New skimmer too loud for living room- might abandon whole project

[torero500]

Today I was doing test runs in my 20 tall sump, which will sit in a cabinet in the living room where I'll have my tank. I was running the protein skimmer (it's a Reef Octopus 150 2009 model), and the pump is just WAY too loud to have in a living room. Very annoying loud hum, there wasn't much I could do to quiet it down. I even put on a smaller pump for the reef octopus nw110 I had laying around, and it's about the same noise. It's not vibrating anything, the pump itself running and injecting into the chamber is quite loud.

I don't really know what to do. Can I replace the stock pump with a known quiet pump, like an Eheim 1250 or something to inject the water and air into the chamber? Not sure what size, or what fittings would be needed to accomplish this to make this skimmer run quiet.

[Ward1]

Originally Posted by torero500

Today I was doing test runs in my 20 tall sump, which will sit in a cabinet in the living room where I'll have my tank. I was running the protein skimmer (it's a Reef Octopus 150 2009 model), and the pump is just WAY too loud to have in a living room. Very annoying loud hum, there wasn't much I could do to quiet it down. I even put on a smaller pump for the reef octopus nw110 I had laying around, and it's about the same noise. It's not vibrating anything, the pump itself running and injecting into the chamber is quite loud.

I don't really know what to do. Can I replace the stock pump with a known quiet pump, like an Eheim 1250 or something to inject the water and air into the chamber? Not sure what size, or what fittings would be needed to accomplish this to make this skimmer run quiet.

Did you try putting pump on some of that tool box liner or something similar? That worked good for my skimmmer...Also strangely enough mine got quiter when I placed it at the correct depth ( can't explain why, maybe pump under less stress? )

[nivram]

Is it the pump or the air tube thats the cause of the noise? Try to make a silencer for the air tube? Or see if you can get away with turning the air down just enough so its tolerable.

[torero500]

This skimmer has a silencer, no air sucking noises at all. And running it not touching any surfaces, the pumps still have their loud hum. All the noise just comes from the pump itself running.

It's just probably unrealistic to expect a saltwater tank to be silent. I had a couple freshwater tanks that emitted absolutely 0 noise. But having a sump, overflow, skimmer, return pump, all that is going to generate noise. The noise of a tank running, to me, is a major factor that I'll have to decide if it is worth it.

[josephv]

Had the same problem with noise in the family room.Cant stand it.Now I have a bubble king 200 mini and it is dead silent.The only way to know if it is on or off is to look at it.

[psychostieg]

Just an idea..... I have a bible magus NAC6 A that is virtually silent ...... It's to small for the tank I have.... I would probably sell it if you are interested in it..... Or possibly do a trade...... I know how frustrating it can be dumping additional money into projects...... I have had every skimmer under the sun...... The NAC6 is virtually silent.... I promise

[psychostieg]

LOL!!... I just realized that the spell checker on my iPhone prefers to call it a "bible magus"......

[sjm817]

Setting up a very quiet system can be a challenge. You have to choose components very carefully. You also have to be very careful about recommendations. People have wildly different opinions of what is quiet, and what is not. I've owned and played around with many skimmers, and by far, the quietest skimmers pumps are the ones that use the Askoll motor. They are virtually silent. Unfortunately, they are a powerful pump used on larger skimmers and also tend to be on higher end skimmers ($$). Some of the Bubble Kings have pumps that have been tuned down for smaller sizes. The BK mini 160 may be one to consider.

[BlueStag]

There are a couple of very very quiet skimmers and their owner reviews here.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1816165

[tkeracer619]

An swc askol is dead silent. I have to look at it to tell if its running.

You might be able to restrict the pump on the output if the skimmer cannot handle it.

What size is the system?

[torero500]

I have a 54 gallon tank, did some analysis and with rock and everything else, it's only holds about 35 actual gallons of water, plus sump has about 8, for about 43 gallons total.

I will say that the Reef Octopus skimmer is very nice, microbubbles like crazy and is built very sturdy. Very responsive to turning the adjustment pipe, but I just don't like the noise.

[sjm817]

That is a small system. Too small for anything with an Askoll pump. I dont want to make suggestions without knowing the budget. How much can you spend to get a quiet skimmer or maybe modify the one you have?

[torero500]

I don't really want to spend more than another $200, that would put this at a $400 skimmer already. I have gone through and gotten everything else on the tank quiet--replaced the light fixture fans with Silenx fans (it now runs silently), got a durso overflow, a canopy, can fashion a reverse durso if drain gets noisy as drain line meets sump, and will be using a Eheim return pump, either a 1260 or 1262 throttled back because not doing that high of flow through sump. In one of those links above, someone said their tunze return pump ran dead silent, and eheim wasn't nearly as quiet. Maybe I'll get a tunze silence pump instead.

I saw some videos on You tube, couldn't quite tell if those Bubble Magnus skimmers were quiet or not, there is always background eq running. And those Bubble King Mini 160 are very quiet, but dang that's expensive! The SWC 160 seemd to run quiet, too, for a reasonable price.

[sjm817]

On the return pump, a 1262 is WAY too big. A 1260 is up there too, but would be a better fit. For the silent system you are looking for, I'd use a 1250.

I've never used or seen the BM skimmers. I dont know how they are for noise. Reports seem to be good, but I would check carefully to be sure. As I posted earlier, people have very different ideas on what is quiet and what is not. SWC160 uses a Sicce. You would not be happy with that. For replacement skimmer pumps, there is the Tunze Hydrofoamer Silence 9410 and 9420. Maybe one of them would work.

Ask mojo in the skimmer Q&A thread about the BM noise level. He tests a lot of skimmers and I think he has run them.

[Johnny C]

Before you go and buy a new pump... are you positive that you have the skimmer installed/setup properly? Mine is literally DEAD silent. If you have the capabilities, post up a picture of how you have it setup.

[nattarbox]

Originally Posted by torero500

This skimmer has a silencer, no air sucking noises at all. And running it not touching any surfaces, the pumps still have their loud hum. All the noise just comes from the pump itself running.

It's just probably unrealistic to expect a saltwater tank to be silent. I had a couple freshwater tanks that emitted absolutely 0 noise. But having a sump, overflow, skimmer, return pump, all that is going to generate noise. The noise of a tank running, to me, is a major factor that I'll have to decide if it is worth it.

Not unrealistic at all. I switched my tank to LED lighting (no active cooling fan) and a Tunze skimmer. It is dead silent.

I think the difficult part of the whole process is that it is hard to judge sound levels of equipment when for the most part we are ordering things online, or picking them up off a shelf without having seen them in operation.

When I was looking at skimmers, I was able to find a lot of them on Youtube. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing in terms of evaluating sound.

[Stuart60611]

Also, some equipment runs silent for some and loud for others. My Sicce pump for my msx 160 started out loud and now is dead silent. Others complain their Sicce is very loud.

[torero500]

Originally Posted by Johnny C

Before you go and buy a new pump... are you positive that you have the skimmer installed/setup properly? Mine is literally DEAD silent. If you have the capabilities, post up a picture of how you have it setup.

Can't believe that yours is dead silent, that is awesome. My pump sure isn't. Attached is a picture of the sump configuration as I've been running it:

[James77]

Originally Posted by torero500

This skimmer has a silencer, no air sucking noises at all. And running it not touching any surfaces, the pumps still have their loud hum. All the noise just comes from the pump itself running.

It's just probably unrealistic to expect a saltwater tank to be silent. I had a couple freshwater tanks that emitted absolutely 0 noise. But having a sump, overflow, skimmer, return pump, all that is going to generate noise. The noise of a tank running, to me, is a major factor that I'll have to decide if it is worth it.

It is not unrealistic at all. I don't know how people could stand a humming, gurgling montrosity in their living room when they can be made near dead silent with some planning.

If you have a sealed stand, you might want to try soundproofing it. The base of mine is layered with that interlocking foam that is used for exercise rooms. All the walls and doors are also lined with melamine foam, half an inch thick. I use Tunze pumps and a silent velocity return, and even the outside back of the display is lined with melamine foam.


My skimmer has a slight hum to the pump, as well as a slight suciking sound despite a silencer. With the stand doors all shut, you'd have to really try to hear the skimmer. With the doors open, it can be heard throughout my apartment. The Tunzes have a very slight hum to them as they ramp up and down. By far the loudest thing on my tank is the 22 dB Vantech fans, which I keep planning to replace with SilenX fans.

You also might want to give the pump a week or two to break in some, most every pump I have used is substantially louder the first few days.

[James77]

I bought the melamine foam from MacMaster-Carr, search under soundpreoofing or search for melamine foam. I forget the exact kind I got, it is black with a smooth surface on one side, and rough on the other.

www.mcmaster.com

[BlueStag]

There is a SWC 160 (cylinder style) and a SWC 160 Cone. The SWC 160 Cone uses an Atman pump, not a Sicce. The SWC 160 Cone is dead silent with the Atman pump.

Also the SWC Sicce noise issues, are with older Sicce models. I believe that they have a new needle wheel and reducer out. From what I hear they are much much quieter and extremly reliable. Next generation improvements. I haven't used one yet, but have ordered one. I'll post some info on them when I get it.

[Stuart60611]

My Sicce for my MSx 160 may be running dead silent because I have updated it. I replaced the air line with better material so that no air restrictions occur. I am also running the warner marine volute and red demon pinwheel. Even with the stand doors open, I have to struggle to hear the skimmer when standing right next to the tank.

[Johnny C]

Originally Posted by torero500

Can't believe that yours is dead silent, that is awesome. My pump sure isn't. Attached is a picture of the sump configuration as I've been running it:

Hmm... it's setup perfectly. Where did you buy it? I would consider asking them to swap it out. I got the NW-150 because my LFS recommended them. Honest to goodness every one I have seen running has been silent. IMO something isn't right.

[torero500]

Coral Vue is sending out a new impeller, but I doubt it will fix it. I did that skimmer research and love the small footprint size of that cone swc 120, has a little atman pump. Supposed to be very quiet, and will open up sump space possibilities.

It's possible my Reef Octopus 150 is too big anyway. Might have to sell it. I'll probably get the smaller tunze 1703.020 silent return pump.

[drstupid]

my advice is get married, you'll learn how to ignore all sorts of noises in your living room.