Pics of my new sump, and noise problems

[lanceb13]

Thanks to Rich T, I have a fantastic custom sump for my new 225.

I finally finished all of the plumbing and with much anticipation, I started the pumps. Good news is, no leaks. Bad news is, a lot of noise. It is coming from a few places. The two Iwaki 30's are fairly noisy. I have them sitting on rubber mats, but they still make a pretty good huming sound.

The next source is my overflow. I do have standpipes installed, but the water level still fluctuates. I am going to have to tinker with the holes drilled in the caps.

Most of the noise in coming from the sump where the dual 1.5" returns enter. I have them submerged about 1.5" but they are still generating a ton of turbulance and noise.

Does anyone have any advice for quieting this whole system? I should mention that I do not have a basement or fish room so everything in under the display tank. Thanks!

 

[Phyl]

Kathy Longo can tell you the quietest pump with least noise generation. She searched high and low because her system is right over her bedroom.

I find that if I keep my standpipes FULL they are less likely to be noisy. The more room in them the more room there is for air, which is the main culprit. Either push more water through them or reduce your drain size/volume.

Make sure that none of your PVC is touching anything that could result in noise from the vibration.

Having your drains turn so that they are parallel to the water surface may help some.

Good luck quieting it down!

 

[PMolan]

I had a similar problem. may not be feasable in your situation. My main pump caused a ton of vibration throughout all of the pvc. I needed to cut out a 1" section and reattatch them with one of the rubber pipe adapters from HD. This absorbed most of it and didnt alow it to travel through the pvc. Also you can try turning on the tv when you look at the tank

 

[Absinthe]

Flex PVC cuts noise.

 

[RichT]

Well, maybe the box is too small. I don't recall there being alot of room in there but do you think we could fit a bigger box in that corner? Maybe we'll have to do away with the box all together and go with filter socks (although I loath filter socks). Unless it's an illusion, it looks like the box has broken below the water line. If so, the box won't do what it's intended for anyhow. So we'll have to dig it out and fix it or replace it regardless. We'll get it fixed, just turn up the TV until then.

 

[lanceb13]

Turn up the TV, now that's an idea I hadn't considered.

 

[jazzsam]

Make sure that none of your PVC is touching anything that could result in noise from the vibration.

This one did it for me. I found a pipe barly touching but it was making a LOT of noise just from that one little thing.

 

[arvin]

My pump was making a lot of noise too. I put two scrap pieces of wood on top of the frame that was holding the pump it place. It helped cut down the noise tremendously. Try put some pressure on the wood piece that is holding the pump, with your hand or leg. If it cuts down the noise then you can screw one or two more pieces of wood on top.

HTH.

 

[ken6217]

You need to get rid of the PVC from the sump to the Iwaki.
Ken

 

[ken6217]

I also carpeted the bottom of the stand with carpet, so the sump and pump is on it. This plus the flex PVC did the trick. I am using Blueline pumps and they are pretty quiet. I'm not sure if your Iwaki's are Japanese or American made.
Ken

 

[katlongo]

Poseidon/Velocity T4 for the pump noise. I had an Iwacki and it was much louder than the Poseidon. Switch to flex to connect to the pump, for at least the first 3 inches going into and out of the pump. I don't have carpet on the bottom of my tank, but I do have insulation that I bought at HD. I also keep my drainpips pretty full. Now the only noise I have is the overflow at the sump level. I keep the pip very below water level and have almost no noise on my tank. Sometimes my skimmer makes splashing noise, but I haven't figured out how to get rid of that yet.

 

[sinkingbeach]

I may be able to assist with the noise from the overflow, I had the same problem till I made notches in the pvc above the water line. This allows any caught air to escape, while water continues south.

 

[lanceb13]

Thanks all. I will try some of these ideas. Ken, the pumps are both Japanese. I have them sitting on rubber mats, so vibration is at a minimum. It is more of a hum that is problematic. As you can tell from the pictures, I am using the flex pvc on the output side, but on the input side I don't think I could get the flew to bend in such a cramped space.

Sinkingbeach, where along the drain pipe did you make these cuts? Was it at the overflow chamber or where the drain line meets the sump?

Also, I was going to put some insulation on the walls of the stand and on the inside of the doors. My intention is to use the plastic wrapped insulation. Is water going to be a problem on the insulation?

 

[sinkingbeach]

Sinkingbeach, where along the drain pipe did you make these cuts? Was it at the overflow chamber or where the drain line meets the sump?

These cuts were made where the drain line meets the sump.