How can i muffle the sound from my sump??

7duster3

7duster3

Member
I have a 60 gal dt and a 20 gal sump with a very noisy return pipe. It is drilled at the bottom and has a single flex line that dumps water into the plexi-glass drain then into bio balls. The noise sounds like a faucet running and water gargling at the same time. I cant get water from the dt to flow down the return pipe evenly or quietly. The water level will rise till almost over flowing then shoot down the pipe and start over again. I have a cone shaped piece of plastic that has slits in it to sit in the top of the return pipe but that only muffles the sound for a short period of time then back to your sink draining and water gargling and bubbling. How can i muffle this noise so i can sleep? what are you guys using to get water to flow evenly and quietly down to your sump???
(the last picture is flat all the way around now with the cone sitting on top of it)
Thanks, Bryce



 
7duster3

7duster3

Member
I have tried to make the hose straight but unfortunately there is to much of it, so when i let it just free fall it creates a loop and makes a swishing sound as it goes down. I needed to make a big loop and use more of the line i guess for sound reasons.
 
salt210

salt210

Active Member
mine makes some noise as well but not nearly as much as you are describing. try buying some shorter hose
 
sly

sly

Active Member
Remove the straight pipe that you are using for a drain... What is happening is that air is entering the pipe and is creating turbulence as the water crashes down the tube. The turbulence reduces the the amount of water that can flow down the drain and causes your tank to fill up. Once the tank fills up enough to completely cover the drain, the air is blocked off and the water forms a siphon which causes it to drain too fast. It's like a flushing toilet... This is the surge that you are seeing.
Replace the drain with a durso stand pipe. You can make them yourself with just a few PVC pipes, a Tee fitting, a cap and an elbow. Search for one on this forum or on google.
This will fix the siphon problem. If you are still getting a loud gurgling sound in your sump after doing this, then install a gate valve in your drain line just before the sump. Use only plastic valves, not brass... You can slowly close the gate valve until the gurgling goes away. What happens is by adding a slight restriction to your drain, you keep the water level slightly higher in the line which reduces the amount of air that goes into your sump. It is the air that is causing the noise.
Or you can do what I did and remote mount the sump in another room entirely. I cut a hole in the wall and put the filter system in a utility room. It's pretty quiet now...
 
niskyvaulter

niskyvaulter

Member
if its under your tank then you can just put sound proff insulation in the stand. it doesnt completely cancel the noise out but does greatly reduce it.
 
louti

louti

Member
I definitely think it's the loop in the flex pipe. My cousin's tank was very noisy and he had a loop like that. I straightened it out and it reduced it a lot. If the flex pipe is too long, you'll have to cut it.
 
groupergenius

groupergenius

Active Member
Sly is right. Google Durso stand pipe. You will find a DIY way to making them. They work awsome.
Sly, also thanks for the idea on the valve. I have a 3 tank setup with dual overflows. Been trying to figure out a way to keep the bubbles out of the middle tank.
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
This will be wildly unpopular on this site but I will show you a picture of how I quieted my overflow.

Yep, that is a dishtowel folded over and placed on top of the overflow. Not very scientific, definitely a band-aid to the problem, but it works.
 
groupergenius

groupergenius

Active Member
Originally Posted by Scotts
http:///forum/post/2659326
This will be wildly unpopular on this site but I will show you a picture of how I quieted my overflow.

Yep, that is a dishtowel folded over and placed on top of the overflow. Not very scientific, definitely a band-aid to the problem, but it works.
Is that a dishtowel....or a fishtowel??
 
7duster3

7duster3

Member
Thank you all for your help and advice, after reading a bunch of articles on how to make a stand pipe, my question is: can i drain water and add the pvs from the t up??? I dont think i am going to be able to remove my drain pipe and start over as i have about a 3 inch sand bed and water to the top. Do you put anything in or on the elbow to block fish and critters from getting sucked in?
 
groupergenius

groupergenius

Active Member
Originally Posted by 7duster3
http:///forum/post/2659570
Thank you all for your help and advice, after reading a bunch of articles on how to make a stand pipe, my question is: can i drain water and add the pvs from the t up??? I dont think i am going to be able to remove my drain pipe and start over as i have about a 3 inch sand bed and water to the top. Do you put anything in or on the elbow to block fish and critters from getting sucked in?
Sounds like you have to do it in tank. Might have to cut the existing standpipe down a little.
For a critter block...use something like your holding in the 2nd pic. It will be pointing down.
 
7duster3

7duster3

Member
Sorry for the silly questions,
Will this work with the bigger size pvc pipe?? I know i can get all of the fittings and am about to go out and get them to try it but all of the stand pipes i have looked at on the internet are with the smaller size piping i am worried that it will be much to large to create suction.
 
rockman

rockman

Member
Originally Posted by Sly
http:///forum/post/2659278
Remove the straight pipe that you are using for a drain... What is happening is that air is entering the pipe and is creating turbulence as the water crashes down the tube. The turbulence reduces the the amount of water that can flow down the drain and causes your tank to fill up. Once the tank fills up enough to completely cover the drain, the air is blocked off and the water forms a siphon which causes it to drain too fast. It's like a flushing toilet... This is the surge that you are seeing.
Replace the drain with a durso stand pipe. You can make them yourself with just a few PVC pipes, a Tee fitting, a cap and an elbow. Search for one on this forum or on google.
This will fix the siphon problem. If you are still getting a loud gurgling sound in your sump after doing this, then install a gate valve in your drain line just before the sump. Use only plastic valves, not brass... You can slowly close the gate valve until the gurgling goes away. What happens is by adding a slight restriction to your drain, you keep the water level slightly higher in the line which reduces the amount of air that goes into your sump. It is the air that is causing the noise.
Or you can do what I did and remote mount the sump in another room entirely. I cut a hole in the wall and put the filter system in a utility room. It's pretty quiet now...


Outstanding
 
groupergenius

groupergenius

Active Member
It's not really suction...it's water's natural need to escape from where it's at. The water will be simply overflowing down the pipe as it is now, but a little more controlled and quiet. Not nearly as much sucking sound. And pretty much eliminate the flushing thing.
 
7duster3

7duster3

Member
Well, thanks again! i built a stand pipe and it worked pretty good, i still get the tank filling up then shooting out but the noise is hardly there at all now. I think it has something to do with my hole at the top or how high it sits out of the water. I did buy another set of pvc pipes to make another. Tonight i sleep!!!

I
to you guys...
Bryce



 
aquaguy24

aquaguy24

Active Member
Originally Posted by Scotts
http:///forum/post/2659326
This will be wildly unpopular on this site but I will show you a picture of how I quieted my overflow.

Yep, that is a dishtowel folded over and placed on top of the overflow. Not very scientific, definitely a band-aid to the problem, but it works.
that's wat i use....works well for me...i don;t mind the noise in the day time but when its time to sleep, thats when i use the towel method...
 
fau8

fau8

Member
I just cut a 1" by 6" strip of filter media and used a stick push it down inside the prefilter. Push it down just enough to make contact with the top of the tubing and the noise will stop.
 
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