What protein skimmer brand is the most quiet sounding ?
 

I am using a ASM G3 skimmer for my 75 gallon and 40 gallon sump, it works perfect and skims very well. The only problem is, the noise from the returning pipe is like having a constant waterfall in my bedroom. I don't mind in the summer time, because the humming sound from the air conditioner is louder than the sound of water. But now the weather is getting cooler, I have a hard time to fall to sleep at night now that the air conditioner is turned off. I am looking for a skimmer that is not costing too much money and it has to be quiet. I perfer to ask someone from this forum first before I spend money on something I may regret later. I prefer the foot print is no bigger than my G3 right now.

My buddy reefbyremote was in the exact same situation as you with his 90, he ordered a SWC 160 to cut down on noise and he has good things to say about it. Maybe he'll chime in and give you some feedback on his new skimmer.

Can you modify the output so that the water returns below the water line?

I had the same skimmer once upon a time. Do a gate valve mod on it. Not only will that make it quieter but you'll save money by not buying a new skimmer and performing adjustments will become much easier. I did a quick google search and found this http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/...e-valve-2.html

My two SWC skimmers are dead silent, however the bigger one (180 cone) has a noisy return pipe too, but that's just because I should have it in another inch if water. I just put a 45 degree elbow on it to aim the return down.

Could you possibly wrap the outlet of the skimmer with some fabric, filter floss or a cut out filter sock (where the bottom is cut out) ? This acts as a muffler and helps to direct the outlet water down into the sump water more gently. Just make sure the muffler is submerged in the water. A lot of skimmers come with mufflers like the Hydor brand of skimmers. I used to have one and ya, without that muffler it was very noisy. With the muffler it was dead silent. The thicker the muffler the quieter it'll be :-D

K.

sorry i am going to piggy back on this -Myka is your swc units air intake loud? Mine is annoyingly loud.

I had moded the gate valve already but it is still making lots of noise when the water is splashing back up. My appartment is extremely quiet no matter day or night, I know it is difficult to find a skimmer that is completely quiet. I will try to muffler something as Kien said and let see if it works or not. Anyway, I would like to know if there is any skimmer that is quieter than the ASM, my birthday is coming in November I can ask as a gift :lol:

Wooden air diffuser driven skimmers do not make much sound, just the sound of your air pump and those are generally fairly quiet. Old school technology, but uses little power & sound level is very low.

Water splashing back up? Try modding your mod... This is how I did mine. No noise and basically no micro bubbles even.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...edo/pic042.jpg