Mag 12 Noise

[Baldy]

Hello,

I hope this forum was the right one for this question. I just set up my new sump in my basement with a mag 12 and started it circulating itself as i wanted to check flow through it. i have the mag 12 pumping through a manifold so i can regulate flow without choking off the pump, then through 10 feet of 1" flex hose, and back into where the overflow will be piped.

when i open the mag 12 all the way, it sounds as if there is air bubbles in the pump. the hum of the pump is no more than i expected, but the sound of air bubbles is quite loud. there is no head pressure on the pump at the moment, as its just returning to the other end of the sump. if i choke the pump back a bit though, the sound stops, and it just hums. I can only think that maybe its because this is a brand new pump and needs to break in.

any ideas?

[ScubaSteve]

Yes, once you have a little back pressure those noises die down a bit but give it a month or two of running and it will be pretty quiet. Once the biofilm builds up they quiet down. Cut a piece of enolite (camping mat foam) and stick it under the pump. It'll cut down a lot of the hum.

[Baldy]

Is it ok to use the adhesive backed foam that came with the pump submerged on the sump?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by TheNewGuy

Is it ok to use the adhesive backed foam that came with the pump submerged on the sump?

Yup, I've had mine in the sump for a year. Doesn't help much though

[Baldy]

So those foams that you get from camping mats are fine to keep submerged? I'm a little worried about introducing contaminants. I was thinking about using filter floss as I have a large roll or maybe a sponge.

[Jakegr]

Styrofoam also works well if placed under the pump.

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by TheNewGuy

So those foams that you get from camping mats are fine to keep submerged? I'm a little worried about introducing contaminants. I was thinking about using filter floss as I have a large roll or maybe a sponge.

Most closed cell foams are totally fine provided they don't contain an antimicrobial. Neoprene for one is perfect for quieting pumps and is probably even better in terms of material stability. You can get neoprene mat from foam shops or BRS. I used enolite as I had a bunch left over (I use it under my tank).

[lastlight]

Yeah the denser foams are better than floss of a more porous foam like an aquaclear insert style because those would trap a ton of crap in them and you'd likely not be rinsing the thing.

I use a mag 12 right now as my skimmer feed pump. it's been running for months and is a quiet hum but it has always sounded like there are little bubbles or grains of material bouncing around inside it. Maybe there are lol. It's certainly nothing you can hear 5 feet away tho.

[Baldy]

And mine I can definitely hear from 5 feet away. Its jot as bad as if you run a pump dry or anything, bit it sounds like its gargling air. I'll just let it circulate in the basement for a while and see what happens. Thanks for the replies guys

[Delphinus]

Something to think about when you have too much flow and directing flow back into the sump, most pumps performance curves show that energy consumption is tied to flowrate and not head pressure. So, directing flow back into the sump instead of throttling them back is going to cost you more per month in electricity than simply throttling the output down with a valve (all you're doing is adding to the head pressure).