Sound Proofing Your Stand?

[maze]

Hey all,
I finished the plumbing on my 90g and was testing it for leaks this past weekend and the noise from the two pumps is pretty loud. I have two "Little Giant" inline pumps; one for the skimmer and one for the main return and they are in the compartment under the stand.
Has anyone used dynamat or any other kind of sound dampening material to line the inside of their stands? That stuff isn't cheap so I'd like to know if anyone has used it and if it made a big difference or not.
Also, this is my first aquarium, so these are the only pumps I've ever used. Any opinions on pumps brands that are quiet?
Thanks

 

[psusocr1]

i use little giant as well and if you think their loud you should hear some pumps!! IMO little giant is one of the more quite pumps on the market.. also if your getting vibration from the pump on your stand i went and bought thick mud flaps and cut a piece to fit under my pump and you cant hear a thing!

 

[oceanbreez]

how about the prefilter gurgling? I hear a bit of noise but not a lot.
I have a towel on it now to muffle the noise. The pump isn't too
bad although I can hear a little noise. I am sort of getting used to
the mufflied gurgel. The water is looking beautfiul though now
and teh tank is totally stabalized now too.

 

[maxalmon]

When I had my 240 a couple of years ago the sound of the LG pump was insane, I found that when I sat the pump on top some folded up towels it really helped reduce the noise, putting a towel over it who cause a lot of heat build up, IMO....My tank that I have now was kinda loud so I went to HomeDepot and got a 4x8 panel of foam insulation (3/4) and then cut and fit it inside the tank stand using double sided padded tape to hold everything in place, what a diff!!!!!!!!!!! Ah...nice and quiet, one hole in the foam to run electrical

 

[maxalmon]

Oh, the cost of the panel was like $11 and tape was another $4

 

[maxalmon]

gurgling from overflow, I used some of that white and blue filter pad stuff and put a layer in the top of the overflow, had to playwith it for a while but now it's totally silent, I also have a coarse prefilter inside my surface skimmer so that I't catches stuff before it has a chance to build up on the non-gurling bluepad stuff, sorry for being so technical

 

[lubeck]

Carpeting works Great!!! I would say it cuts the sound by at least 50%

 

[maze]

Thanks guys. I actually have 3/4 styrofoam underneath the pumps now to decrease vibration, but I think I'm going to line the walls and doors with something too to decrease the motor sound.
The water gurgle from the prefilter is kind of annoying too so I appreciate the ideas to minimize that sound too

 

[saltfan]

Originally Posted by Maze
Hey all,
I finished the plumbing on my 90g and was testing it for leaks this past weekend and the noise from the two pumps is pretty loud. I have two "Little Giant" inline pumps; one for the skimmer and one for the main return and they are in the compartment under the stand.
Has anyone used dynamat or any other kind of sound dampening material to line the inside of their stands? That stuff isn't cheap so I'd like to know if anyone has used it and if it made a big difference or not.
Also, this is my first aquarium, so these are the only pumps I've ever used. Any opinions on pumps brands that are quiet?
Thanks
Little Giants are $$ hogs. Have you looked at the watts these things use??? Gen-X,will cost you less to operate on a daily basis, and they have rubber bottoms on the legs, the only noise you hear is the fan running. For instance. Little Giant 1500gph 480watts- Gen-X 1500gph-180watts, get the jist?

 

[turningtim]

Originally Posted by SaltFan
Little Giants are $$ hogs. Have you looked at the watts these things use??? Gen-X,will cost you less to operate on a daily basis, and they have rubber bottoms on the legs, the only noise you hear is the fan running. For instance. Little Giant 1500gph 480watts- Gen-X 1500gph-180watts, get the jist?
WOW! I had no clue there was that big a difference. Why is that? Is the LG stronger for more head pressure or something.........

 

[jakebtc]

I like that foil sandwiched foam insulation it's durable and good for sound deadening still workin on ideas for my bulkhead to the sump to be a lil less noisy though. thinkin about doing a sort of reverse spray bar for the water to spill into but not sure if it will help. it's the back glass that is drilled w/ bulkhead to keep waterline above tank rim

 

[oceanbreez]

Originally Posted by maxalmon
When I had my 240 a couple of years ago the sound of the LG pump was insane, I found that when I sat the pump on top some folded up towels it really helped reduce the noise, putting a towel over it who cause a lot of heat build up, IMO....My tank that I have now was kinda loud so I went to HomeDepot and got a 4x8 panel of foam insulation (3/4) and then cut and fit it inside the tank stand using double sided padded tape to hold everything in place, what a diff!!!!!!!!!!! Ah...nice and quiet, one hole in the foam to run electrical
lol where do you live and would you come do mine? I'll ask my fish guy if he
can do it. That's a great idea.

 

[saltfan]

Originally Posted by TurningTim
WOW! I had no clue there was that big a difference. Why is that? Is the LG stronger for more head pressure or something.........
I really dont' know the answer to that, but the ones that I listed are for high head. So it was an apples to apples comparison.

 

[marine fanatic]

I used this stuff called "pig mat". It is an oil absorbant material sold at the local auto parts store. It came in 12" x 12" sheets and I placed them inside the cabinet and then covered them with standard 1/4" plywood. Main reason I wanted sound proofing was the battery backup system I have....very good but very noisy (Minuteman series). That pig mat stuff worked really well for me.