Anyway to make the overflows quieter?

[rdefino]

I have a 210gal with 2 overflows in the back. They seem loud. You can really hear the water flowing down the drain. Is there any tricks to quieting down a tank with overflows.

My sump is in the basement below.

Thanks

[clevengergl]

try this..... www.dursostandpipes.com

I believe there are directions in there for making your own. Quiets things down sustantially

[jthao]

dursos do the job. I have two home made ones in the overflows, and I can't hear a thing.... totally silent.

[rdefino]

I'm using All-glass megaflows and can't see the difference in the construction.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=12078

[Rustylugnuts]

That is a durso so the noise shouldn't be too bad. Here a few ?'s
How many gallons per hour are you running?
The sump only needs 3-5x total system volume per hour for filtration purposes. Lower flow = less noise. Supplement flow using Seio's , Korallia's etc..
What kind of noise are you getting is a water fall or gurgling?
Are there air holes on the top of the cap?
Also any 90's in the drain plumbing can produce a bit of noise as well.

[rdefino]

I'm probably moving about 1400gph. There are 90's in the drain right under the tank. I'm using PVC.
There is a hole in the cap on top.
The noise sounds like water falling.

[Rustylugnuts]

My guess would be that its a combination of the high flow and the 90 on the bottom.
You could try to switch the drain over to spa flex . To bend it you place it in the oven @ 200 for about 5 minutes and then hold it in the desired shape until it cools. One more question. Is the opening of the drain under water? When I filled the sump the drain noise was much louder before the drain outlet was completely submerged.

[Playa-1]

Originally posted by rdefino
I'm probably moving about 1400gph. There are 90's in the drain right under the tank. I'm using PVC.
There is a hole in the cap on top.
The noise sounds like water falling.

It's likely that the noise your hearing is just air trying to escape the massive amount of flow. Try reducing the flow thru the sump with a ball valve between the return pump and the display. Just close the valve a little. That solves about 90% of the peoples noise problem. If you need additional flow get it from powerheads or a closed loop circulation system.
Don't try to put more the 3 to 5x display turnover thru the sump.

[silent saab]

you could use some cylinder type filters that you can get at the lfs and put them around the bulk head and that should quiet it up.... did this on my tidepool overflow made it silent

[rdefino]

What would "cylinder type filters" look like. Do you have a product name.

Thanks

[fishoutawater]

Durso's help a lot, but a "herbie" type drain is silent. And, since it's running on a full siphon, it all but eliminates salt creep in the sump from all the bubbles and splashing

[rdefino]

I've been looking but haven't been able to find some procedure for setting up a Herbie drain. Anyone know of any?

Thanks

[fishoutawater]

what size is the plumbing in your overflows? In a herbie system, you use both lines for returns. One is the main return and will need a ball or gate valve to adust the flow so that water level in overflow stays far enough above inlet that no air gets to it. The other is a safety and needs no valve. It sits at whatever level works for your system as long as it is above the water level in the overflow. If anything ever clogs your main return, water level will raise to secondary return and will make a lot of noise, alerting you to the problem.

[rdefino]

1" and 3/4"

If both are used, then what do I use for my return lines?

[fishoutawater]

Just plumb it in up and over the tank rim. You have two sets of overflows? I don't think that even with a full siphon I could get more than 700ish gph through my 3/4" return. Maybe someone will chime in that's done dual herbies. Why do you have such a high return rate through your sump? I think Playa-1 mentioned above you only need 3-5x turnover.

[rdefino]

You say 3-5x turnover. Would that be then about 630 - 1050gph. It's more turnover better? I'm not sure, that's why I asked.

Is there any good photos and diagrams of setting up a herbie drain. I would love to make my drain completely silent.

Also when plumbing both the overflow as a drain, what piping is used in the overflow when converting the return piping to a drain?

Thanks

thanks

[Playa-1]

Originally posted by fishoutawater
Durso's help a lot, but a "herbie" type drain is silent. And, since it's running on a full siphon, it all but eliminates salt creep in the sump from all the bubbles and splashing

Any system will run at full syphon if you give the air an escape route.

[ser_renely]

interesting

[rdefino]

So your saying If I put a T in my drain line that will vent the air out and cut down on the bubbles?

But isn't the bubbles a good way of aeration?

[Playa-1]

The air has to escape. That's one of the issues with running your drain line near max capacity is that the air doesn't have a way out of the line. So you get the gurgling and slurping drain noise as the air tries to escape the high volume of water.

If you like drain noise then I'm sure it will contribute to your aeration a little. But most of the gas exchange actually comes from the surface of the sump, display and protein skimmer.

I'm not telling you to do this, I'm trying to get you to slow down the flow thru your sump. If you still have drain noise after you slow the flow down then this would be the next step.

[rdefino]

Thanks, I'll try it.

[Gtstricky]

It is also best not to have any straight pieces of pipe. Everything should have some angle to it so that the water is running and not falling.

[newreefbishop]

also how old is the tank? If the tank is new less than a month old you will get that....my tanks quieted down after a month or so....

[rdefino]

It's between 1-2 months old. Why do it's quiet down over time?

[CLOWNSPUR]

Time no. I dont think so.