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Hi everyone.

Well I am happy to say I am in the process of starting up a 65 gallon tank I got for free!

It's a drilled tank with a corner overflow. The first problem I ran into is the noise this overflow makes. Initially I was dealing with both water splashing into the overflow and then random gurgling every so often.

I resolved the gurgling by slowing up the flow rate on the return line. However, I cannot seem to figure out a way to quiet the sound of the water cascading into the overflow box and splashing as it hits the pool of water waiting to drain down into the pipe. I've witnessed similar setups which are far less noisy. So I am not sure what could be different.

 

[FutureDoc]

Do you have overflow tubes in your 65g overflow area? There are tubes in the overflow that connect to the bulkhead and they should raise the water to be a few inches under where the overflow drains the main display. Some of the overflow tubes are quieter than the others but if you do not have the tubes it would be much louder.

 

[Chad]

You can use what's called a stand pipe.
There are several types or you can invent your own. The durso is popular http://www.dursostandpipes.com/ but in my tank I simply put an open pipe that was taller and instantly my overflow was quiet.

 

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Inside the overflow area, there is a straight tube of PVC pipe connected to the drain bulkhead. Rough guess would say it rises to about half the height of the tank (about 12") Initially the gurgling noise was an issue, but I resolved that by slowing the return line back into the tank.

The problem now is that water coming into the overflow from the tank has to drop about a foot before reaching the pool of water inside the overflow area and that splashing noise is too loud.

Would it be possible to increase the height of the PVC drain tube? Are there any concerns if I were to increase the height of the water in this area? Are there other methods to perhaps slow/reduce the rate water flows in through the slots? It literally looks like a water fall cascading into there. I was thinking of shaping a flat piece of acrylic - putting one end up near the top and angling downards, almost like a slide.

But if a taller pipe would work with no problems, that sounds to be an easier fix.

 

[Chad]

Would it be possible to increase the height of the PVC drain tube?

Yes.

There are several ways to quiet the sound, this is one of them and my personal favorite since it's so easy. The other is to set the pump to just the exact flow that the water just slowly goes over the lip of the overflow and slides down the side. This is actually great for many reasons but hard to accomplish.

 

[FutureDoc]

thanks tcamos, could not remember the name... durso stand pipes. That saved me a few hours of banging my head against the wall.

 

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Yes.

There are several ways to quiet the sound, this is one of them and my personal favorite since it's so easy. The other is to set the pump to just the exact flow that the water just slowly goes over the lip of the overflow and slides down the side. This is actually great for many reasons but hard to accomplish.

I'll try increasing the pipe height.

With slowing the flow, I noticed that the slower the return rate, the higher the water level in the filter area. Will this be of concern should the power go out? Wouldn't want it to overflow.

 

[chrisd]

I'll try increasing the pipe height.

With slowing the flow, I noticed that the slower the return rate, the higher the water level in the filter area. Will this be of concern should the power go out? Wouldn't want it to overflow.

Just remove some water till it is at the level you want.

 

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Sometimes it really is just that simple eh?

 

[chrisd]

Sometimes it really is just that simple eh?

Lol...sometimes it is. Now if only life were that simple.