One of the most important pieces of your new pond is the sound of the waterfall. Yes, I said sound. While the appearance of the waterfall adds to your water garden, the sound of the waterfall sets the mood and can actually make or break the pond.
Consider how loud you would like your waterfall to be. Do you live near a busy street? Will the sound of the waterfall interfere with your sleeping habits?
The volume of the waterfall is a simple function of drop and flow. Simply put, the higher and thicker the waterfall, the louder it will be.
Your waterfall should also include a mixture of tones. Water dropping into a deep pool produces a low tone while water dropping onto a rock or very shallow pool will produce high tones. A well-designed waterfall will have a full, rich sound. Be careful not to have just low tones, as this will drown out any conversions near the water garden.