It's just way too loud...

[Doormatt]

*Sigh*

Two months ago, I couldn't wait to start my foray into Reefkeeping. Now I almost wish I hadn't started.

My tank is a 37G with an 18G sump, and from day one, I've had nothing but problems with noise. I've got a internal overflow box with 1 1/4" bulkheads drilled in the back wall (Both intake and output). I've got a MAG 9.5 powering my return.

I started out with 1 1/4" Vinyl tubing for my overflow, and that was noisy as all hell. It would make horrific gurgling noises, and if I closed the ball valve slightly on the return line, it would make it slightly better, but I'd be paranoid about an overflow.

So, yesterday and today, I switched the entire return line to 1 1/4" PVC (external durso mod), and it STILL gurgles like crazy. I've tried different size holes in the top cap of the durso, and it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference.

I'm at my wits end here, and rather than being a relaxing hobby, this is quickly turning into a depressing exercise in futility.

Does ANYONE have any suggestions on how I can quiet my overflow?

[reeferaddict]

WHAT? Can't hear you! :mrgreen:

All I can think of is that there's something wrong with your Durso... I had a screen on my first overflow... then tried quieting with sponges etc etc... always sounded like a toilet running or something... then I built my Durso's and it's been a lot quiter since... (if you can ever get 260 gallons of sloshing water quiet that is....) :rolleyes:

[Doormatt]

What I'm starting to wonder is if the overflow just can't handle the full output of the MAG 9.5. If I throttle the MAG back roughly half or so, it quiets down considerably. I'm wondering if I need to drill an even bigger hole in my endcap, but I don't want to go too big tonight...

*tears hair out*

The worst part is, I don't know if it CAN get any quieter. I've never seen another home reef system so I don't know if what I've got is very loud, or just par for the course.

[Willito]

Can you get some pictures of the overflow and plumming. also the dimension of the overflow.

[Abbyreefer]

I have a dual overflow and have a mag 9.5 on mine with 2 stockman standpipes, when I only had 1 it mad the same gurgling noise because it couldn't keep up with the flow and was trying to push it down.. Now with the 2 stockmans its super quiet... I would say either put another durso (if possible) or just turn your mag down.. Turnover in the sump should only be about 5 times tank volume so your mag would be turned to about the half way point or even less depending on your head loss if you use the above calculations.

[Doormatt]

Sure thing!

Overflow box is: 5"W by 3"D by 5"T

I'll have pictures in a a few minutes...it's hard to see much, but I'll try and show as much as possible.

http://www.thepersonunderthestairs.com/IMG_0615.jpg

[Doormatt]

Okay...with the MAG throttled back to about half, it's pretty quiet. I could live with this, but part of me feels I've wasted all that money on a Mag 9.5, when I'm not using all this power.

[IslandReefer]

Just an idea, but it worked for me.
Remove the end cap and crank up the flow untill the durso starts to flush, then back off a bit. Then cover the top progressively untill it starts to gurgle and flush..ie to little air. Use this measurement to estimate hole size. ..mine is just over 3/8 in.
Good luck

[reeferaddict]

Now I can see the problem.... you need an elbow inside the overflow box.

A Durso or Stockman creates silent flow by drawing the water into the pipe under the surface... get an elbow in there facing down & crank that Mag to 100%... they won't last long running with back pressure anyways...

[IslandReefer]

HEY Yaaaa!!!....good eye Jim!!
tuning is the same though....should be almost silent when set -up

[christyf5]

Now I can see the problem.... you need an elbow inside the overflow box.

A Durso or Stockman creates silent flow by drawing the water into the pipe under the surface... get an elbow in there facing down & crank that Mag to 100%... they won't last long running with back pressure anyways...

dang! I was just gonna post that :razz:

[Doormatt]

Problem is, there's no room in the overflow for an elbow...Do I really need to get another overflow box built? The first one was pricy, and considering it was custom made (they told me it was big enough), I'd hate to have to spend the money all over again.

[Kabong]

See if you cut an elbow down, and make it fit.
Even if you cant fit it definitely dont pay for another overflow to be built,
its very easy to build your own.

Oh and if i was you i'd have words with whoever made you a overflow that
doesnt have room for an elbow in it.

[Doormatt]

Hadn't thought about cutting the elbow down, I'll see about that.

The overflow was $45 installed...in hindsight, compared to my other costs, that's nothing, and I'd prefer to have it profesionally done.

My only concern now is the fact that there's LR in the tank...I'd have to pull it all out and stick it in a rubbermaid. Not the end of the world, but a pain none the less.

[Jason McK]

A 90 should fit in there. Try cutting down the fitting. It doesn't have to be a sealed system. But it will elliminate the problem.

Also, you could cut a large hole in the top of your Derso and add a John Guess valve to regulate air flow. But that shouldn't be needed if you get the 90


J

[Doormatt]

Forgive my ignorance, and in an attempt to save myself 4 hours of mucking around with a saw...

What exactly do you mean by "cut down"?

[Kabong]

Even if you have to cut the elbow rite down to the corner, dont worry about it.
Just drain the water out of the overflow, tack it on with crazy glue.
Then just seal it with silicone.

[Kabong]

Just cut a inch or so of the elbow off so that it has one long side and short.
The short side goes to the plumbing. Hopefully that will make it slim enough to fit into the box.

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like in my bad diagram with the top one being the uncut pipe.

[reeferaddict]

Ya it won't have to be a perfectly tight fit.... just to redirect the water going into the plumbing from under the surface, and your noise will be gone... :mrgreen:

[andresont]

*Sigh*

Two months ago, I couldn't wait to start my foray into Reefkeeping. Now I almost wish I hadn't started.

My tank is a 37G with an 18G sump, and from day one, I've had nothing but problems with noise. I've got a internal overflow box with 1 1/4" bulkheads drilled in the back wall (Both intake and output). I've got a MAG 9.5 powering my return.

I started out with 1 1/4" Vinyl tubing for my overflow, and that was noisy as all hell. It would make horrific gurgling noises, and if I closed the ball valve slightly on the return line, it would make it slightly better, but I'd be paranoid about an overflow.

So, yesterday and today, I switched the entire return line to 1 1/4" PVC (external durso mod), and it STILL gurgles like crazy. I've tried different size holes in the top cap of the durso, and it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference.

I'm at my wits end here, and rather than being a relaxing hobby, this is quickly turning into a depressing exercise in futility.

Does ANYONE have any suggestions on how I can quiet my overflow?
http://www.dursostandpipes.com/
http://www.rl180reef.com/180/pages/standpipe/construct.htm

And you don't need it too high mine was very short , just enough to fit in the box.

This worked for me no noise at all and with small vent air hole in part #10 it can allow more flow then my Mag 950 can produce at 4 feet head

[Doormatt]

*grin*

You may have missed the part where I say that I moved to an external durso mod, and it's still noisy.

Thanks anyway though!

[KrazyKuch]

Get A street 90

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/507/1407PVC90.jpg

and cut it as close to the 90 as possible and the slide it in!!!

[outtafocus]

Heres what I did to fit a durso in my extremely tight overflow box.
You at least have the benefit of having most of your piping outside the tank.
I basically chopped the 90 in half.
You also wont need to worry about glueing the 90 in, as there isnt any leaking issues due to inside the tank. Press tight will be sufficient.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b213/outtafocuscalgary/2005_0911Image0002.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b213/outtafocuscalgary/2005_0911Image0001.jpg

[Doormatt]

OOkay. I've cut a 90 degree PVC fitting and siliconed it in place over the bulkhead (it's a threaded bulkhead, so I couldn't just get one to slip in).

I'm just going to wait an hour or so for the silicone to cure as much as possible, then I'll test it out.

I remember a thread on here a while back about someone saying their fish didn't like it when uncured silicone was in the water...anyone know if it will hurt my LR? It's all I've got in the tank right now.

[IslandReefer]

Curing silicone releases acetic acid....vinager.
So some irritation to more sensitive animals but as long as your buffering is OK (normal alk levels) there should be any harm to the LR....theoretically :smile:
...mission success ?...quiet now?

[Doormatt]

*grin*

Thanks SO much for that info! I'm assuming that since I've got about a teaspoon of silicone in the tank, it's not going to do much to raise the Ph of a 50 gallon total system by much.

I haven't run any water through it yet...I'm not sure if water impededes (or does anything) to the curing of silicone.

[Doormatt]

Well, I wouldn't call it a total victory, but it's pretty darn close!

I only have to throttle my mag 9.5 back a bit, and it doesn't really gurgle at all. I may have to change my plumbing in the future, as I think a lot of my current noise comes from the fact that after coming out the bulkhead, it does a 3ft drop, then goes into my sump. Would putting a few zig zags in there help quiet the water down?

Also, someone mentioned earlier that my mag might die a quicker death by having some back pressure on it...is this true?

Thanks again to all those to helped me. I feel MUCH less stressed now.

[Quinster]

if it is still making noise after the elbow addition and you still are throttling back a MAG 9 I would say the hole in the cap on top of your Durso is too big. I rectified the problem with a mod...it was mentioned earlier, the John Guest valve to control air flow.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v638/Quinster/MVC-004F.jpg

I also had to cut back the elbow due to size restraints. Also I added a snail trap, believe it or not I did get a snail over my overflow and into the standpipe. What a mess.

[christyf5]

I just put a piece of scotch tape over the hole in my durso till the sound went away. I think I ended up covering about half the hole. Currently with my eurobracing I can't even put the durso part on the standpipe and I just run it open but it has no sucking sound, compared to all the other noises that the tank makes, maybe I just don't notice it :razz:

[Doormatt]

I should probably be clearer...it doesn't make a sucking noise anymore :) I can just hear all the water rushing through the pipes.

If I throttle the mag down, the rushing sound quiets down (as would be expected).

I don't suppose anyone has any ideas on how to get rid of that?

[WWWD]

i have never had a tank that has had the pump run flat out matt. my t4 runs now at around 60% capasity so i wouldnt sweat it.

[Ruth]

I have my mag 9.5 on my 44g throttled back as well as no problems so far. As far as noise of the water running down I put a couple of 90's on the bottom and have the water discharge below the water level in the sump - cuts back on a lot of noise. It works for me but I am very plumbing impared so don't take my word on it. Now if I could just find some european size PVC I could run the discharges on my skimmer closer to the water level in my sump and cut back further on some noise of falling water.

[Doormatt]

Thanks everyone!

I really do appreciate all the advice! Hopefully I can stop worrying about my tank, and start enjoying it!

[christyf5]

You may find that as time goes on and your pipes get coated with biofilm and various algaes that they quieten down some :biggrin:

[GMGQ]

An alternative to stockmans/dursos, is to choke back the drain, so that your overflow sort of "overflows" to bring the water level a few inches above the drain hole. This results in a *silent* drain. Not even a single gurgle noise:

Drain:
http://www.auphanonline.com:8080/gallery/images/uploads/1/051118084530_432_1_2.jpg

But you must have a second drain that's a bit above the water level, in case the level fluctuates and goes too high (then that 2nd drain will kick in as an emergency drain).

Emergency Drain:
http://www.auphanonline.com:8080/gallery/images/uploads/1/051118181858_432_1.jpg

Wont work in everyone's setup, but if you can make it work, I'd highly suggest it. Now all I hear is the hum of my return pump. Sometimes it freaks me out because I dont hear the water trickle. I gotta open up the cabinet to make sure water is flowing through the sump. It's THAT quiet.

[reeferaddict]

Ahhh.... I prefer to hear water running.... makes me perpetually wanna pee... :lol:

[Chin_Lee]

An alternative to stockmans/dursos, is to choke back the drain, so that your overflow sort of "overflows" to bring the water level a few inches above the drain hole. This results in a *silent* drain. Not even a single gurgle noise:

Drain:
http://www.auphanonline.com:8080/gallery/images/uploads/1/051118084530_432_1_2.jpg

But you must have a second drain that's a bit above the water level, in case the level fluctuates and goes too high (then that 2nd drain will kick in as an emergency drain).

Emergency Drain:
http://www.auphanonline.com:8080/gallery/images/uploads/1/051118181858_432_1.jpg

Wont work in everyone's setup, but if you can make it work, I'd highly suggest it. Now all I hear is the hum of my return pump. Sometimes it freaks me out because I dont hear the water trickle. I gotta open up the cabinet to make sure water is flowing through the sump. It's THAT quiet.

Do search for HERBIE method for more details.