Neighbor complaining about noise, need ideas....

[snorkeler]

Hello, I live in an apartment building and my lower neighbor is complaining about noise at night. It seems like the vibration of the skimmer is transmitted to my floor and hence to his ceiling, and is bugging him at night.

Don't want to bug my neighbor, so, I'm trying to figure out how to reduce this effect.

If I shut down the skimmer from 23:00 to 7:00 do you guys think it would reduce too much the effectiveness of the skimming? Would it affect oxygen levels too much, or pH?

It's an in-sump skimmer, sitting inside a glass sump which in turn is padded underneath with styrofoam (which doesn't seem to be absorbing enough vibration).

Any ideas of aquarium safe, chemically sterile, vibration/sound dampening materials I can put under the skimmer to reduce transmission of vibrations to the aquarium cabinet and then floor?

Thanks!

snorkeler

[Whisperer]

Some people do not use skimmer. Overnight would not be bad.

[Indymann99]

my bet is that the skimmer pump or return pump is touching the side of the sump and/or plumbing and transmitting the sound via the stand. Some careful padding and possible use of flexible plumbing should help. Also some foam soundproofing added to the stand may help if the sound is being amplified by the enclosed airspace of the stand.

[ReefingMadness]

I have heard of people using 1/8" or 1/4" acrylic and putting aquarium silicone on the bottom of it in 4 or 5 spots. Then set your skimmer on that. You may have to put a small amount around the edge of the bottom of the skimmer to make sure it stays put.

[mfinn]

For pump and skimmer vibration noise I've used silicone hot pads like these. My old skimmer made a really low end vibration noise that I could only hear at night at the far end of my house. ( small house).
These took care of that.
On real problem pumps, I used 2 of these glued (silicone) together.

http://www.kitchenkapers.com/lamsharhotsp.html

[snorkeler]

Tried the silicone hot pads under the skimmer.... but it didn't work.

I went downstairs to my neighbors'a apartment to hear the noise. It is really terrible, at night when city sounds fade you can clearly hear the vibration, as if the whole ceiling were humming. The source is the skimmer, when I turned it off the humming stopped. Need to eliminate this quick.

My LFSG said it would not be a good idea to turn off the skimmer at night, so I want to avoid that route.

My second attempt will be a rubber foam pad between the sump and the aquarium cabinet. Right now there is a Styrofoam pad, but it doesn't seem to be absorbing much vibration from the skimmer. If it works, the cabinet will stop vibrating and therefore his ceiling too.

If it doesn't work... I'll have to lift the aquarium somehow.... probably using small hydraulic lifts (those you use to lift your car) and put special vibration dampening feet under the aquarium. That is not going to be easy.... but I'll have to do it soon if the sump thing doesn't work...

I welcome any other suggestions you might have....

snorkeler

[Reefugee]

Tell your neighbor to use ear plugs... Just kidding.

Someone suggested a ziploc bag full of sand might help. Also - as someone mentioned above, make sure the skimmer is not touch the side of the tank. Last you can try modifying your skimmer so that there is a rubbber lose between the skimmer and the body. That may help prevent some vibration.

[faulkincanyon]

cut some foam egg crate bedding and place around...should absorb the noise

[rbnice1]

Could buy a good skimmer that has a quite pump that doesnt make as much noise.

Or replace your current skimmer's pump with a quiter one.

Anything that uses a red dragon pump is silent.

Just a thought.

[martinhal]

What skimmer have you got. Maybe get another skimmer.

[windlasher]

Hello, I live in an apartment building and my lower neighbor is complaining about noise at night. It seems like the vibration of the skimmer is transmitted to my floor and hence to his ceiling, and is bugging him at night.

Don't want to bug my neighbor, so, I'm trying to figure out how to reduce this effect.

If I shut down the skimmer from 23:00 to 7:00 do you guys think it would reduce too much the effectiveness of the skimming? Would it affect oxygen levels too much, or pH?

It's an in-sump skimmer, sitting inside a glass sump which in turn is padded underneath with styrofoam (which doesn't seem to be absorbing enough vibration).

Any ideas of aquarium safe, chemically sterile, vibration/sound dampening materials I can put under the skimmer to reduce transmission of vibrations to the aquarium cabinet and then floor?

Thanks!

snorkeler

Styrofoam does not work as well. You can try getting a large mouse pad or 3 or 4, however many you need and place them under your sump.

Also, Make sure skimmer and its pump is not touching the glass.


Until you figure it out, you can turn your skimmer off at night.

[Michael]

Hello, I live in an apartment building and my lower neighbor is complaining about noise at night.



ear plugs are a good method to illiminate noise:lol2:

[syrinx]

In one of my tanks I ended up hanging the pump from a sling of airline tubing to isolate the vibration.

[username in use]

+1 for the mousepad. But put them under the pump, not under the sump. Putting them under the sum p could cause hte sump to crack and then your neighbor would be really ****ed.

[Hop]

I agree with the general gist of the responses in that I would find out what is touching what and transmitting the vibration... The last thing I would want to do is shut my skimmer of for 8-12 hours a day.

[snorkeler]

You know Michael, my neighbor is actually using earplugs.... :-( That's why I want to fix this issue as soon as possible.

The skimmer isn't touching glass, I'm 100% sure of that. The silicone pads between skimmer and sump glass apparently haven't absorbed much vibration.

Putting a mousepad between skimmer and sump means leaving it submersed. I get a little concerned about chemical stuff inside the mousepad foam contaminating the water. Maybe I'm over-worried, will try to buy a thick mousepad tomorrow to try that.

The foam egg crate idea seems interesting too. The cabinet is an acoustic box after all, if the foam absorbs the aerial vibration it might help considerably.

Thanks everyone, I'll update as I test/resolve the issue. My neighbor is being very patient with this, I have to praise him for that.

snorkeler

[James77]

What I would do:
I would put some rigid foam underneath the sump. I used some interlocking pieces made for workout flooring. If you wanted the go the extra mile, you could even rest the sumps rim(so it wont put presure on the glass) on some melamine foam.

For the pump itself, you could try melamine foam in a ziploc baggie. There is a food safe something that I cannot think of the name of that can go in your tank, let me see if I can remember it.


Melamine Foam:
http://www.mcmaster.com/ctlg/DisplCtlgPage.aspx?ReqTyp=CATALOG&CtlgPgNbr=3464&RelatedCtlgPgs=3467,2081,3466,3465,3464&ScreenWidth=1024&McMMainWidth=810&sesnextrep=88168248318956

[James77]

BTW, the melamine foam is far superior to foam egg crate in terms of sound absorbtion and deadening. My entire stand is lined with 5/8" of the stuff, and I hear nothing from inside the stand.

[James77]

Cant find the name of the stuff- it is similar to neoprene. Anyways, you can also try silicone cook pads underneath the skimmer pump.


EDIT: Found it, it is FDA compliant Polyurethane- non-toxic and non- allergenic, I used it for loud Tunze pumps and had no problems with it. Third product down on this lnked page:

http://www.mcmaster.com/ctlg/DisplCtlgPage.aspx?reqtyp=catalog&CtlgPgNbr=3502&CtlgEdition=115&k1=8787K142&t1=PN&k2=8787K14&t2=PN&ScreenWidth=1024&McMMainWidth=810&sesnextrep=88168248318956

[RC Slocum Rules]

It seems like the vibration of the skimmer is transmitted to my floor and hence to his ceiling, and is bugging him at night.

I'm calling total BS on this one. Just sit there in front of your tank and listen for yourself and ask this smple question ...

Is my neighbor insane?

You know without posting here if it is actually loud enough to warrant any real complaint. If you are within the gallon limit of the apt. complex don't worry about it. If you have determined that you indeed have the loudest skimmer on the planet than I guess do something but ask yourself if giving in to his/her request sets a good precedent.

[James77]

I'm calling total BS on this one. Just sit there in front of your tank and listen for yourself and ask this smple question ...


Ive had plenty of times where you could hear nothing in front of the tank, and yet still hear pumps in the basement. I had Tunzes that were silent upstairs, yet I could hear them clear as day down in my finished basement. They were loud enough where I would complain if I had to listen to it in the quiet of the night.

[Akimbo]

Not running the skimmer is a good choice if your tank is well established. If your PH dips low at night with the skimmer running you wont want it off as aeration is what will help to balance your PH out. Or you could put it all on a piece of foam that will absorb the shock the vibration creates and you wont have any downtime at all.

[snorkeler]

"RC Slocum Rules", I went downstairs and heard the humming. It is loud, not BS. I wouldn't have the patience he is having with me, quite frankly.

My building has a concrete structure (most construction in Brazil is concrete, not wood based), and it is a very old building. I guess these concrete floors transmit a lot more noise than the wooden floors with insulation you use in the US.

I am going to try to insert two heavy foam pads (those used at gym floors) under the sump now, to see if the vibration stops being transmitted to the cabinet. Hope it doesn't take too long to do this, as it is already pretty late (23:40 right now)...

snorkeler

[Mouse]

What I would do:


For the pump itself, you could try melamine foam in a ziploc baggie.


You can also just put some sand in the baggie and put it under the skimmer/pump

[ddinox64]

You're a good neighbor Snorkler. Welcome to live in my neighborhood at anytime.

[snorkeler]

ddinox64: well, follow the golden rule, right? Do to others as you would have them do to yourself.... I'd be completely upset not to say mad with my upper neighbor if I were in his shoes...

Anyway, finished... at 2:15. Well, the cabinet seems to be vibrating less... will check with him tomorrow if the net effect is positive.

Also, I removed a fan from inside the cabinet which was also making the box vibrate. The main source of noise was the skimmer, but this fan was also adding vibration. I'll change it for something more silent. The purpose of this fan was to push air out of the cabinet through a small silt-window, in order to reduce humidity accumulation in the cabinet. Without it humidity is going to build up, but I can run without it for a few days.

Picture of the sump emptied of water, you can see it was sitting only on a white styrofoam base:
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad43/flpaoli/IMG_0162.jpg

Picture of the equipment waiting inside a rubbermaid, with the sump's water:
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad43/flpaoli/IMG_0163.jpg

Picture of the sump re-assembled, with the two exercise foam pads under it:
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad43/flpaoli/IMG_0164.jpg

snorkeler

[lordofthereef]

is it feasible to get a new/different pump?

[snorkeler]

To your point lordofthereef I didn't change the pump, but changed the impeller for a needlewheel type (following my LFS's suggestion). Just did the change, the sound/vibration seems lower, now I need to check with my neighbor...

Hope this resolves it, as the next step would involve taking the tank apart to put tank stands under it.

Snorkeler

[Reefer2727]

Look forward to hearing the outcome. I am hoping for your sake that your neighbour has been sleeping better! Without the ear plugs.

[thedoctor06]

If you're worried about the mouse pads being in the water, put them in an oversized ziploc bag, the squish the air out and seal it

[CleveYank]

Mousepads underneath a pump or skimmer work in the sump to quiet things down. You want to take them out and rinse them out every couple months, since it is porous and will accumulate particles in the foam.

[eyesinthedrk]

make sure the skimmer isnt touching the sides on the sump, my return pump makes a hum if any part of the pump return or return line touch the cabinet or tank, just an idea

[James77]

How did you ever make out with this??

[snorkeler]

Update: after the needlewheel impeler change my neighbor said the sound had reduced, but was still a little loud at night. Then I changed the internal fan (sits in the sump, to ensure I don't get humidity buildup on the walls) for a very silent PC-cooler type fan. The effect in my house was that the aquarium basically went silent (I loved it), and I cann feel the cabinet barely vibrates by putting my hand on it to feel the vibration.

Emailed my neighbor but haven't got any feedback yet, so I guess it must have worked.... that was on 29/Oct.

snorkeler

[noahm]

btw, most mouse pads are just neoprene. same stuff as wet suits. I have had one under my return pump forever. Neoprene doesn't leach anything into the water. Good thing for vibrating pumps of any sort.

[mbl]

tell them to eat it.

[Indermark]

I am trying to silence my return pump as well and picked up a cheap mouse pad that is antimicrobial is this anything I should worry about. I think It might be okay its just not going to allow any fungus, or protozoans to live on it. Its also made from 50% recycled products. any thoughts?

Ryan

[Irritans]

Antimicrobial could mean something like a disinfectant, so it could release something too toxic for sensitive reef animals.