Planning a QUIET tank!!
 

I'm interested in stepping up to a larger tank from my 33 sometime in the future and my primary objective will be to make it QUIET. I plan to have 3 sides visible probably a 75-120g with equipment from one small end.

I will likely build a stand for it to put the noisy skimmer in the cabinet and so I have the option to put in a refugium underneath as well. However, I want it to be silent and low flow so what are the best options for this? Doesn't anyone have such a system that is very quiet and still with a sump/refugium?

I may consider running without the sump/fuge but the problem then is how to hook up the skimmer so it is quiet, can a skimmer be converted to work like a canister filter that is enclosed under the stand?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Got a basement?

Yes, but unfortunately for the tank.

Just drill some holes in the floor and run all the equipment in the basement. Get a pump that still flows a decent amount of water at 10 feet of head.

Do you have any way to build a small room behind the tank to house your sump/fuge and equipment? That might be the best way to make sure you get as quiet as is possible.

Have a really small return from the sump (about 5x tanks volume) and run the rest through closed loops and quiet pumps (such as a Velocity series pumps) or powerheads. Also, have your standpipe higher up in the overflow so the water falls about 1/4" and your tank will almost be dead silent.

Look up the thread on Herbie's silent sump system on Reef Central.

Put closed-cell foam padding under the sump, and underneath the return pump and the skimmer pump.

Look for silent pumps such as Velocity or Eheim return pumps.

Thanks for the ideas... I'd love to do a tank that extends from a wall with equipment in the other room but I want to place it on an outside wall in the middle of a large rec room to really show it off. So, I need everything to be within the cabinet.

I'll check out some of those pump suggestions also. I have a mag7 on a 90 gallon freshwater sump system and it is FAR too loud. Do any of you know how the velocity pumps compare to a mag7. I don't mind reducing the flow rate if it will make it quieter as I might only do a fuge, and not really a high flow sump.

Thanks for the help.

I just switched out my noisy mag 9.5 for an Eheim 1260. Almost twice the price :eek: but almost silent, and the tank is running about 2 degrees cooler...
I stuck a thin piece of neoprene foam under the pump, and have a stockman style (hang on) overflow, so all in all the system is pretty quiet. The trickling of water flowing through the pipe to the sump is all I hear now, but it's louder than I thought it would be, so going to experiment with a longer piece of air tubing.

~Tamara

Shy,

Glad to hear the eheim returns are much quieter. My wife and I run eheim canisters and nothing but for our freshy tanks and they are worth every penny since they are silent. I should have known the same would be try for their sump style pumps (guess I never looked anough though).

Thanks...