanks everyone. I look forward to doing a lot of reading here. I'd post pics of our set up so far, but don't yet know how.

Rick
Salem, OR

rick send us some pics ....how high is the fall......?

During the summer, with out MBR window open, I can hear my waterfall as well. It doesn't get much better than that.
I added a veggie arrangement under my window with a 32 and 12 plus 5 gallon bucket for the pump to addd to the seranade. I have about 1000 fry in that arrangement to add to our pleasure.

Originally Posted by DrCase

rick send us some pics ....how high is the fall......?

1) please direct me to info on how to send pics.

2) main falls drop is 15 inches into pool, over a ledge with a 5-6 inch drop then down slanted stream bed with rocks with a final 8-10 in drop.

3) maybe it's just my hearing. when I cup my hands behind my ears and face the waterfall from my deck about 25 ft away, THAT is the volume I want.

4) would a bigger pump, say one step up to the 6700 Easy Pro mag drive, yield more volume?

[quote=DrDave;10019]During the summer, with out MBR window open, I can hear my waterfall as well. It doesn't get much better than that.

One learns so much each time you do a project. IF I were starting over, I'd construct the waterfall on the other side of the pond facing our window. Would have resulted in a smaller pond, but probably better sound.

the other thing I'd do is put the waterfall even higher up. I haven't measured exactly, but the top weir is probably about 4-5 ft. above water level in pond.

I sure would like to make it louder.

rw

A larger pump would certainly increase volume. You might also want to consider getting a narrow piece of flagstone. Place it on the top tier so that it not only overhangs the edge of the top tier, but so that it also overhangs the edge of the bottom tier. If you size it properly, water will continue flowing down the sides ... but water will also fall from the top tier directly into the pond, making more noise.

Best wishes!

Thanks for the ideas. My guess is that no one really knows the answer, i.e. how to increase a waterfalls overall sound volume. Bigger pump, higher falls, amplification. I sure wish someone had experience to shed light because while my waterfall sounds very nice, it is not covering the highway and neighbor noise as desired.

rick dont give up on high volume ... when you post , scroll down , to manage attachments,,,,it will let you put a pic with your post....you just have to resize the pic...

Thank you to Dr. Case for continued support. No, I have no intention of giving up, although this pond is starting to feel like the proverbial boat, i.e. a hole where the money goes.

Did some looking on the net today and found this: 3 things contribute to waterfall sound: volume of water, what the water flows into or onto, and how far it falls.

I can change the volume with a simple pump change. So I ordered a 30% higher capacity pump. We'll see if it makes a difference. IF not,

I'll tear down the current waterfall structure and elevate the aquafalls medium box another 3-4 ft. Drop the water about 60 inches into a pool (current fall is 15 inches) and then run it down the stream. I hope the pump adds enough volume because rebuilding the waterfall is going to be much work, but I'm ready if I have to.

I've tried with Picasa and Photoshop elements to reduce the size of my photos without success, arg. sorry

rw

you gotta spend your cash somewere....have you tried to tweek your top rock? to make your water fall hit a diferent note....