The sounds of water - Air + pipes == noise

M

masta

[So I spent the weekend generating RO/DI water, and play the roll of bucket boy as I filled my tank full of water for the first time.

<li>The sand I used wasn't exactly clean, and created a cloudy suspension of the finer grains of sand.

<li>The venturi skimmer didn't work until I realized (this morning) that the air line has a tweaker for me to inject air into the water shaft. Now I'm wondering if the venture is being a bit too effective as I see foam creation beyond my expectations.

<li>Water temps is averaging about 78 as seen from the LCD sticker on the side of the tank. I hope this isnt' too warm for marine critters?

<li>The tube that goes from my hang-on-the-back over flow box generates a sounds which is apparently the result of air and water combining as the water is drawn down the tube to the (wet/dry) filter apperatus. I'm certain that I have observed the same thing in a bath tub as the water drains and whirl pool is created, which tends to draw air down the drain. This is the sound my tank is making.

So I want to address the issue of the sound before I get any further in the hobby. I suspect that some hydrolic principle would fix the noise problem, by installing S shaped pipes which would cause water suck.. Is that a correct assumption?

I am going to snap a few pictures for my gallery in a few minutes so I can show y'all how much of a noob I am.]
 
[You will need to add a silencer mod to the overflow box. The easiest (and most popular) is the Stockman standpipe modification. You may have to adjust the design slightly to fit your specific overflow box dimensions, but the engineering concept is the same no matter how large or small it is. This mod will make the difference between the sound of Niagara falls and a barely audible trickle. You can find pictures, plans and variations for it within these links:

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe-ken_stockman.htm

http://www.dursostandpipes.com/

Good luck! :beer:]
 
[Advice from Marc to me when I had the problem:

"When you lower the tube (airline tubing) in the drain, it only needs to go down about 2" to 3" in the bulkhead's drain.. Remember that the tubing might have some water in the end since you submerged it and is acting like a temporary plug. Try putting your finger over the other end to keep water out of it and then remove your finger so air can be drawn down easily.

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Marc - S/W Ft Worth"

The piece of airline tubing will help temporarily until you can get something more permanent like the Stockman mods done. The noise on mine drove me crazy! Use a clothesline clip to hold the airline onto the overflow box. Thanks again Marc!]
 
[No problem, Kat!


The foam production is normal due to the sediment in the water now.

Is the water saltwater right now, or simply freshwater? Freshwater is very noisy, compared to the water tension of salt water.

I'd aim for 80F on your tank, which is closer to normal reef temperatures.]
 
[@Marc wrote:
Is the water saltwater right now said:
The water contains a bag of instant ocean, for a 50g tank.
My Tank is a 46g plus about 4 or 5 gallons in the filter aperatus.

I'm making more water so I can change out the cloudy, but I will probably have to go get more salt.

This tank is not RR, or drilled. It has a box that hangs on the back, and a box that hangs inside the tank with a siphon hose that interconnects the inside box to the back hanging box.

I do not understand the physics behinds the insertion of air-line hose, but that does seem to be doing something possitive. Thank you. Although I cannot help to assume that the tube works on some princible of interfearing with the air's access to the sinking water. Anybody care to give an executive summary on this?]
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[My little weir used to make noise at first on the 29g, until I made this little modification.

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The air going down the drain stops the gurgling, belching, and burping that normally occurs in drains. You might find you have room to do this in your outer box, or you might try to google a Stockman Mod(ification).

Don't change water to reduce the cloudiness. It will settle over time, and more quickly with LR(live rock) in the tank.

What is the current salinity?]
 
[I built a pair of stockman's for my overflows, but they were noisey. Perhaps I need to drill more air holes in the end cap? I'm using durso's now and they seem pretty quiet, but I can't crank my Iwaki to full force.]
 
[It is a delicate balance. Too many holes don't work as well as one that is perfectly tuned. Not enough air and it sucks water down in a flushing fashion.]
 
[I feel as though I have spent hours upon hours behind my tank getting my stockmans to run properly. Two things helped my out a ton, first I bought my own hard tubing to play with once my holes were drilled. Two the holes themselves there really is no specific hole size. I took ten bits went back there and started drilling then testedm drilled then tested, you get the point. I now have about 1400-1500GPH running to my sump and it is quiet as a mouse. It doesnt hurt if you can build or already have a cover for the backside of the overflow to make things even quieter. Hope this helps]
 
[@Marc wrote:
Don't change water to reduce the cloudiness. It will settle over time said:
So I was being lackadaisical about my approach, and didn't even have a refractometer. So now I have a bucket of salt, two pieces of live rock, and the refractometer. I sampled the salinity, and the device claims "1.020". I managed to put the LR in without disrupting too much sand. Oh and by the way, I see the sand has settled some, but not before I replaced some water. So I think I need to adjust my salinity, and wait.]
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[If you are going to play the patience game, just top off all evaporated water with saltwater for the next week or so, checking salinity daily. When you reach 1.026, start using RO/DI (freshwater) water instead.]
 
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