Ways to increase the sound and flow appearance

[knicks1met]

I'm trying to get my river to have the most sound as possible and right now it's not as loud as I'd hoped it would be. I also want it to appear as it has a good flow and in most areas it doesn't look like there is much action and the water looks still until it reaches one of the mini falls.

The water level in each well is about 18-24"deep. I'm thinking that if the water wasn't as deep, the water would appear to babble off the rocks and make some noise.

Any suggestions or ideas? I've attached pictures of how the flow starts down the waterfall as well as the length of the river.

 

[Tombstone]

I'm trying to get my river to have the most sound as possible and right now it's not as loud as I'd hoped it would be. I also want it to appear as it has a good flow and in most areas it doesn't look like there is much action and the water looks still until it reaches one of the mini falls.

The water level in each well is about 18-24"deep. I'm thinking that if the water wasn't as deep, the water would appear to babble off the rocks and make some noise.

Any suggestions or ideas? I've attached pictures of how the flow starts down the waterfall as well as the length of the river.

Not much elevation drop

 

[knicks1met]

Not much elevation drop

I’m asking for suggestions. I can’t change the elevation at this point.

 

[GBBUDD]

Whats the gph of your set up

 

[knicks1met]

Whats the gph of your set up

I’m using a pentair 011018 infelliflo pump.

about 9,000 GPH

 

[Joejoe80]

how deep below the surface is your gravel rock and small boulders?
The way I got my stream which isn’t that long.to look like it had more flow. Was to have my water just deep enough to barely cover the gravel. If I raise my water level just a little bit. it makes the stream look like it’s not moving. It flows smooth. With almost no movement.
if you cant lower the water level.
you could add more rock or bigger rock that breaches the water surface. The more things that you have braking the water surface or just ever slightly below the surface in the stream. Will make break points, turbulence and rapids. The lower the water level in a river/stream the rougher the rapids.
Deeper water can wash out turbulent areas. But will flow faster. Shallower water will mover slower, but tends to be more turbulent. which makes it look like there is more water movement. Not to be confused with water flow.
The deeper water will move faster but it’s smoother. making it appear to have less movement

 

[addy1]

I tossed rocks into my stream to make more noise, but over the years pulled a lot out. With our steep hill the stream is on, the rocks tended to get washed into a pile and cause water to be directed out of the stream bed.

 

[knicks1met]

how deep below the surface is your gravel rock and small boulders?
The way I got my stream which isn’t that long.to look like it had more flow. Was to have my water just deep enough to barely cover the gravel. If I raise my water level just a little bit. it makes the stream look like it’s not moving. It flows smooth. With almost no movement.
if you cant lower the water level.
you could add more rock or bigger rock that breaches the water surface. The more things that you have braking the water surface or just ever slightly below the surface in the stream. Will make break points, turbulence and rapids. The lower the water level in a river/stream the rougher the rapids.
Deeper water can wash out turbulent areas. But will flow faster. Shallower water will mover slower, but tends to be more turbulent. which makes it look like there is more water movement. Not to be confused with water flow.
The deeper water will move faster but it’s smoother. making it appear to have less movement

Yeah that’s what I was thinking as well. The rocks that I have are probably 6” below the water surface. Since I believe the water level is too deep with rocks below the surface, I was thinking of taking everything out and laying down a couple rows of concrete blocks and then placing my rocks on top of that so there would be less water and also have rocks closer to the surface. Would that work?

 

[Lisak1]

The only concern I would have with that plan is debris is going to get caught in and around those blocks and cause a cleaning problem for you in the future. Any obstructions in the stream will obviously catch debris, but stacked obstructions will not only trap it, they may hide it.

I'd suggest you use some small boulders that you can strategically place in your stream - big enough that they will be above water. I don't know that it will change the sound much, but anything that interrupts the flow will change the appearance. Or try some pieces of driftwood - one end out of the water, the other end in. Two boulders placed across from each other will "pinch" the water flow and make it look like it's moving faster by forcing the water between the two rocks. Remember the old "water takes the path of least resistance" and think of ways that you can create resistance.

 

[Joejoe80]

Pea gravel. Works great. If you can get it from a stone yard it’s only about $50-60 for a cubic yard.
And acts as substrate for beneficial bacteria. Plus if the pea gravel is deep enough. You should be able to partially Bury the bigger rocks to lock them in place
like I said my stream is not that big.
you can see how much more water movement there is in the beginning of my stream. where it’s very very shallow. then towards the end of the stream it’s just a little tiny bit deeper and I’m only talking maybe a half inch, and the water is almost completely smooth.
The video don’t really show the water movement to good cause of reflection. But in person you can really see it.
The stream itself is about 10-12 feet long

 

[Lisak1]

@knicks1met appears to have a lot more depth than you do @Joejoe80 . Your stream looks great, but pea gravel that's too deep can lead to some serious build up of debris. Also, faster moving water will just push pea gravel right down the stream. My waterfall pushes even golf ball sized rocks around.

 

[knicks1met]

@knicks1met appears to have a lot more depth than you do @Joejoe80 . Your stream looks great, but pea gravel that's too deep can lead to some serious build up of debris. Also, faster moving water will just push pea gravel right down the stream. My waterfall pushes even golf ball sized rocks around.

Right. That’s why I was thinking of the solid blocks to raise the level. I don’t think debris would get stuck because I would position them tight to each other and then place rocks on top of the bottom layer of solid blocks to have them nearer the surface of the water. Do you guys think that would help my situation?

 

[Joejoe80]

Don’t have to use pea gravel. Just a suggestion. I would go to a local rock/stone quarry. There’s all kinds of natural material you can get. Go direct to a place that supply’s landscapers. They are usually open to the public. It’s much cheaper then a home and garden store.
5 ton of 10-15 inch Delaware river rock cost my $400 and some change. It was $100 a ton. I bought 5 at once so they gave me a break.
They do have other size stone you can buy in bulk buy the yard. From 3/4 stone up to 2-3 inch stone.
Golf ball size stone would be like 3/4-1 inch stone. 2-3 inch or bigger something like this perhaps? 10-15 inch river stone $100 a yard. Or even something like blue stone

 

[Lisak1]

Do you guys think that would help my situation?

I think all you can do is try. Breaking the surface of the water is the goal - if a raised block works, then it might be a solution. My only thought is the flow of water may be able to push a rock off the top of the block, depending on the size of the rock. But it's an easy thing to try and then abandon if it doesn't work, right? Just be careful with the blocks as the edges can be sharp. You don't want to drop or slide them on the liner.

Will you be able to see it in the water - probably. Will that bother you? That's up to you!

 

[bagsmom]

One thing I haven't heard mentioned -- how about some strategically-used waterfall foam to keep some of the water moving the way you want? Maybe in places between larger rocks, you could foam around the bottom and sides. It would keep the water going up and over, rather than rushing under. Just an idea. I don't know if it would help. Your pond and stream are really nice looking!

 

[Joejoe80]

I used it to glue small rocks in place, that I didn’t want to move in the waterfall

 

[GBBUDD]

I'm hardly a water fall expert but look at it this way. Take a garden hose and hold it up above the water at full stream. As it hits the water and pushes it's way down it only has one impact . take the same hose same flow and let if fall onto a rock that then falls down onto another rock . ROCKS WITH CHARACTER no smooth river rock but rock with steps and i would place the steps backwards against the flow. i can't imagine the latter wouldn't be twice as loud. The same water that hits obstructions 3 or four times has got to make more noise. Another possibility is to have the water concentrated fall into a very shallow pool with the smoothest of small river rock as the water churns in this area if strong enough should move the rocks making a completely different sound i believe i saw the pond digger with that trick.

 

[GBBUDD]

I just went back and looked at your old posting. Now i do not know what the gph is of your 3hp pump but i can BET that a 2" line is WAY to small. I use a 3" line for a 1 hp low head pump at 12.000 gph. i would be you have the choice of a 3 or four inch line to plumb to your pump. Now i would be willing to bet this 3 hp pump is going to cost you a nice electric bill it CT. i know because I to am in ct. What i would look at is this, to split the stream in two. and by that i mean tow totally different streams. Have a pump in the middle and a second pump on the end/ bottom. you will cut down the head pressure by approximately half. when pushing so far up hill it takes a lot of energy to push all that water up hill. And Never add standard 90 degree elbows if you absolutely must make sure they are at least a street 90 but the best is to have two 45's or four 22.5's or use flexible SMOOTH pvc. make your upper stream a disappearing stream half way down. make it disappear under a tree stump or a bridge. and start the lower section in the same area tricky yes but get creative . cutting down the distance and head will gain you the flow without the cost.

But the best way to get sound up to your deck where i am assuming you want to hear it you could create small ponds where you back up the water as it comes down the stream and make drops waterfalls But i see that won't be all that easy with the land droping of toward the back. Get crazy pump water up onto the deck to a stream have it fall over the edge down to a pool below it appears it's a four foot drop that could be crazy.

 

[knicks1met]

I just went back and looked at your old posting. Now i do not know what the gph is of your 3hp pump but i can BET that a 2" line is WAY to small. I use a 3" line for a 1 hp low head pump at 12.000 gph. i would be you have the choice of a 3 or four inch line to plumb to your pump. Now i would be willing to bet this 3 hp pump is going to cost you a nice electric bill it CT. i know because I to am in ct. What i would look at is this, to split the stream in two. and by that i mean tow totally different streams. Have a pump in the middle and a second pump on the end/ bottom. you will cut down the head pressure by approximately half. when pushing so far up hill it takes a lot of energy to push all that water up hill. And Never add standard 90 degree elbows if you absolutely must make sure they are at least a street 90 but the best is to have two 45's or four 22.5's or use flexible SMOOTH pvc. make your upper stream a disappearing stream half way down. make it disappear under a tree stump or a bridge. and start the lower section in the same area tricky yes but get creative . cutting down the distance and head will gain you the flow without the cost.

But the best way to get sound up to your deck where i am assuming you want to hear it you could create small ponds where you back up the water as it comes down the stream and make drops waterfalls But i see that won't be all that easy with the land droping of toward the back. Get crazy pump water up onto the deck to a stream have it fall over the edge down to a pool below it appears it's a four foot drop that could be crazy.

The pump I’m using is a variable speed pump. I am using 3” plumbing. The pump has 4 levels. Level 1 isn’t powerful enough to pump to top. Level 2 gets it there but not much force. Levels 3 and 4 I don’t notice much difference. As far as energy, level 3 only uses 1,000 watts so not too bad. I appreciate the idea to split it up and change but at this point that would be a big project.

 

[knicks1met]

Here’s a video I took (no sound) You can see what I mean about the flow in the middle sections and how it appears mainly stagnant.