Quieting the wet/dry

[canuckle]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has had success in quieting the noise created by the water exiting the overflow drain, onto the drip tray of a high flow wet/dry filter? Standpipe is great for the overflow noise itself, but she's a wee bit loud at the bottom end!

Thanks!

[FishManTy]

Do you mean where it comes out of the pipe into the tray with bioballs? I've been having trouble keeping my quiet. Right now Im working on shutting up the sucking sound off the standpipe, but Im affraid to cut off the flow all together...

Just confused at where you mean. I've been trying to design something to quite it a bit... but I haven't thought of anything. I've been thinking of taking some plexi glass with 1/2" or 1/4" holes drilled all over the place, then jamming that close to the outtake to allow it to disperse better and slow down the fall so it doesn't splash as much. Same for underneath when it leaves the bioball area and falls to the bottom.

[rudy]

It probably isn't the water falling onto the drip tray that is the problem. Easiest way to test that is just to fill the entire space with batting from walmart.

I imagine there is something wrong with your durso setup, or with your drain/return.

What are you using for a return and a drain? You can cut down the noise considerably with a product called spa flex (from a hot tub store) oasis has it). It is expensive, but it works really well. It is a flexible pvc tubing that glues together with rigid elbows. Completely rigid drains and returns can be noisy. It also helps to increase the size of your return by a quarter inch from your pump 3\4 to inch etc. So the restriction is minimized. On the drain I would increase it as much as you can to completely lessen the restriction.

Can you explain your setup a bit more?

BTW I have 10 feet of 2 inch spa flex I would be willing to part with for nothing.

[canucklehead]

Raise the water level in the sump as high as possible and stuff your trays with foam or batting.

Is this a store bought or DIY sump? and how many GPH are you pushing through it?

[canuckle]

Hey gang,

Thanks for the interest, and replies! Here are the full details, from overflow to return...

180g glass tank with right rear corner overflow box, eggcrate grating at the top of the overflow, eggcrate at top of overflow covered with a strip of plastic canvas needlepoint material.

In the overflow...DIY durso style standpipe made of 1.5" PVC. Noise is not an issue here.

Exiting the bulkhead...2"PVC with 2 x 45 connectors to top of bio ball drip tray. Where the water exits the pipe onto the drip tray is where the noisiest part of the system is right now. There is a mat of floss under the pipe where the water exits, both for noise reduction and to aid the spread of water over the drip tray. Water level in the sump is always kept as close to the bottom of the bioball tray as possible.

Return to the tank...mag 18. Plastic prefilter cone that comes with the pump is attached. 3/4" exit from pump is immediately converted to 1 1/4" return line. Return line exits sump on a 45 degree elbow, with another at the bottom of the stand where the return line starts its trip to the top of the tank. Return line follows an approximate 45 degree angle to arrive at the other end of the tank, where it comes up and over, into the tank. This is done with 3 x 90 degree fittings, ending up with the last 90 1" below the waterline.

I'm guessing the flow is between 1200 & 1400 gph. Because of maxing out the return line, the head pressure is kept to a minimum.

All plumbing is PVC hardline.

Now, there is still some work to do. I haven't put a lot of effort into quieting the vibration from the pump/return yet. I will be picking up some rubber matting and mousepads to put under the pump. I will be wrapping the pvc return line with the same kind of insulation that you would find on a hot water pipe wherever it comes in contact with the sump or stand or tank.

Biggest noise problem is where the water exits the drain, onto the bioball tray. I've heard everything from using a T connection there (with and without a cap) to putting a ball valve on the drain to regulate the flow, to packing with floss, to buying a canister filter (not an option, I'll live with the noise first).

Any, and all, help and suggestions appreciated.

Thanks gang!

PS. canucklehead...it's a 50g standard wet/dry...purchased from Dennis at Gold's, custom made by the guy that does all his tanks & sumps. Design is very standard, and shouldn't be the issue.

Edited February 10, 2005 by canuckle

[canucklehead]

I replaced my glued PVC return pipes with flexible/corrugated hose, it made a big differecnce in cutting down vibration as did sitting the pump on a mouse pad.

Your other option is to insulate the doors and sides/back of the stand, helped mine a lot, and mine is a ghetto DIY set-up that sounds like Niagara falls at times.

[rudy]

I would say the setup sounds pretty good as is. You could definately fill the drip tray portion full of floss. I think this is the cheapest and best way to do this as you lose most of the risk of clogging.

The return sounds good as well.

I enclosed my tubular steel stand in plywood with 2 inch styrofoam siliconed to the plywood. This cuts down the noise tremendously. The only noise I hear is the pump, but there is not much I can do about that.

Just a tip on the pump. I find mouse pads and such will still vibrate. I use an ac 500 sponge for the pump to sit on. I have even heard of people suspending them with wire so it does not touch. If this is an issue with depth, you can put a 90 degree elbow on the intake of the pump so it is never sucking air.

Good luck

[canuckle]

Thanks Rudy, I'll update as I go.

[FishManTy]

Canukle, you have the identical setup as me right now, with slight differences.

My tank is 150gallon... my sump is 33gallon, and I use the mag12. Tank and sump come from the same guy Dennis gets his from...

So you guys are saying stuff the top part before the bioballs with batting??