Aquarium Noise Nightmare

[CrabDiver]

Hi all,

I am new to the aquarium business.

I own a 65 gallon tank (which has been cycling for about two weeks now) and find the noise that comes out my new aquisition somewhat aggravating, so much so that at times I find myself turning the pump off just for some tranquility. The fact is that I am still not sure if the soothing benefits of owning a marine aquarium are worth suffering the psychological nuisance caused by the constant noise produced by the said aquarium (I live in a studio).

I have been tackling each noise seperately. I have managed to completely eliminate the gurgling sound in the overflow compartment by building a Durso standpipe. But once the gurgling sound was eliminated, I found out I couldn't stand the sound produced by the water falling an inch or so from the overflow compartment to the top level of the standpipe. I have managed to eliminate that sound with a few well-placed pieces of wood around the entry of the output tubings.

Now I notice that I can't stand the humming sound of my external pump. See each time I manage to eliminate one sound, I realize that I can't stand the next, lower-pitch sound which had been drowned previously by the louder sound.

Behind the external pump (Little Giant Pump) I can hear the water splashing around in the plumbing underneath the tank. If I manage to quiet the pump somehow I will have to tackle that next.

Would anybody have any advice to give me on how to quiet the pump? Would taking it apart and perhaps cleaning it lower the humming? There are no vibrations. The main problem is the humming. I am kind of a zen and meditative person, and I can really hear the humming when I am relaxing on my bed. Would putting some king of foam around the pump do something? How about blocking the open rear side of my aquarium stand with sound-proof foam?

Any advice on quieting the water slashing in the plumbing under the tank?

Thanks!

CrabDiver

[Kentanner11]

As far as quieting the pump, cleaning it will do the opposite of what you want, after a while it will "slime" up and will quiet down some. Good Luck!

[mdbrit]

Search for the posts on the Herbie method for overflows. Lots of information on quiet overflows. I haven't tried it yet, still setting my RR tank up, but there's a wealth of information.
A perforated PVC standpipe for the sump in it's own compartment would be quietish - as in the Megaflow sumps.

[Sk8r]

If you have a basement, you could put pump and sump down there by drilling two small holes in the floor. It brings it down to a very modest ripple.

I can say you get used to it. Until you can, you might put on some small musical background, just to submerge that noise to which you hav become sensitive. Chamber music or flute music might be a good antidote.

[GuySmilie]

Originally posted by CrabDiver
Hi all,
I am new to the aquarium business.
CrabDiver

[Garage1217]

Earplugs. Noise canceling headphones... pills....

[GuySmilie]

I understand that some can be overly sensitive to certain things in this world, especially constant repetitive noises. But seriously, weren't you ever in a local fish store and heard all the droning of the equipment required to house these animals? Surely you knew this before you started. Maybe aquariums are just not your cup-o-tea. Not being flippant here so don't take this the wrong way.

I remember when I was young I always dreamed of building a house in the middle of a desert. Lots of peace and solitude would be great, I thought. Far removed from the constant ruckus of city dwelling. Then one time me and one of my motorcycle buddies camped out in the wilds of Arizona for 10 days. I was never so ready to get back to civilization! I felt like I was living inside a vacuum bottle. Not even a bird to chirp. I abandoned the 'home on the range' dream after that trip.

[Garage1217]

hahaha I live in the wild desert of Az and built my home 40 miles from the city hahaha. Love it. Noise of the tanks keep me sane haha.

[chris4869]

Try placing a mouse pad under the pump to see if it'll help otherwise I think you might need to sell the external pump and get an internal one like an Eheim. It can be used externally too. Cutting back on the flow of the return pump might reduce the water noise going down under your tank, so maybe a new pump will solve two of your problems.

I wouldn't cover up the rear side of the stand. You need air to circulate through there. Your body will eventually tune it out.

[CrabDiver]

Thanks everybody for all the info. I still think I am going to try to cover the pump with four sides of sound-proof foam from Home Depot. Love the feeling of accomplishment when you manage to lower the sound a notch.

[DarG]

You could always switch to a Velocity external pump. Doesnt get much quieter than that. But if you are a zen, mediative type person then visualize the sound of rushing water as a rushing but peaceful stream with water splashing gently over boulders

Meditate that !

[GuySmilie]

Originally posted by CrabDiver
I still think I am going to try to cover the pump with four sides of sound-proof foam from Home Depot.

How are you going to account for stress failure due to heat build-up if you enclose the pump?

[bergzy]

interesting that most people love the sound of water moving...they even buy multiple thousand dollar water fall thingy's to put in their bedrooms!!! but, thank goodness, we are all different!!!

now...

quieting an aquarium was and still is the hardest thing to do...for me anyway.

i forgot how loud the overflow on my 180g was until i got off my tremendous size rear end and built a double durso...now, it's is whisper quiet!

i never realized how loud gurgling overflows were until i installed a durso...now, i love the noise reduction...so i know what you are talking about and looking for.

the 'only' way i found of having ZERO noise (except for the very very slight gurgle of the durso) is to have your aquarium a total behind the wall (and the equipment in a separate enclosed room)...or another name is an 'in wall' system. everything short of the front glass is behind an sound insulated wall.

the 'second' way is the set up i see a lot of fish tank maintenance companies do that put fish tanks in doctors offices, restaurants etc...is to use canister filters (eheims being the most quiet i know of). i did not read what kind of tank you plan to have...fish only, fish with some soft corals, stony corals, sea monkeys, mermaids etc...but this set up leaves not a whole lot of room for a diverse set up that results in long term success without a lot of maintenance. there is a 'reason' why i constantly see new fish in those fish tanks.

the third way...is to allow your body to adapt to the background noise. here is a story i hope you can relate to: the most annoying thing i experienced for years was dirty sunglasses. i HATED dirty sunglasses lenses. i kept a zillion special wipes all over the place (car, in my shirt pockets, jacket pockets, wallet...anywhere i might need one) just so i can get that one spot that i know will get on my lens and ruin my day. now, it doesnt bother me after i convinced myself that it wasnt such a big deal to have a spot on my lens...your body 'should' adapt to the 'noise' and it 'should' become invisible 'if' given the chance.

as for return pumps...

a near silent pump for me is an eheim submersible...use it IN SUMP and put a neoprene pad underneath the pump. it should be NEAR silent...

as for the pieces of wood to silence things...

if i read correctly (which i rarely do), if they are IN your water...they will leach organics as it breaks down into your water...fouling it (slowly most likely) but most importantly, it may be leaching chemicals that may have been used to treat the wood into your system...slowly (most likely not) poisoning your water.

hope this helps a little...just had my morning coffee and am feeling a little peppy!!!

[drstupid]

a mouse pad under the pump will help immensely. do not surround it in foam, you're just asking for a fire. if you still hear vibration, and you have PVC plumbing, you can try a short section of flex PVC after the pump.

if your durso's noise is quieted by reducing the flow into it with chunks of wood, you may want to simply try reducing the flow on your return pump instead. a ball valve on the return line (after the pump, do not reduce the flow to the pump) will let you do that easily and will not harm the pump.

if the water entering the sump bothers you, try putting a 90 degree elbow at the water line (with the output half submerged), and have that go into a T, situated vertically. the part of it that is not submerged will aspirate the drain, helping to eliminate bubbles as well as quiet the drain, and the submerged part will stop any sound of falling water.

[Kermit]

Going sumpless will eliminate most of the noise. I am with you I hate the humming, not the sound of the moving water so much but the constant humming that the sump produces. My 30 long is about as quiet as you could hope for. With everything off in the living room you can just barely hear the sound of the powerheads and the occasional surface movement as the hydorflows spin towars the surface. You have to be a bit creative to try and hide equipment but it is doable and way more peacefull.

[Fischer's Angel]

Can you play some kind of music REALLY softly near you when you go to sleep? I had a similar situation when I first got an aquarium many years ago (it was right next to my bed).
I found the white noise created by the music was soothing enough to allow me to fall asleep and gradually as I grew accustomed to the sound, I was able to turn the radio softer, and eventually not use the radio at all.
Don't know if this will help you, but might be worth a shot!

[wattsupdoc]

To eliminate the sloshing sound from the OF's. Replace the durso's with a stockman type standpipe. But instead of using the cap on the top, just leave the reducing bushing open. Then, get a small piece of acrylic and cut it to fit the top of the pipe. Use a gasket of some sort to go on top of the stockman, and drill some small holes in it. This will allow the air to come in, muffle the sound of the stockman and let yo open it up to clean it from time to time. Then extend the stockman up so as to just allow the water to fall slightly below the teeth or top of OF. Of course you could probably mod the durso to do this also.
---please remove the wood from the water column...
Now for the sump, as stated you need the air exchange in the sump.
1.You could insulate the entire area under the stand if you can provide fresh air under there. A large computer fan (radio shack 120 volt jobber)mounted inside the stand drawing fresh air in will do this. Cut the insulation and use some that is strong enough to hold the fan.You can use a piece of 1/4 plywood as opposed to or in conjunction with the insulation board. Cut the entire opening(for the intake of the fan) out so the fan can run unabstructed. Do this in the back panel. Mount the fan to it. Pick up a cord to make a plug with and connect it to the fan. Plug her in and let it go. I imagine you will get even better air flow to the sump this way and probably eliminate all the sound from the sump. Well, maybe you'll here the fan now. But it shouldn't be very loud.
2. The pipe(s) which extends into the compartment should extend into it no more than 2-3 inches. This should have several large holes drilled or cut into it just below(bout 1/2in the water line. To the end of it. This will help prevent back pressure, as well as quiten the flow to it down, but not entirely.
--- DO NOT insulate directly around the pump.Period.

You might want to be sure that any plumbing from the return pump is either not touching anything or is insulated to prevent vibration noises. You can look in the plumbing section at Lowes. They have some rubber mats there. they are red, come in two thicknesses, and are about 6in x 6in square. You can cut these to fasten to the plumbing wherever it contacts something. Glue them in place on the pipes and you wont have them falling off etc. Also that same pad can be used to insulate under the pump.

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Definitely the first step would be to replace your external Little Giant pump with an internal Eheim or Ocean Runner pump. I don't know what sized Little Giant pump you are using, but I'm guessing it is putting out more flow from your sump than you need. For a tank that size, you only really need about 300gph of total flow through your sump. A return pump like an Ocean Runner 2500 would probably get you about that. I use one in sump on my 70 gallon tank. I cannot hear it at all! The slower flow rate from the sump also means a lot less noise when the water returns from the display back to the sump.

Don't get discouraged. It is definitely possible to make a virtually silent tank with the right choices in equipment and setup.