what is the most efficient and quietest sump filtration set up to run

[SaltyPlum]

Hi guys, as the title states, im wanting to know what is the most efficient, yet quietest sump set up to run on a 230g?

I've recently set up my 230g as a display tank in my wall seperating the dining room area and media room. I have a standard 50gallon sump as the filtration which ive designed to fit a 4 tote draw trickle tower (like Joey the DIY king) in the first chamber. The return pump is 5,500ltp. This set up is working well and doing its job. However, im not happy with how much noise the trickling of water makes as you can here it through the night when trying to sleep.

I have plenty of K1 media on hand and plenty of other media as well, including the glass to set more chambers. Would love to hear other peoples suggestions on what i can do inregards to running a queiter sump, yet efficient enough for the fish i keep.

 

[Rhyno8]

You can pretty much go as simple or complex as you like, bean animal overflows are nearly dead silent, you can divide your sump into section and have some k1 running but still the air pump and k1 banging into each other can be noisy also. I like to not over complicate it now it’s all just surface area. You could just have a fully submerged sump with ceramic media and filter socks and it will be dead quiet wouldn’t even need baffles just bag your media up makes for easy cleaning.

 

[SaltyPlum]

You can pretty much go as simple or complex as you like, bean animal overflows are nearly dead silent, you can divide your sump into section and have some k1 running but still the air pump and k1 banging into each other can be noisy also. I like to not over complicate it now it’s all just surface area. You could just have a fully submerged sump with ceramic media and filter socks and it will be dead quiet wouldn’t even need baffles just bag your media up makes for easy cleaning.

Thanks for your advice. Im just after something simple, effective yet quiet. I do have a bean over flow. The ovwrflow and pump run quiet, i believe the trickling noise is when the water is exerting the overflow into the sump and running through tje tot tower set up.

So you feel i wouldnt need to silcone in baffles if i wanted to go with a submerged outlet (filtersocks) and media?

 

[Rhyno8]

Thanks for your advice. Im just after something simple, effective yet quiet. I do have a bean over flow. The ovwrflow and pump run quiet, i believe the trickling noise is when the water is exerting the overflow into the sump and running through tje tot tower set up.

So you feel i wouldnt need to silcone in baffles if i wanted to go with a submerged outlet (filtersocks) and media?

I wouldn’t worry with them saves you pulling down your sump also. No baffles makes for very very easy cleaning a clean sump is a big part of keeping nitrates low. There’s a few members on here with no baffles just filter socks media and a pump provided it’s got some form of guard over the impeller set up. Duanes runs his sumps this way. I had a no baffle sump for 12 months set up this way until I got a good deal on a bigger sump that already had baffles and is a right pain in the rear to clean.

 

[SaltyPlum]

I wouldn’t worry with them saves you pulling down your sump also. No baffles makes for very very easy cleaning a clean sump is a big part of keeping nitrates low. There’s a few members on here with no baffles just filter socks media and a pump provided it’s got some form of guard over the impeller set up. Duanes runs his sumps this way. I had a no baffle sump for 12 months set up this way until I got a good deal on a bigger sump that already had baffles and is a right pain in the rear to clean.

That's good to know. Im now thinking of removing the tote tower all together and going with filter socks on the outlets and bagging my bio balls, volcanic rock and noodles. Have a cimolete submerged sump.

Knowing i have a lot of k1, do you think if i got two sponge filters and made two k1 filters using coke bottles and had them running in the sump also will be effective?

 

[Rhyno8]

Its all extra surface area, it’s not going to hinder any performance. I think it was duanes explained it best the bacteria colony will only grow to the bio load you could have million square feet of surface area and the bacteria colony may only inhabit a tenth of that pending your bio load if your not having any ammonia or nitrite issues currently then I wouldn’t say go spend heaps of media bacteria will grow on lava rock the same as an expensive block of marine pure. If you’ve got it laying around may as well use it up.

 

[Lepisosteus]

In my opinion the quietest you can run is a double standing drain pipe. The first drain has a fine adjustment gate valve just before it enters the sump. The second pipe is slightly taller and is used as an emergency. If you add a slightly larger diameter pipe overtop of the primary drain it acts as a noise reducer as well. To make the system completely silent, begin with the gate vale slightly open and adjust it until the volume of the sump does not change. From there, make minuscule adjustments until the emergency drain does not drain any water or very little. To make these final adjustments turn the valve slightly and wait 10-15 minutes between adjustments.

 

[Ulu]

In my opinion the quietest you can run is a double standing drain pipe. The first drain has a fine adjustment gate valve just before it enters the sump. The second pipe is slightly taller and is used as an emergency. If you add a slightly larger diameter pipe overtop of the primary drain it acts as a noise reducer as well. To make the system completely silent, begin with the gate vale slightly open and adjust it until the volume of the sump does not change. From there, make minuscule adjustments until the emergency drain does not drain any water or very little. To make these final adjustments turn the valve slightly and wait 10-15 minutes between adjustments.

I do exactly that, but I don't have an emergency drain. Just the one big standpipe & valve. I position my pump and water levels so that the pump starts sucking air before the tank can overflow, and the sump doesn't overflow if the pump stops.

This system is quiet unless the water gets low in the sump because of evaporation or a clogged strainer. Then the pump gets loud and alarms you. The dreaded 2AM WAAAAAHHHH means "Your drain is plugged!"

I keep up the tank levels, so it usually means my oscar is ripping things apart and they're clogging the strainer.

 

[Lepisosteus]

I do exactly that, but I don't have an emergency drain. Just the one big standpipe & valve. I position my pump and water levels so that the pump starts sucking air before the tank can overflow, and the sump doesn't overflow if the pump stops.

This system is quiet unless the water gets low in the sump because of evaporation or a clogged strainer. Then the pump gets loud and alarms you. The dreaded 2AM WAAAAAHHHH means "Your drain is plugged!"

I keep up the tank levels, so it usually means my oscar is ripping things apart and they're clogging the strainer.

Run an ATO

 

[Ulu]

I still have to drill a drain hole out to the front garden.
Some day when my wife is out of town . . .