I need a handy Do-It-Yourselfer (will pay)

[amc23]

Has anybody done creative work in their own tank to lessen the noise in the overflow box and sump? These two waterfalls are deafening in my living room and I am at a loss. Rather than experiment with several different options I have considered, I'd like to pay somebody for his/her time (and materials of course) if there is a handier person than I willing to help out.

Please let me know if you think you might be able and available to help some time in the next 2-3 weeks. I live in Rosslyn near the metro.

Best

Alex

[lanman]

Has anybody done creative work in their own tank to lessen the noise in the overflow box and sump? These two waterfalls are deafening in my living room and I am at a loss. Rather than experiment with several different options I have considered, I'd like to pay somebody for his/her time (and materials of course) if there is a handier person than I willing to help out.

Please let me know if you think you might be able and available to help some time in the next 2-3 weeks. I live in Rosslyn near the metro.

Best

Alex

Give us a picture of what you have... I got rid of one tank and replaced it with another - half because of the noise. Went from waterfall to tinkling brook. Next tank was tinkling from the start. BIG tank - is almost dead silent. If I turn off the other two, it's amazing how quiet it is. As you cure one source of noise - you notice the next-loudest. A silencer on my skimmer made a HUGE difference, for example. But I never heard the skimmer noise until I got rid of the waterfall.

 

bob

[Inspector]

Has anybody done creative work in their own tank to lessen the noise in the overflow box and sump? These two waterfalls are deafening in my living room and I am at a loss. Rather than experiment with several different options I have considered, I'd like to pay somebody for his/her time (and materials of course) if there is a handier person than I willing to help out.

Please let me know if you think you might be able and available to help some time in the next 2-3 weeks. I live in Rosslyn near the metro.

Best

Alex

 

 

For the noise in your overflow, I have found the Hofer gurgle buster seems to work the best. Virtualy silent, but which ever method you use will reduce your flow alittle. Your sumps noise can be redused with a tee installed inline just before it enters the sump. With a 90 turned up and aprox. 6 inches of pipe. This will reduce the preasure of the water crashing down into the sump.

Edited April 1, 2009 by INSPECTOR

[Integral9]

Aside from installing a "durso" stand pipe in my over-flow box, I also extended the drain pipe into my sumps about 4" from the bottom. Then drilled several 1/4" holes through the pipe above and below the water line. Just like some paintball gun barrels. The durso stops the constant sucking sound and the holes at the bottom of the drain line get rid of the "blub-blub BLUB" from the water crashing into the sump w/ air pockets. Now the tank just makes a slight "squeege" (kinda like what a sponge makes when you wringe it out) when water shoots out the holes a little bit; but that is not bothersom at all. When I close my sump cover (a double thick denim sheet sewn to wrap around the metal stand) I can barely here it. I sit about 2 feet away from it and watch my TV across the room all the time. The noisiest thing now are the 2 5" ice-cap fans in my canopy.

[amc23]

Thank you all for taking the time to provide descriptions of your techniques--I am going to take a few photos tomorrow and upload them. And if anybody thinks they can apply any of their own solutions on my tank once they've seen the photos, let me know. Thanks!

Alex

[lanman]

Thank you all for taking the time to provide descriptions of your techniques--I am going to take a few photos tomorrow and upload them. And if anybody thinks they can apply any of their own solutions on my tank once they've seen the photos, let me know. Thanks!

Alex

 

Be sure to include a picture of the sump itself.

 

bob

[treesprite]

I think I will try the idea of the holes in the pipes in the sump. I wish there was a simple way to quiet my Gen X return pump....

[reefmontalvo]

I'm not a fan of a "silent" tank. To me too quiet is a HUGE sign that a pump is off or worse water is spilling on the floor.

[amc23]

Tried to add photos but the files were too big. How do I shrink them for uploading purposes? As far as the noise in the sump, I have considered attaching a PVC pipe or even some kind of netting to the wall which the water flows over. Rather than hit the water, the flow would hit this pipe and theoretically trickle down into the water for less of a splashing. Does this sound like something people have done?

Alex

[Integral9]

Yeah, posting images here is like trying to fit an SUV into a mailbox. It's just not a good idea even if you get it to work. The best bet, and what most people do, is to post them to another site like imageshack or photobucket or picasa and link them from there. I use picasa, but the linking requires some reformatting of the link. I think imageshack and photobucket provide links to your images in a plug-n-play fashion.

 

I've got some new pics of my tanks I'm going to try and get to uploading tonight. I'll snap a pic of my overflow box and sump for you so you can see what I've done. Sounds like you are trying to imitate my setup.