Quiet Reef Tank

[catfishcity]

I have a 90 gallon reef ready tank just sitting in my basement and I am finally ready to set it up. My only concern though is sound, it needs to be quiet because it is going to be in the family room. I am looking for suggestions for equipment that will be perfect for my tank and also be very quiet. Specifically skimmers, pumps, and lights. I want it to be reef capable so other equipment suggestions would be much appreciated. Also if anyone has any links to their 90 gallon setups that would be awesome. Thanks

[cassell19]

Return pump--Eheim, best pump out there.

[catfishcity]

would a 1262 be good or do i need more?

[NickC5FE]

1262 is plenty for a 90.

[myram]

The skimmer is the hard part to make silent. It's the nature of the beast, anything injecting air into water and bubbling up is going to make noise. But, if you are going to use a sump you can get a quiet one for it, then insulate the doors or something to help out.

My tank is in my living room, and my wife said it had to be silent. So everything is working out, except for the slight noise from the skimmer.

Steve

[somethingphishy]

My tank is only silent when the power goes out :) I would say the most noise from my tank comes from the fans on the lights...keeping them clean does help...I think overall tank noise will be outweighed by the beauty of a well kept reef...use that as ur selling point :)

[solitude127]

For skimmer, I would look for anything with a Sicce PSK1000 pump. It's been one of the quietest pumps I've heard or not heard depending on how you look at it.
That said you may want to consider the SeaSide Aquatics CS2 for you 90. It's inexpensive and performs well.

[Andrew17030]

I am building a tank now with this as a goal.

What I decided was to limit anything that makes noise. For instance, using carbon passively instead of through a pump fed reactor. Then for the equipment that is a must, that utilize pumps, get good quality and as small as possible. For example, if I have been researching setups and others experience to establish my return pump's appropriate GPH and find a range from 400-950 for a 90 gallon tank with approximately the same size sump, then I would get the smallest high quality pump for that application.

Plumbing is also a determinate in the pump's size and also vibration created by operation. The less resistance the pump has moving the water, usually, the smaller the amount a vibration that is generated. Make the shot from pump to tank as straight as possible and don't undersize the line's plumbing to save cost or a trip to the hardware store. As well, the connection to the pump from the "hard line" plumbing should be vinyl hose. This will help to limit vibration from the pump to the tank's plumbing. Less overall vibration less overall noise from vibration.

The skimmer, MOJO~ amongst others have done a number of skimmer reviews threaded in RC. To date I believe of something like 30 skimmers he has reviewed the BK mini 160 was by far the quietest. This may be because of the pump's location on the skimmer and likely because of the skimmer's pump. There is one thing I will say for sure, get a quality skimmer. There are many things that influence the price of a product. However, for the most part price will be a good indication of quality.

Glass vs. Acrylic sump, glass will be significantly louder if the source of noise is pumps and vibration.

Overflow many different methods have been established to safely use a syphon in the main drain of a tank. Find one you like and use that.

[Metal Man 1221]

You may want to modify your overflow. IME the RR overflows can be really noisy if your flow rate isnt just right.

[catfishcity]

Thanks for all the replies. The skimmer is definitely the thing i was most concerned about. My tank came with a coralife skimmer and i do not want to use that thing at all! myram, you said to insulate the inside, what should i do that with? The tank came with a durso overflow so i think i will use that, i've heard good things about them.

[Metal Man 1221]

Thanks for all the replies. The skimmer is definitely the thing i was most concerned about. My tank came with a coralife skimmer and i do not want to use that thing at all! myram, you said to insulate the inside, what should i do that with? The tank came with a durso overflow so i think i will use that, i've heard good things about them.

Wise decision on the skimmer. Cant get much worse than that, except maybe a turbo floater.

You could insulate with some 1/2" foam, I doubt a 4x8' sheet would be very expensive.

[goldmaniac]

Target sells 3-packs of 6" square silicone pot trivets. You know - what you put a hot pan or a hot tray on so it doesn't heat up a countertop or a table. Anyway, I have quite a few in my sump. they make great vibration silencers. I use them for my in-sump pumps.

They sold them a couple of years ago, at least. I haven't looked for them for a while.

[Chris27]

Caution.....no matter how quiet you think the tank is, the woman of the house will disagree.

[AlfieReef]

I think that quiet equipment is important, but all equipment make some noise, I suggest that you put everything in a well insulated cabinet/stand to keep everything in it quiet.

[emooring37]

my ehiem is so much quieter than my mags! And easier to clean, etc.

[d2mini]

+1 on eheim.

And i use the herbie failsafe overflow system which is also silent.

[catfishcity]

does anyone have any experience with the swc skimmers? I have heard that they do a good job and are pretty quiet. Would those foam floor pads work in the stand? I have a bunch just lying around.

[myram]

Rigid foam sheets or foam rubber sheets, anything to try and insulate the sound from getting out.

No matter how quiet the tank is, the wife always hears something.

Steve

[Vpham97]

The Bubble NAC6 skimmer I had is the most silent piece of equipment ever.

[Agu]

Had a 180 in our bedroom and I had to check it every once in a while to confirm the power hadn't gone out. I'd wake up at night and wonder if the tank was still running.

Use the minimal return pump that keeps water flowing. Durso should have at least a foot or two of airline tubing with a muffler attached. Primary flow should come from submerged powerheads (on a wavemaker).

Skimmer intake needs a muffler, preferably with a long piece of airline tubing prior to the muffler.

Buy high quality fans for any cooling needs.

Use mousepads as a base for any pumps in the sump and a flex connection to reduce vibration/hum from any pumps in the sump.

My recent 30 gallon build makes a lot more noise than the old 180. But it's not in the bedroom and I enjoy the sound of running water. Some people pay a lot of money to get the relaxing sound of a fountain. I provide it for free .............

[James77]

I have a 90 gallon reef ready tank just sitting in my basement and I am finally ready to set it up. My only concern though is sound, it needs to be quiet because it is going to be in the family room. I am looking for suggestions for equipment that will be perfect for my tank and also be very quiet. Specifically skimmers, pumps, and lights. I want it to be reef capable so other equipment suggestions would be much appreciated. Also if anyone has any links to their 90 gallon setups that would be awesome. Thanks

I have yet to hear a silent skimmer, even a BK Mini was audible. You are best off insulating the stand with foam and or using thicker wood to muffle sounds. Lights are silent, the fans are what are noisy. I use Noctua fans and they are near silent. For flow, I would look at Tunzes, I cannot hear mine more than a foot away from the tank. I found ehiems to have a healthy hum, despiter everyone saying they are silent. Velocity/Poseidon externals are the only dead silent pump I have used.

I used melamine foam on the inside of mine. Styro foam or dynamat are not very good at absorbing sound, at least the type our tanks make.

Also consdier a herbie or beananimal type siphon overflow. I have my tank to the point where aside from the fans being one, it registers no noise above ambient with a decibel meter. The fans add a slight air noise, nothing that is unpleasant though.

[Saadatski]

The Bubble NAC6 skimmer I had is the most silent piece of equipment ever.

Omg plus 100+++

after owning a AquaC Remora on my small tank and a Super Reef Octopus, The NAC 6 produced more skimate than both and is AMAZINGLY quiet. i thought it was unbelievable.

If you really want a silent overflow, definetly the Herbie style overflow. I used to have Durso overflow, and it was noisey and bubbly. I switched to Herbie and it is quite amazing. completely silent, probably as a pindrop.

[catfishcity]

i really like the bubble nac6 skimmer now after looking at it and reading reviews, probably going to be what a decide to go with. thanks for all the input!