2 questions about sump noise...

[-madmax-]

i'm building my girlfriend (yes, there are girlfriends who like this hobby, well @ least until you married...just joking) a new tank.

it's a 72g bow front aga with one overflow box. the setup was done (used tank) with the old style pipe with holes or also called waterfall setup (e.g. very loud) so i converted the setup to a durso standpipe

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe_menu.htm

which works great, but here the 2 questions....

1.) the return from the sump has a small hole in the 90deg piece before it goes back to the main tank. this hole make a fine squeak sound (not kidding) when i put my finger there and seal it everything works fine and the sound is gone.

the hole look like drilled on purpose. question is this hole there to break the sippon ? just a guess or anything else? i'm afraid of sealing it :-(

2.)how to you deal with the noise the water makes which falls down into your sump ? now that i have the top so quite the water getting down makes a lot of noise... :-(
i'm not sure if it is the water falling or the water getting into the sump, but its loud!


thanks for reading!

 

[tanzy]

The hole on the return is there to break the siphon. I wouldn't be too quick about sealing that hole yet. I'm not too sure what can be done and I don't know what causes the squeaking (venturi effect???).
I have an acrylic cover for my sump which cuts down evaporation, noise and salt spray. I suffer more from my Iwaki then anything else because it's outside on a shelf for my skimmer.

 

[beerbaron]

try disconnecting your return pump with your finger over the hole. see how much the sump fills up. if it doesnt overflow and there is breathing room your ok. if its cutting it close or ready to overflow, you can still seal the hole, just move it to a spot right below the waterlevel on the return line this way it will stil break the siphon. just remember to always test it first by unplugging everything after your done to see if it works.

 

[Osama]

For the noise from water flowing into the sump; try extending the return (if it is above then water line) to below the water line in the sump & see if that helps .

 

[reefland]

I have the same hole and ran into the same noise issue you did. I stuffed a chunck of styrofoam between the elbow and overflow wall. This removed the noise. I then drilled the siphon break hole in the plumbing work on the other side of the overflow chamber wall -- worked perfectly.

As to the noise in the sump, is it from water free falling into the sump or is it from the bubbling and rolling water created from the air bubbles?

Keep the pipes submerged but no more than 2 inches or so otherwise you might start see a flushing effect in the overflow chamber from the back pressure on the drain.

I have my pipes draining into a 4 inch PVC pipe just standing vertical in the sump. Cut to just above the height of the sump water level. Helped reduce noise and acts as a baffle helping to direct bubbles to the surface.

 

[reefland]

[Snip]

Ack! damn double posts.