Ignorance + Intuition = discovery.
Since this was my first BC and also my first go round with the Maxijet series of pumps, I didn't really know what to expect. My maxijet seemed to be completely underpowered and virtually useless, and a bit loud.
So I started searching for how to quiet the pump down, and really didn't have much success. Today however, I was working in all the tanks, picking up frags, rearranging corals and rocks, etc. So I decided to go ahead and try to phyisically move the MJ around and see if I could reduce the noise.
Well, here is my find. The intake side of the pump was "sucked up" to the small baffle in the chamber and it was basically plugged up like putting your hand over the shop vac hose. The "flow" i was seeing in the tank was the minimal trickle of water seeping though the vacuum seal.
As soon as I moved it away, the water starting splashing everywhere and I even created quite a sandstorm in the tank temporarily.
I'm glad to say, I am now much more impressed with the MJ1200 than I was before, and I thank god that the pump didn't catch fire or burn out from being so plugged off for so long.
However, the pump, now slightly turned to alleviate the vacuum issue, is now even louder. It is touching nothing but the output tube. Is there any tricks to quiet this?
Also, my back chambers now sound like waterfalls, which is fine, because now I understand how the purigen, chemipure and fuge will work.