how to stop that sucking noise??

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podman1973

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Messages
165
Location
oklahoma city, ok
I need help guys i need to know the best way to stop that horrible sucking sound from my overflow box and sump. I know sponges work but they get clogged does anyoen have a low/no maint. way fo reduceing or gettign rid of that sound??:twisted:
 
Horizontal pipe? Are you talking about the run from the overflow to the sump? Try running the pipe down hill all the way, and have the end stop under water inside the sump. If the noise is in the overflow the Durso has a small hole in the top to let air in so the water can flow into the pipe. Adjusting the size of the air hole will keep the water input under the water keeping the noise down.
 
ok this is gonna sound weird but bare with me. a line from the ov erflow on my manin tank goes into a 10gal sump and a line goes out of the side to a 20 gal refg. that is a bit loower the both the tank adn the sump and that is where im haveing the noise, i know its confuseing lol
 
Where is the return pump located? Any reason you didn't just T off the drain (or return) for the ref?
 
I think I got a mental picture of your piping.

You can still do a durso ... Put an elbow on your horizontal intake & turn it up, then attach the T of the Durso to that vertically, making sure you have enough vertical pipe that the top of the T is above the water line. Then attach to the horizontal arm of the T - 2 elbows (& lengths of pipe as needed) to make sure your water intake is under water.

See attached picture:
 

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The top of the durso T is capped, and you drill a very tiny hole (something like 1/32" on mine) to create a partial siphon. You adjust the hole size so that the water level is at the middle of the T. <That is when the overflow is quietest .... you might have to experiment a bit to get the right size hole .... but the caps are like 10 cents each. <You don't glue it on until you get the hole right!>

If you inlet hole is too close to the top for the Durso T, you might be able to drop that a bit with a U bend. Instead of the elbow on the horizontal pipe being turned up, you turn that down, and make a U below that with a couple more elbows & pipes. That should allow you to drop the Durso down. To prevent floods when the Durso starts, you must have the top of the T below the top of your box, and the horizontal arm of the T higher than your outlet pipe.

If you don't have room for that, there is another system of quieting an overflow. This system requires 2 outlets. You have one lower outlet that is running as a full siphon. (Usually that is a short standpipe, but in your case, you can have a smaller outlet installed lower than your current one.) The lower outlet is chocked down with a valve so that it is draining water completely submerged (no air = no gurgling noise). You must have a higher emergency drain as the water level will fluctuate a bit in this system, and the 2nd drain serves as an emergency flood relief. <I can't find the original site with the pictures ATM .... I can draw you a pic if you are interested in drilling another hole in your overflow.>
 
I found the original thread:
Reef Central Online Community - NEW plumbing method for an ULTRA QUIET REEF TANK!!!! LONG !!!!

This is an extensive writeup with pics - notice that his drains are horizontally attached as well:
BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System

The 2nd source used 3 drains: a full siphon, a Durso backup, and an emergency. IMO, you don't need the Durso. <The original source only has 2 drains.> It is not too loud to allow a small amount of water to drain through the emergency, as long as you set the full siphon to take almost all of your return pump flow. A Durso to look after that little bit of noise is superfluous.
 
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