Noisy sump! Going insane! Help!!!

enzo54321 · #1 01-06-2003, 12:08 PM

Hi everyone,

Please help any sugestion or solutions are appreciated.
I just instaled my new tank during the holidays with a durso standpipe I thought this would be extremely silent but what do I get instead is a silent and I mean SILENT top of tank wich is great but an extra toilet in the house in the stand in the sump (20 gal sump).

The sound of gargeling flushing splashing water coming in to the sump is driving me and my wife insane!!! To make it worse my aquarium is in the living room were the T.V. and family spend most of theire time in, so I can't really just close the door on it and move on to another room the living room is THE ROOM.

What do I do? Please Help... S.O.S---S.O.S

Dez · #2 01-06-2003, 02:46 PM

You can have your overflow flow into a little tupperware container with drilled holes...

You can also put a peace of foam under the overflow pipe..

You can fill the section where it overflows into with bio-balls...

Hope this helps...

I use method # 3

Des

AJ_77 · #3 01-06-2003, 03:08 PM

If you search reefcentral for "Durso mods" or "standpipe" or even "toilet" I think you will have a ton of reading. This seems to be a complaint that comes up regularly, and many have battled it.

Some of our own members have come up with nifty variants of this design as well. Use that very handy search function on the right!

Alan

ldzielak · #4 01-06-2003, 06:36 PM

Is the outlet of the line under the water level? You should get no sound if it is under the water level. I have a stockman stand pipe on my 33g QT and it's quiet without a hood.

Lee

enzo54321 · #5 01-06-2003, 07:19 PM

I've tried to submerse the pipe but no luck!

Delphinus · #6 01-06-2003, 07:27 PM

How is the water entering the sump? Is your overflow pipe coming straight down (i.e., vertical)? I've found there's not much you can do about the water crashing in that kind of case. You need to switch the overflow pipe so it can enter into the sump at some kind of angle (or at least have a section of gentle slope). This slows down the water so that it "slides" into the sump rather than "crashes" into the sump. I don't know if this makes sense based on my description. If you can maybe draw a rudimentrary diagram, or show us a picture of your sump setup right now maybe we can offer some more specific suggestions.

Don't worry, there is a solution out there.

Seriak · #7 01-06-2003, 07:54 PM

I have the same issue. Right now I am living with the sound as it is not that important. However, in my past readings I have heard of people putting a U shaped peice of piping on the end of the outflow. In essense, you are bringing the pipe to the bottom of your sump and then accross the bottom and the up slightly but below the water level. Also, I have heard of people drilling tiny holes along the horizontal peice of pipe that lets out the air bubble slowly as opposed to the big loud bubbles.

Hope this helps. I will be trying this on my new sump when it gets built.

Chris

Delphinus · #8 01-06-2003, 08:15 PM

When I had a vertical overflow into the sump, I tried a U-tube. Tried it right at the water surface, below, all the way to the bottom then all the way back up. I personally found it made no difference, because in my case the problem was just the sheer weight of the water in a straight vertical column. I also had issues of the overflow "burping" (pressure building up then suddenly releasing). It was horrible. The only thing that solved this was having the overflow go nearly horizontal at one point, and then "slide" into the sump at a 45 degree angle. I can't beleive how much of an improvement that made.

In my case though, was a standing pipe type overflow in the main display, and the water drained downwards into the sump in a perfectly straight column. Definitely not the way to do things...

PS. Edit. Apparently I do not know the difference between "horizontal" and "vertical." Ooops. ops:

Seriak · #9 01-06-2003, 08:29 PM

Hey,

Did that eleviate the water cycling in your overflow. (Burping) My overflow has the durso standpipe and it currently rises and lowers a few inches in the overflow column. I was told to adjust my pipe to 1-1'4 iinch from 1 inch. However my pipe goes striaght down and makes all sorts of sounds like you describe. Maybe a should just buy a 90 and a 45 with some more pipe and see what happens.

Chris

rossb · #10 01-07-2003, 12:54 AM

I am not trying to open a can of worms here by using the dreaded abs reference...OK... but I have a similiar setup. My problem is I am using two rear overflows that sound like niagra falls. I have quietened them a bunch by adding foam and bio balls. My sump on the other hand is very quiet, and I expect this to be a bit of luck. I have two drains and at the bottom of each is a 90 followed by a run of pipe (1 1/2 abs) and at the other end another 90.

I was curious about the durso standpipe reference and I think it solved my noise problem in my tank...and gave me two my refugiums...

good question