STOP the Noise

[OneTimer]

How do I stop my overflow from making that God awful sucking noise!

please help

 

[Avi]

Yeah...ya set up that nice new reef tank and then you plug the stuff in the wall and..."Whoa!! What's that??"

Where's the noise coming from...the overflow itself, the return from the overflow into the sump, etc.? And, what kind of overflow are you employing on your tank?

 

[OneTimer]

The noise is coming from the intake on the back of the overflow- the two intake tubes that feed the sump. it is a lifereef 600 gph overflow.

 

[Alex]

try a durso or stockman modification. either one will quiet down the noise.

 

[Avi]

Stockman since it's a hang-on overflow. It's really simple to fabricate, and the plans can be found here...

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe-ken_stockman.htm

Tip: A hole has to be drilled for the top of the standpipe and I found that for my overflows only one that's 3/32nds of an inch worked perfectly. I'd imagine that each system is different so get a few of the PVC caps and try different sized holes until one works completely to give you utter silence.

 

[dubs]

put a towel over box make sure that the towel dont fall in or get cought in the return line thats waht i do with mine so it dont sound like a waterfall in my living room

 

[SevTT]

+1 durso. IF you've got it drilled already you can add it to the back of the tank. The key component is not the down-facing spout, but the T with the hole in the cap. This acts as a moderator, preventing the water column from being a solid column of water. That water column has a lot of kinetic energy, and when you have uneven flow into it -- bubble-gaps and such, that causes a lot of sucking and gurgling.

Keep in mind that adding a durso will slightly lower the capacity of your overflow, in GPH.