Sump

[jcolon2]

Thank you to everyone who has helped me with my sump. Especially Kathyc and WillC! I had my step dad purchase all the plumbing with me. We spent an about 2 hours purchasing supplies and another 3 horus installing the sump. It is loud : / however, after 1 flood, and much money and time, the sump is completely functional. We shut the power off, made adjustments, and now do not have to worry about flooding. The sump fills to the top, but does not overflow. : D It is primarily pvc with about 1 foot of hose. The pvc was secured with teflon tape and pvc cement. The pipes were also cleaned out with cleaning fluid, and then washed out with water several times. There are no leaks : ) The only bad thing is that the sump doesn't fit my bak pack 2 protein skimmer; the water is too low for the skimmer to function. It only has a heater in it. Thanks once again!

 

[knugenx]

Awesome...now you can focus back on collecting corals!

 

[jcolon2]

Bump. Can someone figure out how I can reduce the noise caused by my overflow box?

 

[JimmyR1rider]

Buy a good set of earplugs Mines real loud too but still am adjusting the durso that I built with the size of the air hole in the cap

 

[duke62]

is it an external overflow box

 

[Will C]

no problem Justin, you'll be up to a 120 - 150 in no time!

 

[Lunareclipse]

Mine sounds like niagra falls. Once you get used to it, it's relaxing. I just have to turn the TV up louder to watch a movie.

 

[pdnyc69]

Need pics of your setup

 

[jcolon2]

Duke, it is an external overflow, a CPR 150. Will, thank you for the sump. Without your generosity, this wouldn't have been possible : ) I told my mom what you said about the 120. She laughed, and hung up the phone lol. Lunareclipse, My room does sound like Niagra Falls. It will be interesting attempting to watch television or lsiten to my music, now when my mom calls me from upstairs I have a legit reason, not an excuse, as to why I don't hear her lol. PDNYC, my camera isn't working right now. I would love to though.

 

[Imbarrie]

 

[Imbarrie]

Is the sound coming from your overflow box or from your sump?
I had a very loud constant Niagara Falls noise coming from my tank after I set up my first sump.

I have a 75 Gallon RR with a factory Durso drain and a Mag 7 return. I researched this extensively online and found what worked for some people did not work for me, always seems to be the case.
I tried many mods, and many trips to Lowes for PVC pipe, and this is what works for me in the three different sumps I have built. It was cheap and very effective in my situations.

The drain from your tank contains water and air and both are pouring into your sump. The bubbles incorporated in this mixture are popping as they are colliding with other air bubbles as they are constantly pouring down your drain, this squeeze point is generating the sound. This sound is somewhat confined by the drain so part of it travels up to the overflow and this is where you hear it.

What worked for me was to plumb my drain so it has a gentle slope right before it goes into the sump. This causes the water and air to separate. It enters the sump through a 90deg so the flow is directed straight down.
Everything past this point is submerged underwater in my sump.
A couple inches further it passes through a 45deg then a TEE. The TEE is inline with the 45deg. The 45deg causes the mixture to separate again and allow the air to silently exit the top of the TEE and pop at the surface while the water flows out the bottom. I cut a plexiglass cover and drilled a hole through it for the pipe so I dont get any salt creep from the popping bubbles.

Before this mod I could not watch TV in my living room at a comfortable volume, now I only hear a trickle. This would be completely silent if I would insulate my drain hose. That trickle is soothing and at the level of one of those small desk top fountain.

If you want I can post a pic of this.

 

[duke62]

hte other reason i drilled my tank other then the fact of power outage and flood issues was the fact i heard external overflows make a ton of noise.with the drilled tank the water is confined into the pipes which muffle the sound.even with my 120 with internal overflow if the pipe was to low i would hwear noise like niagara falls and to high i would get a slurping noise.im wondering if there was a way you could fabricate a piece of acrilic with an air hole to cover the overflow.im not experienced with external so maybe somone could chime in.

 

[KathyC]

No tank is totally silent I do find the RR ones make more noise than OFB tanks- I've run both, but there is hope!

From what you say, I assume most of the noise you are talking about is coming from the OFB. You might try turning down the flow on the return pump (assuming you installed a ball valve right after the return pump (?)
If so, turn it back by 1/4 turn and see if that helps, if not, try another turn, just don't turn it down too low.

Also keep in mind that as the pipes mature and build up a coating inside, the water will run through there more smoothly.

If the noise is coming from where the water enters the sump (noise could be combination from both of these locations)..you might try adding a filter sock.
How far above the water in the sump does the drain pipe end?

 

[jcolon2]

The noise comes from the sump. However, I reduced it. I adjusted the ball valve. In addition, I think a coat of slime has built up already. I hear way less noise.

 

[anthony27]

you are welcome