Very Noisy Setup

[Spyderturbo007]

Please bear with me as I attempt to explain my issues. I was into this hobby hard about 15 years ago and lost my tank when I went to college and my parents sold their house. Fast forward to last weekend. I'm now financially stable (finally :) ) and decided to start a new tank.

I picked up this setup for my living room (I'll just highlight what is relevant to my questions)


55g CornerFlow Tank
PondMasters Model 7 pump
Aqueon ProFlex Model 2 Sump
Aqualife T5 HO 4-bulb fixture


The problem is that this thing is loud! I stumbled upon the Herbie Method in my Google searches and think that might solve my problems. My CornerFlow tank has one drain and one return.

Can I modify them to be two drains and just hang the return on the back of the tank somewhere?

Here are some pictures that might help. This is a side shot of the tank, the larger pipe is the drain and the smaller is the return:

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6971/overflown.jpg

This is directly below the overflow. The line on the left (gray) is the drain and the black is the return

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/4228/undertank.jpg

And finally the drain connection to the sump:

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/6826/sumpconnection.jpg


How would I go about modifying them to work as a primary and emergency drain? Could I just make the current return into a standpipe taller than the current drain, then just repipe it underneith? If I did that, how would I plumb it into the sump?

Sorry for the excessively long post and the ton of questions. :crazy1:

Thanks!

[Bender19]

I'm very new at SW tanks, but i was told when i was setting my overflow up that water should always be going down, never vertical or upward to avoid excess noise. IDK if this helps or if i was misinformed...?

[sammy77]

What type of noise are you hearing? Try drilling a hole on the top of your drain dear the
90 degree fitting. Sometimes it helps to place a small hose thru that hole about 1/4".

[jackde]

You can do as you stated. Turn your drain into a full siphon and add a valve below. Change your return to a stand pipe just above drain for 2nd drain. I'd remove the reducer on it. Hang your return over the back and your set to go.

[Spyderturbo007]

What type of noise are you hearing? Try drilling a hole on the top of your drain dear the
90 degree fitting. Sometimes it helps to place a small hose thru that hole about 1/4".

Most of the noise is coming from the sump where all the air is bubbling up from getting sucked down the drain. There is already a small hole in the top of the elbow with a small rigid plastic tube sticking up about 2 or 3".

It did seem to calm down after about an hour of running. The loudest noise right now is the siphon break on the return line. It's spraying water and happens to be above the level of the overflow.

I'm assuming that I could plug that some way? Any thoughts on how to do that without having to glue on a new fitting? I guess duct tape would be a bad idea? :lolspin:

You can do as you stated. Turn your drain into a full siphon and add a valve below.

So remove the flexible gray hose and just throw a 90 on there with a valve? Would I leave the piping in the overflow the way it is right now, or do I have to change anything?


Change your return to a stand pipe just above drain for 2nd drain. I'd remove the reducer on it.

You mean the reducer at the bottom of the tank where the current tubing connects? If so, that becomes a problem. I attached that to the bulkhead with PVC glue, so I don't think I'll be able to remove it. Can you buy those bulkheads anywhere?

Thanks!

[AT_Hiker]

Setup a Herbie overflow. They are very quiet.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344892&highlight=herbie

[Sk8r]

One thing that can tame the noise is to use valves on the inflow/outflow to adjust the water level in the overflow: the noisy thing is water falling very far; the shorter distance quietens it somewhat, but also removes some aeration---if you have a good skimmer, however, the aeration gets fixed there.

[sleepydoc]

I have the exact same corner flow setup as a herbie (one hole as a full siphon drain and the other as the valved/adjustable drain) and the return coming up the outside of the tank. It is very quiet, assuming I have the valve adjusted properly. I would be careful adding a valve if you only have only one drain, however, otherwise you risk a flood.

[jackde]

I would try and use a 45 under overflow add valve and 45 into sump. Change elbow with hole to one without. My LFS carrry bulkheads or can be ordered on line.
Just think of these pipes going down not out the back.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/u464/johndemitruk/Tank%20plumbing%20pics/overflowbox.jpg
Here you can see the valve on the overflow pipe. Pipe to the right is the 2nd overflow.
http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/u464/johndemitruk/Sump%20pics/skimmer.jpg
I also have a valve on my return, although it is always wide open.

[Spyderturbo007]

Thanks for the pictures jackde, they really help.

Any thoughts on a way to plug the siphon break on the return line to keep it from being so loud spraying out water above the level of the overflow?

[jackde]

Well, without a picture I can only guess. A dab of silicone, a dab of JB Waterweld or if it's the standard locklink, replace a piece.

[Im14abeer]

I'd do the Herbie, less for the noise (though that's a huge plus) but for the piece of mind an emergency drain brings. No problem taking the return over the back. Personally, I think the return should be on the opposite end of the tank from the overflow anyway. When you plumb the drain, put the siphon break just below the waterline. Also want to echo sleepydoc, no obstructions in your drain without an emergency backup drain.