Quietest pumps revisted, 2006

[linderaberry]

I haven't had an aquarium for 20 years and I want to start up again, something in the 15 to 35 gallon range. The thing is, I can't STAND pump noises. That's why I discontinued keeping aquaria long ago. Now my hearing isn't as good as it used to be, so I think I can stand a very quiet pump. I want to buy whatever pump and filtration system is absolutely the quietest, and then select the tank size and everything else based on that pump.

So, who can tell me, what's the quietest pump?

Also, any tricks that anyone knows to silence the pump without making it overheat or anything -- I'd love to hear them.

Thanks.

 

[Len]

:welcome:

And welcome back to the hobby

For a tank below 40 gallon, there's a lot of choices for quiet pumps. Most submersible pumps will be very quiet since water insulates their mechanical and vibrational noise. I've had very good success with running Eheims; like you, noise is a big concern for me. Iwaki 20RLT can be dead quiet as well. This is an inline pump, and so long as you have it isolated from the cabinent floor (via mousepads, or a product called Vibrapods), you should hear no noise from a small Iwaki.

I line the inside of my cabinet with sound-absorbing foam to further reduce noise. Never cover the pump itself.

 

[cindre2000]

Sound absorbing foam all the way.

My return pump is a submersable CA4000, and is usually inaudible. However, my protien skimmer (ASM mini) is increadibly loud, combined with the noise from my fans that keep the tank from over heating.

It is also a good idea to think about drain size since that can be a big contributer to noise, I have two 1" drains (i think i overdid it), and no noise from that; just my stupid skimmer.

 

[linderaberry]

Thanks. You guys are giving me a good starting place. There's no substitute for advice from experienced up-to-date folk. Wish I could listen to pumps in the store before buying them. It's a matter not only of volume but also of pitch. I am hypersensitive to some pitches that most humans can't hear at all.

So, I should look for pumps designed for 40 gallons and under? That's about what I expected. The reason I expect to keep only small tanks is that I don't think I can stand the noise of a big pump, even with foam etc.

The pumps I used to have were limited as to how far away I could keep them from the tanks. In an ideal world I would drill holes in my floor and have pumps in the basement and tanks upstairs. Does anyone here have a system like that?

I hadn't thought about the relationship of noise to drain size. Could you elaborate on that?

Thank you!

 

[linderaberry]

And I am, alas, from the era of air stones. Haven't even thought about what I am going to do for a protein skimmer, so I am really glad you brought that up.

 

[bleedingthought]

How much mullah do you want to lay down on a skimmer? Hang on, in sump, or external? Some brands to consider: Deltec, Euroreef, AquaC, Octopus, ASM, Coralife SS - more or less in order from $$$$$ to $.

 

[Len]

You don't have to limit yourself to small tanks because of the pump. There are some big pumps that can be very very quiet. Most of the noise that I find acceptable is caused by vibration. For inline pumps, you can reduce nearly all of this vibration with the right products, such as the aforementioned Vibrapods that I find work so well. There are also pumps that are nearly dead silent but output a lot of water. Such pumps include the very expensive (imported) Red Dragon pumps as well as the readily available Dolphin and Reeflo pumps. Large submerisbles are available too (bigger Eheims, Mags, etc.) These will heat up the water much more, but if noise is the main issue, submerisbles are a good choice.

All in all, you can minimize the noise of pumps so that it's amongst the least of your issues. Skimmer and fan noises usually account for much greater decibels.

 

[das75]

I had a big concern as well of pump noise so that's one of the main reasons my tank is on the main floor, the sump along with the skimmer is in the basement.

Another advantage of going to the basement is I can still use evap for cooling and not having fans in the canopy upstairs.

There is the balancing though of upping the size the pump for flow with the addtional head against the noise that larger pump will make.

 

[linderaberry]

Thanks for the observations. Das 75, how far below your tank is your pump, and what can you tell me about the limitations of keeping the pump far from the tank?

Bleedingthought, I see that I have to totally re-educate myself on skimmers. I have no idea what kind to get, or what prices are reasonable. I was planning to spend as much as necessary to get a quiet pump, then buy everything else with whatever pennies are left over. That may not be practical. I wonder if I can do without a skimmer?

Swishing and bubble noise is is fine. Gloops are also fine, I rather like gloops. Schlurps are okay. The "machine" noises aren't -- grinding sounds, whines, rumbles, throbs, thrums, zzzrs, snores, and buzzes.

 

[fishinsouthga]

on the note of skimmers i just had mine replaced from the store, its now a octopus NW200 and I LOVE IT, its virtually silent, i hear some of the return water when my sump lvl is low (least untill the auto top off kicks in) then i can't hear much over the small fans i have for the hood.

 

[bleedingthought]

You could do it without the skimmer, although I'm very happy with one and would recommend it. If you have a big enough sump, I'd go with an in-sump. You're looking, for a tank around 30-40 gallons, at anywhere from $90 to $500 (or higher!) depending on what brand/kind you go with.

I wouldn't place a skimmer at the top of the equipment list but it wouldn't be close to the bottom either. :wink:

 

[bleedingthought]

You might want to check this thread out: http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=78592

Hope this helps!

 

[das75]

Thanks for the observations. Das 75, how far below your tank is your pump, and what can you tell me about the limitations of keeping the pump far from the tank?

I have a vertical head of about 9 feet and a horizontal run for the return of about 12 feet. Display is in my living room, sump in the furnace room. I was lucky when I set things up as moved into a new house with an unfinished basement so everything was open for me.

There are some other negatives about a basement sump but I think well outweighed by the advantages. Some of the problems could be routing, plumbing material cost and increase in cost of pump due increase size to compensate for head loss. Wiring so the return pump can be switched from the display area could be a problem for some as well.

There's various head loss calculators on the web but take a look at the one at RC to get an idea of head loss http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php or there's a good collection of plots here: http://www.reefs.org/library/pumps/

 

[cindre2000]

Putting the sump in your basement is a viable choice, you just have to deal with running the water down there, and running the water back up. I belive that it tends to be a bit expensive for smaller tanks (compared to the price of the tank). You mainly just need a pump that can handle the head pressure, which usually means more money. However, you should not have a noise issue if you do this.

As for drain size; you need to figure how much water will be going through your tank/sump. You then get a drain to match that. I would think a larger drain would make less noise since less water is going to through it. A too small drain on the other hand can create a very loud syphon/toilet bowl effect.

.75"- 300 gph
1"- 600 gph
1.25"- 900 gph
1.5"- 1200 gph
(rough estimates)

You then want about 10 times your tank volume running through. More is possible, it just creates bubble issues with small sumps. However, if you got a nice cheap 100 gallon rubber maid sump :twisted: . You should be able to handle it easily; especially with a tank under 40 gallons.