Soundproofing Cabinet

[popi8088]

I have a iwaki 70 rlt external pump returning water from the bottom of the stand. The back of the stand is open. There is a loud humming noise from the pump operating. Can I close of the back of the stand where its open? Will I have to have some air coming in to the bottom? Any suggestions? :?: :?:

[matrixnyc]

You are going to need some opening for ventilation.

How big is the opening in the back?

The pump has always been load or is it getting loader with age?

It may need to be taken apart, cleaned and lubricated.

[popi8088]

The opening in the back is 28x23.75 I am just starting out, so I did a water check on all the equipment. Pump is brand new, just humming. I want to try to minimize the sound as much as I possibly can without causing any harm. Any suggestions on the subject?

[surgeon67]

I saw a related post in the past, but can't find it, so I apologize if this is a repeat, but.....

My tank overflow is LOUD. Think niagra....I keep it covered to limit the noise, but this limits aeration. Any neat tricks to keep ventilation without the noise? The skimmer and sump do ok with gas exchange so far, but I don't want to rely on that too much. I've thought about a cover with air hoses in and out, but that seems cumbersome....

thoughts?

[Samurai]

I would start by getting some soundproofing material and lining the inside of your stand with it, that should help a lot.

[matrixnyc]

Check out this site, they might have some products that you can use for your application to reduce the sound:

http://www.dynamat.com/

[surgeon67]

the soundproofing in the cabinet certainly will help with the sump, but most of the noise is coming from the overflow in the back corner up top. There is no standpipe, so 2000gph is falling 30 inches in a 6x6 corner. I haven't found a suitable way to dampen that noise other than covering the overflow (and that works poorly)

[Irisservice]

What about increasing water level in overflow. That way the fall is not that loud.

What about adding live rock into overflow. This would increace water level and add filtration. (make sure you use big piece so it does not get blocked)

[surgeon67]

Re: increasing water level.... how can I do that? No standpipe in place, but maybe I can fashion one (actually would need 2 since there are 2 drains in the bottom). Any other way to do that that I've overlooked?

I like the live rock idea. I had thought about bio media, but just took the media OUT of the sump to drop the nitrates some ( which made the drip plate louder, of course- the soundproofing should help that) Does the live rock suffer from not being completely submerged? is the waterfall effect OK? (assuming I can't raise the water level)

[Irisservice]

Re: increasing water level.... how can I do that? No standpipe in place, but maybe I can fashion one (actually would need 2 since there are 2 drains in the bottom). Any other way to do that that I've overlooked?
Just a simple pipe can increase water level.

Does the live rock suffer from not being completely submerged?
No it becomes a natural wet dry....

[surgeon67]

thanks.... I'll give it a try.

[Irisservice]

let us know how it goes and get some photos of before and after.

[surgeon67]

put in two side by side standpipes, and the water level came up to about 6" below the overflow grid. the overflow is much quieter, but now there is a loud "sucking" sound at the top of the pipes (like water down a drain).

Two solutions I've considered:
1) slots in the pipe (would lower water level)
2) sponge over top of pipe

which would work better do you think?

maybe a sponge over the slots?

BTW, before and after pics not so good....Oh well...

[Irisservice]

did you ever think of getting a AGA TWIN-FLO

http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/twinflo.asp
http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/twinflo_demo.asp

[surgeon67]

Don't think I can easily convert the overflow. It's a tenecor acrylic tank "L" shaped, and the overflow is built-in. The returns come through the overflow, so any modification would be challenging.

The prefilter on the twin-flow is sorta what I had in mind about the sponge over the standpipe, though...

[anemoneman]

Your noise problem is soved easily. I'm suprised no one has posted it earlier. You are on the right track by putting in a standpipe but that leaves you with the sucking sound.
My recommendation is the Durso overflow. Here is the standard link:
http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe_frame.htm
Aside from that you can stick a piece of airline tubing into the standpipe to help quiet things down.
In the sump, make sure the pipes are submerged. A baffle to break up the air as it enters the sump also helps. I use the old drip plate from a wet/dry. I submerge it and place it on top of where the water enters the sump. The air has to pass through the submerged drip plate to reach ther surface. Very quiet.

[surgeon67]

what I ended up doing was placing one standpipe in the overflow, and while I was preparing the second I noticed the water level rising. I watched it and found that the water level stabilized at the top of the pipe with slow overflow, so no sucking sound. The rest went into the bottom drain. Works really well. The rest of my noise is coming from the sump drip plate, which will be helped by 1) soundproofing cabinet, and 2) filling the wet/dry portion of the sump with LR.

Now if I could just get the chiller to quiet down......

Thanks for everyone's help.