Easy quiet overflows!!!!! "The silencer" - Page 5

barnacle bill · 07/26/2005, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hummusx
I didn't get it at first either, but let me take a shot at explaining it.

Install a standpipe, just a plain (non-stockman/durso) pvc pipe standing straight up in the overflow. It should be shorter than the top of the overflow, but tall enough to prevent most of the waterfall noise. At this point you will have the loud sucking drain noise because you just have an open-top stand pipe.

Now, cut a piece of acrylic that fits the top of your overflow. If you set this on top of your overflow, you'll have a muffled, echoing loud sucking drain noise.

Step 3 is the real trick. You are going to turn you standpipe into a stockman, but without the trouble of finding the pieces that HD may or may not have, and without having to do any drilling. Get a piece of PVC that is larger than your stand pipe (say 4 inches on a 2 inch stand pipe). Cut it long enough that it will reach from the top of your overflow down to at least 1-2" below where your stand pipe comes. So if your stand pipe is 2" below the top of your overflow, cut it 4" long. Now glue it to the bottom of the acrylic cover such that when you place the cover on the overflow, the larger PVC slides over your standpipe.

Instant stockman.

*edit* Oh yeah, normally you'd put an air hole in the top of the cover, directly in the center of where the PVC is glued on. But I'd think with this design it'd be even quieter if you drilled the holes in the side of the larger PVC, just below where it's attacked to the acrylic. This will prevent the syphon.

Should have asked you to explain it first! Nice job!

barnacle bill · 08/08/2005, 10:37 PM

still workin! No overflows.

foolishlat · 08/30/2005, 10:16 PM

Thought I'd try this out, since it costs about $5 in materials, and I love it! My 55 gal is whisper quiet now, thanks to this great mod. I highly recommend it for anyone with a noisy overflow, $5, and about 10 minutes to put it together.

mctabish · 09/03/2005, 12:06 AM

toaster2005 said...
-----------------------------------------
Unfortunately i do not have an overflow box - just a pipe sticking through the tank. Thanks for the advice. I have tried using a plastic cup with a hole drilled in the top. I held this over the pipe to see what would happen. The tank basically started to fill up and would have overflown.
----------------------------------------

And I replied...
In this case, what you would want to do (since you do not have any thing to keep the "cup" above the pipe, and thus sealing it, is to somehow keep the "cup" from sealing againt the pipe. Several ways to do this. one way is to create a "lift" to hold the cup above the pipe (glue in some ridges, or a cross to the under side of the cup), You could drill holes in the top few inches of the pipe (make sure there are in the area that would higher than the bottom if the cup.

This should work.

Mc

barnacle bill · 09/07/2005, 10:30 PM

mump

areze · 09/07/2005, 11:03 PM

I understand the design perfectly; what I cant seem to grasp is any bit of physics that would silence the overflow in this setup. other than the obvious insulation that the cover and extra piping would provide.

I mean; as long as there is a hole in the top; air flows freely inside and out; there is no syphon effect; so the water level inside the pipe should equal the water level outside the pipe; and should drain at the same rate, same everything...

for that matter; open the hole up; make it the size of the pipe. does it still make less noise? many years of science tells me no...

but I wasnt ever an A student

so please help me out. seems like air is still a big part of the system. only way to remove the noise component is to remove air from the system; which inherently creates a syphon which must be started manually ever time you lose the syphon.(PITA)

areze · 09/07/2005, 11:07 PM

if you want my opinion on how to silence an overflow; put in 2; vary their hights; and reduce the lower one's opening so it cant keep up with flow. but just barely; thus the water level will rise above it; then it will hit the 2nd unimpeded overflow; and that overflow will handle any excess. if dont correctly that 2nd one will handle extremely little flow; a few gph maybe; and thus have limited noise coming from it. the other one will be submerged and thus silent.

Ball · 09/08/2005, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by areze
if you want my opinion on how to silence an overflow; put in 2; vary their hights; and reduce the lower one's opening so it cant keep up with flow. but just barely; thus the water level will rise above it; then it will hit the 2nd unimpeded overflow; and that overflow will handle any excess. if dont correctly that 2nd one will handle extremely little flow; a few gph maybe; and thus have limited noise coming from it. the other one will be submerged and thus silent.

I have had this exact setup for over a year and it is completly silent. The only pain is the initial adjustment of the output on the return pump to get the lower pipe to barely flood and not have a lot of water going through the taller one. Just a trickle. You have to keep the water level in your sump fairly stable for it to work its best.

As an added benefit, you can make your tank flood proof in regurads to the overflow. I have a 3/4" pipe as the lower drain and a 1" pipe for the upper drain to catch the extra. If the 3/4 pipe were to ever clog, the higher 1" pipe is guranteed to handle all the water.

areze · 09/08/2005, 08:04 AM

well I was thinking of controlling the pipes opening to reduce its flow rather than scaling back and wasting any of the return pump. same idea. that is the only way to silence it though.

gev · 09/08/2005, 11:05 AM

The pipe is just as noisey, but the noise is contained within the cap. The anti-siphon hole is small and lets out a minimal amount of noise, while letting adequate air in/out. To quiet even this small hole, put 4-6" of flexible tubing in the end of the hole. It absorbs much of the air's vibrations and therefore muffles the sound.

Quote:

Originally posted by areze
I understand the design perfectly; what I cant seem to grasp is any bit of physics that would silence the overflow in this setup. other than the obvious insulation that the cover and extra piping would provide.

I mean; as long as there is a hole in the top; air flows freely inside and out; there is no syphon effect; so the water level inside the pipe should equal the water level outside the pipe; and should drain at the same rate, same everything...

for that matter; open the hole up; make it the size of the pipe. does it still make less noise? many years of science tells me no...

but I wasnt ever an A student so please help me out. seems like air is still a big part of the system. only way to remove the noise component is to remove air from the system; which inherently creates a syphon which must be started manually ever time you lose the syphon.(PITA)

barnacle bill · 10/04/2005, 10:18 PM

Water makes a pretty good sound dead'ner the only sound is out of the hole which ain't much.

barnacle bill · 03/22/2006, 09:09 PM

Still workin very quietly.

Ddddrgnfly · 03/22/2006, 11:32 PM

nicely done.

Bug_Power · 03/22/2006, 11:44 PM

I've got a 1100GPH pump that I use a VERY simple method. Simply buy a slip fitting that goes over your standpipe, You may have to cut it down a bit. I only have about a 1" water drop if that. On the slip fitting cut it like a crown.... your water level will coinside with the bottom of your crown cuts. Then just simply get any cap that's wider. I used a 3" and on the other side a 4" cap and drilled a hole on the top. Simply place the cap on top of the crown. Works great and is SUPER quite. Here is a crude drawing.

scrager · 03/23/2006, 09:35 AM

the original idea in the thread, the idea above this post, a durso, and a stockman are all the same basic idea....

covering the gurgling sound and drilling a hole to prevent siphon. the cover blocks the noise, the hole prevents siphon.

durso was the first. stockman is basically a low profile durso...putting the cap over the top of the pipe instead of beside it

the original idea in this thread is a stockman held from above rather than on the pipe.

the idea above is baiscally the same thing, but risks straining large debris and cloggin and eventually flooding.

hangles · 03/23/2006, 10:12 AM

here are a few pic's of what i did for my tank.hope this helps!

hangles · 03/23/2006, 10:13 AM

guess just one showed up oop's

douggiestyle · 03/23/2006, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by toaster2005
Unfortunately i do not have an overflow box - just a pipe sticking through the tank. Thanks for the advice. I have tried using a plastic cup with a hole drilled in the top. I held this over the pipe to see what would happen. The tank basically started to fill up and would have overflown. As the water raised it covered the air hole and created a nasty siphon. Using a bigger hole would work and I think this is a great idea but again unfortunately my pipe is only about an inch below one of the tanks support braces so I have little to no room to work with. Doh! Must make a note of all the tanks failings for next time

this works good for a stand pipe in a tank.

the blue tube is rigid airline the green is a piece of standard airline to prevent it from sliding down. adjust the rigid up or down to prevent any sucking sounds. the pvc cap needs only to extend about 1/2" below the water surface.

douggiestyle · 03/23/2006, 01:41 PM

you can also modify the design to create surface skimming.

the rigid also allows the water level in the tank to be adjusted. it slows or speeds up the drain.

you want the bottom of the slots to be apx 1/4" higher than the stand pipe.

09/07/2005, 11:03 PM	#106
areze Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4,048	I understand the design perfectly; what I cant seem to grasp is any bit of physics that would silence the overflow in this setup. other than the obvious insulation that the cover and extra piping would provide. I mean; as long as there is a hole in the top; air flows freely inside and out; there is no syphon effect; so the water level inside the pipe should equal the water level outside the pipe; and should drain at the same rate, same everything... for that matter; open the hole up; make it the size of the pipe. does it still make less noise? many years of science tells me no... but I wasnt ever an A student so please help me out. seems like air is still a big part of the system. only way to remove the noise component is to remove air from the system; which inherently creates a syphon which must be started manually ever time you lose the syphon.(PITA) __________________ current tanks:240g of wallet draining capacity.

09/07/2005, 11:07 PM	#107
areze Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4,048	if you want my opinion on how to silence an overflow; put in 2; vary their hights; and reduce the lower one's opening so it cant keep up with flow. but just barely; thus the water level will rise above it; then it will hit the 2nd unimpeded overflow; and that overflow will handle any excess. if dont correctly that 2nd one will handle extremely little flow; a few gph maybe; and thus have limited noise coming from it. the other one will be submerged and thus silent. __________________ current tanks:240g of wallet draining capacity.

09/08/2005, 08:04 AM	#109
areze Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 4,048	well I was thinking of controlling the pipes opening to reduce its flow rather than scaling back and wasting any of the return pump. same idea. that is the only way to silence it though. __________________ current tanks:240g of wallet draining capacity.

03/22/2006, 11:32 PM	#113
Ddddrgnfly Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Memphis,TN Posts: 286	nicely done. __________________ The more I see,The more I want. The more I want,The more I spend. The more I spend,The broker I get. The broker I get,The less I can spend. The less I can spend,The more I want VISCIOUS CYCLE!! Current Tank Info: 140 display, 30g attached grow out, 40g sump, 25g fuge.3-175W 10K m/h, 2 96W PC, 2 Sea Swirls, 2 Blueline return pumps, 4 PH, Doser, 8 outlet battery backup,etc...

03/23/2006, 10:12 AM	#116
hangles Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: nashport ohio Posts: 948	stand pipe here are a few pic's of what i did for my tank.hope this helps!

08/08/2005, 10:37 PM	#102
barnacle bill Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: eugene,oregon Posts: 317	still workin! No overflows.

08/30/2005, 10:16 PM	#103
foolishlat Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Utah Posts: 4	Thought I'd try this out, since it costs about $5 in materials, and I love it! My 55 gal is whisper quiet now, thanks to this great mod. I highly recommend it for anyone with a noisy overflow, $5, and about 10 minutes to put it together.

09/03/2005, 12:06 AM	#104
mctabish Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Castro Valley, CA Posts: 10	toaster2005 said... ----------------------------------------- Unfortunately i do not have an overflow box - just a pipe sticking through the tank. Thanks for the advice. I have tried using a plastic cup with a hole drilled in the top. I held this over the pipe to see what would happen. The tank basically started to fill up and would have overflown. ---------------------------------------- And I replied... In this case, what you would want to do (since you do not have any thing to keep the "cup" above the pipe, and thus sealing it, is to somehow keep the "cup" from sealing againt the pipe. Several ways to do this. one way is to create a "lift" to hold the cup above the pipe (glue in some ridges, or a cross to the under side of the cup), You could drill holes in the top few inches of the pipe (make sure there are in the area that would higher than the bottom if the cup. This should work. Mc

09/07/2005, 10:30 PM	#105
barnacle bill Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: eugene,oregon Posts: 317	mump

10/04/2005, 10:18 PM	#111
barnacle bill Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: eugene,oregon Posts: 317	Water makes a pretty good sound dead'ner the only sound is out of the hole which ain't much.

03/22/2006, 09:09 PM	#112
barnacle bill Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: eugene,oregon Posts: 317	Still workin very quietly.

03/22/2006, 11:44 PM	#114
Bug_Power Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Corpus Christi, Tx Posts: 78	I've got a 1100GPH pump that I use a VERY simple method. Simply buy a slip fitting that goes over your standpipe, You may have to cut it down a bit. I only have about a 1" water drop if that. On the slip fitting cut it like a crown.... your water level will coinside with the bottom of your crown cuts. Then just simply get any cap that's wider. I used a 3" and on the other side a 4" cap and drilled a hole on the top. Simply place the cap on top of the crown. Works great and is SUPER quite. Here is a crude drawing.

03/23/2006, 09:35 AM	#115
scrager Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 182	the original idea in the thread, the idea above this post, a durso, and a stockman are all the same basic idea.... covering the gurgling sound and drilling a hole to prevent siphon. the cover blocks the noise, the hole prevents siphon. durso was the first. stockman is basically a low profile durso...putting the cap over the top of the pipe instead of beside it the original idea in this thread is a stockman held from above rather than on the pipe. the idea above is baiscally the same thing, but risks straining large debris and cloggin and eventually flooding.

03/23/2006, 10:13 AM	#117
hangles Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: nashport ohio Posts: 948	guess just one showed up oop's __________________ I like fishy crackers ! Current Tank Info: 75 gal reef/ 55 gal puffer/ 20 gal fowlr/ 10 gal fowlr

03/23/2006, 01:41 PM	#119
douggiestyle Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: MOON Posts: 1,736	you can also modify the design to create surface skimming. the rigid also allows the water level in the tank to be adjusted. it slows or speeds up the drain. you want the bottom of the slots to be apx 1/4" higher than the stand pipe. Last edited by douggiestyle; 03/23/2006 at 01:55 PM.