Mega Flow Overflow Kit? Good, bad?

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mordred

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
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Please respond with any experiences you guys have had with your MegaFlow Overflow kits...I am thinking of purchasing one and want to make sure its worth the investment.

Right now I am suffering from both pump noise (from inside the cabinet and wet/dry filtration, as well as my overflow being quite noisy. Any advice on a pump that is quieter than a Danner Mag 7 please let me know.

Thanks!
 
I have a Mag 7 and find it very quite and I have mine plumbed inilne....how do you have yours set up? Is it submerged or inline? The water flow noise can be taken care of by extending your drain line to below the water level if that is where it is coming from in the Wet/Dry....If you are talking about the water cascading through the bioball area there isn't much you can do about that as that is how it is designed to work. As for the pump you'll have to answer my question above before I can offer much help...
 
Am i right in assuming that u have a reef ready tank with built in overflows?? if so don't buy the megaflow kit for them. Google durso standpipe and build your own it only cost me 7$ to make 2 for my 120g and they want like 50$ a peice for the All Glass ones.
 
Here is the spec's/setup:

-140 Gallon Hex flatback TruVu Freshwater aquarium
-Center overflow with single pipe extending from bulkhead with gill slits cut into it
-flextubing attached to the TruFlo 180 Wet/Dry
-Sitting in the sump is my Mag 7 pump

Goals are a extremely quiet tank. I am about to purchase a UV Sterlizer as well. I just need to know how to set my current pump up to make it more quiet (i can hear it upstairs) or buy a better pump. Also, how much time does it take to make the Durso standpipe and get it dialed in? I just want to get this tank running as best it can so I can start enjoying it.

Thanks for the comments so far and any further ones you can provide

-M
 
I also use the mag 7 submersed feeding my skimmer. It isn't loud at all and their is more noise from the skimmer itself. I agree with JM regarding the megaflow overflow. I have two on my 120 and though they are quite, you could easily make them yourself some cash. Use it on other items like corals. The only problem I have with it though is the bulkheads. They aren't standard fittings so you have to run flex pvc or flex tubing to it. For the drain I tried 1" and 1 1/4" flex pvc and it would leak after a few days. I then went to 1 1/2" flex pvc and it's been fine. I would have liked to use regular pvc but could not fit the bulkheads. As mentioned, you're better off building your own.
 
There must be something wrong with your Mag7. I am running a Mag 18 on my 120g and i sleep about 15 ft from the tank and can't hear a thing. My skimmer pump makes the only noise that i can hear and its half the size of the Mag 18. this is where i got the instructions for my durso drains http://www.midwestcustomaquariums.com/dursostandpipe.html

PS. An extremely quiet tank is only something that can be dreamed about. IMO if you have all the proper equipment and pumps needed to run the equipment there will always be a small amount of nuisance noise of some sort.
 
Is the pump sitting directly on the bottom glass? If so putting something between the pump and the glass to absorb the vibration should really help. Eggcrate might work, there may be something better. Maybe there is some cavitation in the pump. Unplugging and plugging it back in once or twice should expel any air. Do you have a lot of air bubbles around the pump? Are you sure there are no lose/leaking connections(plumbing and pump cover)? Complaints about Mag pumps being noisy are few and far between IME. HTH
 
Right you are JM...no matter what you are moving a lot of water around and there is going to be some noise...IMO it is that gentle noise that makes this hobby so soothing...

140g tank...that isn't much flow with only a Mag 7 as a return. I have a 72g tank with 2 660gph pumps as returns....
 
15ft from the tank and its quiet?

Hmm...maybe something is wrong with my Mag 7. I pretty much have to crank the TV up to drown out the humming so that I can hear the dialogue when sitting in the same room.

JM I am curious as to how you have yours set up? Inline or just sitting in the sump?

Mine is just sitting in the Wet/Dry. By putting egg crate in, you mean submerse it with the pump? I guess I could give that a whirl? But if it is the pump I can still return it to the store since I just installed it over the weekend.
 
There could be a couple of things wrong with it...it could be sucking air which will cause it to be loud or it could just be vibrating against the sump. Mag drives don't have rubber suction cups on them and that could be the cause of the noise...I have a mag 7 as I said plumbed inline for my closed loop and it is virtually silent... I don't know that egg crate is going to solve your problem if it is vibrating against the sump....if you have some clear vinly hose that you could put under the pump to seperate it from the sump that may help....
 
Hey Ziggy,

What are the benefits of the closed loop vs. the open loop? Also, how did you mount it for that setup?
 
I'll jump quick jump into this.

Quick explanation of a closed and open loop is:

Open Loop is like your overflow and return pump. In otherwords there is a gap or "open" space between the where you take the water out of the tank and put the water back in.

Closed loop is where you have the PVC pipe attached to the input and output of the pump and there is no gaps in where you take the water out of the tank and put the water back in.

Typically the pump on the closed loop is put on the floor or a shelve and the pipes are run there.


-----

As for the Mag7 noise I siliconed an old PH back to mine and put suction cups on it. Like was mentioned above you can rubberband airline tubing on the bottom of it or many places sell rubber pads you can set it on.


-Dave
 
To add to what mulron stated, here is a link to a good example of a closed loop system on a 29g: Melev's 29g Closed Loop.

I think the image on that page clearly depicts how the water leaves the tank and returns without the "gap" that an open loop system would have. HTH
 
My Mag 18 is sitting right in the bottom of my sump. I did get a peice of 1/16" neoprene and put it under the pump as a buffer between the glass. Any vibrating sound that it was making is now gone because the neoprene absorbs the vibrations and pads the glass. I agree wiht Ziggy that a Mag7 is a little under sized for a 140g, but u said it is freshwater right, so maybe u don't need as much flow as us salties. I would recommend a Mag 9.5 since u have 1 overflow maybe even a 12 but it might have to be ball valved and cut dow slightly.
 
Sorry a bit drunk right now...but where would you recommend for getting some neoprene?

Once again, thanks to everyone for your suggestions! This has made my life a lot more easier when making changes to the tank format.

-M
 
Not sure where u can get it maybe home depot or lowes. My dad got me mine, he got it from his work so i'm not sure what stores you can get it at.
 
Some foam, a little durso, and a whole lot of love

Thanks guys! The durso standpipe really did the job. Much quieter, plus the filter pad under the pump cut down some of the tank noise.

The rest of the noise was cut down by plugging the 6" diameter holes in the back of the cabinet with egg crate foam and now I do not have a cabinet sized speaker in my dining room.

Now I can finally get this tank cycled and filled with some fish.
 
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