The idea of rippling of water has no real meaning. We really don't care if you have huge ripples or tiny ones. What we care about is that the water is moving, not being allowed to stagnate. The ripples are evidence that circulation is happening. I have run many tanks that had plenty of gas exchange and never showed any surface ripple. When I put my hand into the water I was able to feel the water flow easily so I didn't care about the evidence presented by having ripples.
The whole point to having high flows is to ensure that mixing takes place so that you do not develop a stagnant layer of water near the surface that would prevent the rest of the water being oxygenated at the surface. One of the least costly methods of promoting lots of water flow is an air pump. Those bubbles move all of the water around them and can be the primary method of circulating water in many tanks.
