Scott- Good questions and you are obviously doing a lot of homework here as I did when I was building my pool. The handcrafted scuppers can produce a nice water sheet for a large range of flows and will be more forgiving than sheer descents if water flow is low. Reason being, the scupperÂs weir angle and length can be adjusted to give the desired sheet. Lower angles or even negative angles (water pushing into the weir instead of falling off the weir) will require more flow to produce a nice sheet. Higher angles (water falling down a steeper and longer slope) will require less flow to produce a nice sheet. The pump size should be determined by the water features that are selected. If you go with sheer descents and deck jets, the manufacturer will have a gpm rating. For a safety factor, assume worst-case flows for all water features added together then add 10% to that total. If you go with handcrafted scuppers go with a smaller pump and have them come back when you fire up the pump to tune the scuppers to your liking. If you require more than 80-100 gpm for the water features, I would recommend a single speed pump that is sized appropriately for your water flow needs. Variable speed pumps are not that efficient over 80-100 gpm and if you plan to use the water features more than a couple hours a day, the energy savings will not justify the added cost of the variable speed pump. However, if adjusting the power and sound of your water features is important to you, then a variable speed or 2 speed pump will give more flexibility depending on the mood you are trying to create. The variable speed pump, obviously, will allow more adjustments (more moods) than the 2 speed pump but at a cost. If energy is not as important to you, then good old-fashioned valves at each water feature can be used to adjust water flow and set the mood. However, this does not create the same Âwow factor as pressing a button or flipping a switch to set the mood and obviously the use of valves drives energy consumption due to higher back pressure on the pump. Just wanted to offer a few options and things to consider that may be important to your decision. Hope this helps.

kgolby- Can't comment on the cost of Rico Rock vs sheer descents for your part of the country. I'm in Louisiana and knew I wanted Rico Rock for the natural look I was after. After working closely with Rico Rock on the selection of boulders/waterfalls for my design, they provided a list of local builders that have experience with their products. Rico Rock only sells to distributors/PB's and the price of their products are region specific. What I like about Rico Rock is their natural look and exact dimensions so you can design the "look" of your poolscape on paper and know exactly what you are going to get. Also, their waterfalls work great and are designed to sheet perfectly at specified gpm's and drain down when off so there is no standing water. It all depends on the look you want. Personally, I think sheer descents look to contrived for a natural poolscape and they go better with symmetric roman style designs but to each his own. My experience was the Rico Rock product was about twice as much as natural boulders or other type of water features such as sheer descents. The PB told me that they double the price of the waterfall kit to account for installation, labor and materials for a structural kit. I did not have any modular kits, because I didn't like the look of them as much as the structural, but I would expect the labor to be less because they are easier to install than the structural kits. The structural kits require more concrete, rebar, shaping and custom mortar work. It took 3 guys plus me an entire month to finish all the Rico Rock waterfalls and boulder placement around the pool! They commented if the waterfalls were modular, it would have taken them 1 week tops to complete everything and move on to the next job. Hope this helps!

I have 3 sheer descents (24in wide each) on a raised wall 3 feet. I have one pump. The water either returns through the pool returns or through the sheer descents. No separate suction. I have a variable speed pump so it is programmed to run my sheers at a higher RPM. I don't know what sound effect you are looking for, but at full blast, these things are loud. I do not have a spa.

Thank you all so much! I really like the firebowls a LOT, but think our pool is a bit too formal for them. The Horchow site is pretty neat, and I particularly think (as others have mentioned) that urns - maybe atop pedestals - would look good. (I also like the Foo Dogs and herons/cranes.) The columns are 3' x 3,' so I need something kinda on the beefy side. smbnobles, we don't have a dairy farm, but we are planning to start raising mini-cows (just for pets) later this year. (Your dog is such a cutie by the way! :)