there driving me nuts !!!

[reefmanwannabe]

Maybe someone can help me with my drains , I have a 150 with two overflows . The thing is the drains are in the side panels of the tank (came that way I didn't put them there) and their about 3/4" from the trim that goes around the top of the tank . They are making so much noise that I had to shut it down . They are so high up that I had to cut an elbow level with the bend so they would be below the cut outs for the overflows . I tried one with slots in it , one with a cap nothing is working to quiet these things down and the gurgling is driving me nuts . Anyone ever have to deal with something like this ? I'm just about at wits end .

One more thing , does anyone know if putting a "T" on the outside to let air in would help any . Thats about the only thing I haven't tried yet . The only thing is I would have to order new bulkheads , made the mistake of glueing eveything before hand , that and made the other mistake of ordering slip bulkheads instead of threaded .
thanks for any help

[harman]

Here are a couple of ways to quiet drains. The durosstandpipes are used the most.

http://www.dursostandpipes.com/Build...4/Default.aspx

http://home.everestkc.net/jrobertson57268/HGB/

[Hop]

Can you post a pic... I think I can picture how they are installed and have a solution But I want to make sure before I type a lengthy response for nothing

[david426]

I chose these silencers because they take up less room; I have found them to be effective. http://www.championlighting.com/home.php?cat=735

[reefmanwannabe]

hopfully the pic attachment works but not holding my breath

[Hop]

OK that is close to what I was picturing. Is the noise that is bothering you coming from the gurgling of the pipes or from the sound of water rushing over the weir?

But what I was going to suggest is to just make a durso type drain with it half in and half out of the tank. To see if it is going to work you can do it without major cost right now.
* Turn the 90 around in the weir
* Drill a hole in the top of the 90 on the outside of the tank.
* Insert a 1/4" nipple from a drip line in the drilled hole (or anything that will work) Make sure it is pretty snug
* insert about 4" of air line tubing or drip line over the nipple
* Add a drip line ball valve on it

Then play with the drip line ball valve and see if you can get it nearly silent by adjusting it.

If this works you can glue the nipple in place and run it or build a more professional durso. I actually have my 40 gallon fuge plumed this way in my wetroom.

If that doesn't make sense let me know!

[reefmanwannabe]

ok the noise its making if from the water going into the drain itself (see pic 2) the easiest way i can explain it is like this . If you've ever filled a sink or anything similar and then let all the water run down the drain , when it gets to the point where air is making it to the drain ,(that sucking sound) THATS the noise its making but 10x louder . hope that makes cense .

I understand what your talking about but even if I let air in through the elbow wont it still suck air in through the drain , or would I have to dial my return pump down some to compensate ? I have ball valves on both drains and the return line , I also have a bypass line that goes across and back into the sump with a ball valve .

Ieven thought about turning the drain ball valves down so they wouldn't drain as quick but I'm kinda worried that I might turn them to far down and the return pump might over fill the tank to quickly .

[DarthOcellaris]

Don 't restrict the drain at all! if you want to experiment with slowing down flow, restrict the return pump...NOT the drain. You will most likely overflow the display if you mess with the drain's speed. Just my .02

[Hop]

From what you are describing, what I suggested should be the solution. The sound comes from pulling air into the pipe since due to the flow rate, we are breaking a siphon. Doing this causes a gurgling sound. By adding a vent we can now balance this out and make it nearly silent. By adding the small valve on the top it allows you to adjust it without changing the size of the hole.

As far as the pump goes, no don't turn it down right now. More flow means you need less air going through the vent, less flow means more air and a larger hole. I hope that makes sense

[motorslave]

Try what HOP said. Its basically a Durso.

[reefmanwannabe]

actually it DOES make sense (I think) ok so lets see if I got this right , basicly I'm turning the 90 upsidedown pretty much so it looks like it draining UP , then I'm drilling the elbow and putting a 1/4" nipple in and adding 4" (roughly) long air line with a ball valve and then adjusting the air flow into the elbow ? sound about right so far ? At this point I'm willing to try darn near anything . I've been trying to set this tank up for about 4 or 5 months now and I finally got to and something as small and anoying as this has stopped me dead in the water .

Hop I can't thank you enough for all your help . i'll let you know how I make out .

[Hop]

Yup, that is basically it Make sure the hole you drill is on the top of the 90 on the outside of the tank

No worries, we are all here to help. Let us know how it goes!

[Hop]

Oh and if after you do this, there is a rushing air sound, or surging let me know as that just means the hole isn't big enough and there are larger products you can get to do the same thing but with larger diameter hose and a bigger needle valve

[reefmanwannabe]

Hop you are my hero , it worked like a dream . Its a little ugly right now since I had to use a big ugly turn style ball valve (thats all I had and wanted to make sure I did it right before buying something) but I got it dialed in within about 2 minutes . I'll modify it later to look better and when I build my hood maybe I'll be able to hide it or something , but right now I couldn't be happier .

I have another quick question that should be easy to answer . now that the drains are nice and quiet the pipe going into the sump itself is about .....maybe 3" above the water line and makeing a lot of noise (splashing) I thought I read on here that your not supposed to have the pipe actually go into the water . Is that true and if so why's it a problem ? If its not true that'll be an easy fix with just extending the pipe lower .

Thanks for all your help

[Hop]

Glad to hear that it worked

You can put a 90 elbow on the drain pipe and all but submerge it, just leaving a little bit to avoid surging. It will quiet it down pretty well. You can also submerge the drain in the sump as long as you put a T on the end to vent it above the water. I've used the first option for years and been happy