Need some help with noise reduction options

[Fish Tank Travis]

Nice job with all the tweaks, and glad it's quieter. I think at one point you were concerned about the eels getting stuck, and perhaps a low profile strainer?

I find that acrylic eventually starts to bend with heat from lighting and what not, but doesnt look like you have a need for lids now. I wanted to cover my internal overflow as well and used marine board. They have various thickness and can cut to size.

I did still put lids on the tank to keep my eels from jumping and to keep the water from evaporating too much.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Well, now one of my pumps has developed a bit of a hum. It's not too bad but when I plug them each in one at a time, one of them is almost completely silent, even while sitting right at the open door to the stand. Then, the other is loud enough that you can hear it from several other rooms in the house, if the doors are open.

Is this normal and could the pump just need to break in before it quiets down or has something caused irreversible damage and the pump will never be quiet again?

I have a third pump as a spare, but I really don't want to put it on until I hear from you guys. If needed, I can swap it in and see if it runs quieter, and then keep the noisy one as my spare/water change pump.

 

[DN328]

I did still put lids on the tank to keep my eels from jumping and to keep the water from evaporating too much.

To clarify, i meant your idea about a small lid for the overflow trays earlier in the thread. I would recommend marine board for the tank lids as it's solid and light wouldn't get through. Works great for overflow lid however.

 

[DN328]

Well, now one of my pumps has developed a bit of a hum. It's not too bad but when I plug them each in one at a time, one of them is almost completely silent, even while sitting right at the open door to the stand. Then, the other is loud enough that you can hear it from several other rooms in the house, if the doors are open.

Is this normal and could the pump just need to break in before it quiets down or has something caused irreversible damage and the pump will never be quiet again?

I have a third pump as a spare, but I really don't want to put it on until I hear from you guys. If needed, I can swap it in and see if it runs quieter, and then keep the noisy one as my spare/water change pump.

Without being there it's hard to say. Not sure how you have it plumbed, but that may also contribute to a perceived hum. Especially with PVC. Make sure the pump in question isnt vibrating in the sump at a certain angle.

Some folks put a pad underneath the pump to absorb the noise. It's a bit of trial to see what helps.

Assuming you have the same two pumps and didnt want to take out the third new one, you could try swapping the two.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

The pumps are attached using vinyl tubing, so I don't think it's the line vibrating against anything. Also, I have the double layer rubber stand on each pump. Lastly, I have tried moving the pump around and even while just holding it out so it's not touching anything but water, it's still noisy.

Is it normal for some pumps to have to "break in" before quieting down? I think I remember reading other posts about a pump quieting down after a week or two of running.

If nothing works for this pump, I will try swapping it with the spare pump before looking into other options.

Both pumps are operating very well and pushing a lot of flow. I'm very happy with their ability as pumps. I'm just hoping to get this noise situation figured out.

 

[Malte81]

In my last post i had told you what to do when your Pumps are
to loud.
Avoid direct contact to the Glas and no direct plumbing with pvc.
When you dont want to do this you will always have a
hum sound from your pumps.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

In my last post i had told you what to do when your Pumps are
to loud.
Avoid direct contact to the Glas and no direct plumbing with pvc.
When you dont want to do this you will always have a
hum sound from your pumps.

The pump is not connected to any pvc. All the lines are vinyl tubing. Also, I moved the pump around an even held it out in open water, and it still made the humming noise, so I am certain it's something internal in the pump. When I unplug the louder pump the other one is almost completely silent, yet they both seem to be pushing the same amount of water.

I am mainly just wondering if it's normal for some pumps to have a break in period where they can be noisy, but then quiet down after that.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

If your opinions are that it will just be noisy from here on out, then I will swap in the spare pump and see if it will remain quiet.

Otherwise, what pump does everyone recommend to replace these Rio 20HF's that will be as silent as possible?

 

[Malte81]

Even when you have vinyl or garden hose plumbing
you will have vibrations coming from the pump through your pipes.
You need a super soft silicone pipe to avoid the hum sound.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Even when you have vinyl or garden hose plumbing
you will have vibrations coming from the pump through your pipes.
You need a super soft silicone pipe to avoid the hum sound.

View attachment 1225766

Why is it that one is silent and the other isn't, even though they are hooked up the same way?

On an unrelated topic, is that large sponge in the picture you posted there to keep the bubbles from the baffles from reaching the pump inlet?