Keeping the noise down
- Thread starter pulse
- Start date
1knight164
Member
Haven't tried this myself but how about lining the cabinet side and doors with foam/Styrofoam sheets?
reefkprz
Active Member
line your cabinet with dynamat (check your local car stereo place they'll know what your talking about) this will reduce vibration in your stand.
add insulation wherever you can between you and the source of the noise.
say overflow box, check into a stockman standpipe to help silence the OFB there are many varieties that work some beter than others. equalizing flow to down tube is a BIG noise reducer. if your return pump is pushing close to what your down pipes rated for you get gurgles and surges using a bigger down pipe reduces that. you can also lift the down line out of the water so there is no back pressure, angleing the down kline to flow at a 45 so half the opening is in the water and half is out will allow a smooth transition from DT to sump using smooth PVC can also help instead of Spa flex tubing.
and thats just the OFB there are tons of steps you can take to silence a tank.
lifting the tank and setting it on rubber mounts (under the stand, between the stand and floor) reduces transitioned vibration. lifting the tank and setting dynamat or foam board between the tank and stand reduces vibrations transitioned into the stand which can act like a big reverberation box.
make sure your powerheads are not touching anything solid (aka against a rock)
even slapping dynamat on the outside of your tank will reduce vibration noise, wont do a damn thing for water gurgles though.
there are a lot more possible steps.
add insulation wherever you can between you and the source of the noise.
say overflow box, check into a stockman standpipe to help silence the OFB there are many varieties that work some beter than others. equalizing flow to down tube is a BIG noise reducer. if your return pump is pushing close to what your down pipes rated for you get gurgles and surges using a bigger down pipe reduces that. you can also lift the down line out of the water so there is no back pressure, angleing the down kline to flow at a 45 so half the opening is in the water and half is out will allow a smooth transition from DT to sump using smooth PVC can also help instead of Spa flex tubing.
and thats just the OFB there are tons of steps you can take to silence a tank.
lifting the tank and setting it on rubber mounts (under the stand, between the stand and floor) reduces transitioned vibration. lifting the tank and setting dynamat or foam board between the tank and stand reduces vibrations transitioned into the stand which can act like a big reverberation box.
make sure your powerheads are not touching anything solid (aka against a rock)
even slapping dynamat on the outside of your tank will reduce vibration noise, wont do a damn thing for water gurgles though.
there are a lot more possible steps.
yearofthenick
Active Member
you have another option - sell it. After that, it will be really quiet.
forsfed50
Member
the other ideas are fine just depends on how much work you're willing to do. I am pretty lazy. I would try a fan in the bedroom and maybe a sound machine. Not a ceiling fan they wont create enough white noise or background noise. Maybe even try the dynamat on the inside of the bedroom door but that isnt very attractive.
tomato clown
Member
+1 on the dynamat. The specific purpose of dynamat is to reduce noise, but there are other options that could be cheaper.
For example take a look at everything under the tank.
1. The back is wide open facing the wall. Noise will hit against the wall then bounce out towards the room. This is only helped to be pushed out by the fans you've installed. You're going to hear the water gurgles, fans, pumps, skimmer, etc... even louder because of the reverb deflection by the sheetrock wall.
2. The sheetrock wall behind the tank. 99% of the people out there don't fully understand sheetrock. It can be used as a sound dampener, but this only works if it's against a solid surface. Typically walls layered with sheetrock are completely hollow allowing noise to get trapped inside and then being transferred throughout the entire wall itself. With this you'll get the mumbled noises. (And NO, if you use a cup to listen to the people next door through a wall you can not understand what they are saying. You just amplify the mumbled noise)
3. The wood flooring: Unless you installed the flooring yourself, there probably isn't going to be anything under it, so the wood flooring will just allow the vibrations flow outward as well. Simple solution there isn't so easy. You would need to lift each corner by hand just high enough to slide a small piece of rubber under the corners this way it dampens the floor vibration.
4. The floor again. Get a nice throw rug and toss it in the room. It'll help cut down on the echo's. Hanging wall carpets will do the same also.
For example take a look at everything under the tank.
1. The back is wide open facing the wall. Noise will hit against the wall then bounce out towards the room. This is only helped to be pushed out by the fans you've installed. You're going to hear the water gurgles, fans, pumps, skimmer, etc... even louder because of the reverb deflection by the sheetrock wall.
2. The sheetrock wall behind the tank. 99% of the people out there don't fully understand sheetrock. It can be used as a sound dampener, but this only works if it's against a solid surface. Typically walls layered with sheetrock are completely hollow allowing noise to get trapped inside and then being transferred throughout the entire wall itself. With this you'll get the mumbled noises. (And NO, if you use a cup to listen to the people next door through a wall you can not understand what they are saying. You just amplify the mumbled noise)
3. The wood flooring: Unless you installed the flooring yourself, there probably isn't going to be anything under it, so the wood flooring will just allow the vibrations flow outward as well. Simple solution there isn't so easy. You would need to lift each corner by hand just high enough to slide a small piece of rubber under the corners this way it dampens the floor vibration.
4. The floor again. Get a nice throw rug and toss it in the room. It'll help cut down on the echo's. Hanging wall carpets will do the same also.
pulse
Member
well its the white noise aspect of the tank that my wife hates, so fans are out.
i think the biggest help would be carpets. i just realized now that we have hella echo in there. it seems so obvious, but i never thought about it before.
i'll look into the other stuff as well and see what i can do.
thanks for the help.
i think the biggest help would be carpets. i just realized now that we have hella echo in there. it seems so obvious, but i never thought about it before.
i'll look into the other stuff as well and see what i can do.
thanks for the help.
srgvigil
Member
Originally Posted by ca161406
http:///forum/post/2755042
. but its not like yeal can just lift it up and place a piece of carpet to find out lol
Just invite me over, its five dollars a ticket to see the gun show
http:///forum/post/2755042
. but its not like yeal can just lift it up and place a piece of carpet to find out lol
Just invite me over, its five dollars a ticket to see the gun show
V
vince-1961
Guest
I cut down on drain gurgle by putting two 90 degree elbows on the top of the drain pipe. Drill a small hole at the apex. If the apex is not already above the water line, stick a tube or straw in it for air flow to reach air. Drill a 1/2" hole under the water line at a depth where you want the siphon to break when you turn the pump off.
The water will enter from the bottom of your 180 degree turn, which is underwater, thus eliminating "drain gurgle" completely.
The water will enter from the bottom of your 180 degree turn, which is underwater, thus eliminating "drain gurgle" completely.
pulse
Member
Originally Posted by Kanima http:///forum/post/2761854
Pulse, I have been there done that , read that , googled that ...
I have the same setup on a Hardwood floor.
SO here is my suggestions.
Go get a bed eggcrate that foam stuff they make to make a bed sleep better( I had an old one and used that). It is easy to cut really good noise reduction, it is not stiff easy to work with can bend and be pushed in tight spots. Put it behind the aquarium, the width and height of the stand if not a few inches taller, that will stop the echo bouncing off the sheet rock. IF you have room you can put it inside the stand as well on the sides.
Sump noise, IF the overflow is not going up and down flushing. You don't need any extra hose or 90's or 45's. And if your overflows have durso pipes in them I assume most newer stuff does.
This is what you need to do to stop and I mean stop any and all sump noise from the bubbles coming down the overflow.
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...p-muffler.html
This works awesome. Even with mine, the outside pipe is not is not tall evenough to be out of the sump water but it still stopped all the bubbles in my sump, stopped all the gurggling and the salt spray. It is the best I have tried the reverse durso, the half floating tee anything and everything to stop noise.
A hacksaw, drill , 15.00 worth of pvp some glue and your noise is a whisper.
Thanks a lot for the help. Operation Silence is still a work in progress, but I installed the sump muffler today. Working great!
Here are the details:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/336051/sump-muffler#post_2781331
Pulse, I have been there done that , read that , googled that ...
I have the same setup on a Hardwood floor.
SO here is my suggestions.
Go get a bed eggcrate that foam stuff they make to make a bed sleep better( I had an old one and used that). It is easy to cut really good noise reduction, it is not stiff easy to work with can bend and be pushed in tight spots. Put it behind the aquarium, the width and height of the stand if not a few inches taller, that will stop the echo bouncing off the sheet rock. IF you have room you can put it inside the stand as well on the sides.
Sump noise, IF the overflow is not going up and down flushing. You don't need any extra hose or 90's or 45's. And if your overflows have durso pipes in them I assume most newer stuff does.
This is what you need to do to stop and I mean stop any and all sump noise from the bubbles coming down the overflow.
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...p-muffler.html
This works awesome. Even with mine, the outside pipe is not is not tall evenough to be out of the sump water but it still stopped all the bubbles in my sump, stopped all the gurggling and the salt spray. It is the best I have tried the reverse durso, the half floating tee anything and everything to stop noise.
A hacksaw, drill , 15.00 worth of pvp some glue and your noise is a whisper.
Thanks a lot for the help. Operation Silence is still a work in progress, but I installed the sump muffler today. Working great!
Here are the details:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/336051/sump-muffler#post_2781331