Best Way to Silence a 1" Drain?

[Sokretys]

Any thoughts? In particular how to silence a modded skimmer box with the bulkhead fitting coming out the back of the tank vs the bottom.

Thanks

 

[rusty18]

There is a picture of a 75 gal tank in FS forum that has a durso pipe set up with a tank drilled on the side. Something like this if you have the space behind your tank should work. You will need to add a cap to the top of the Y fitting and drill a small hole on the top of the cap. The size of the hole will be determined by the amount of flow the pipe will be handling.

I am not sure the rule of linking a member's pic that is posted in the FS section. It's a pretty new post under the equipment so shouldn't be hard to find.

 

[Aquadiva]

Attach a durso...

A "t" coming out of the bulkhead, and a short piece of PVC pointing up with a cap, and the drain coming out of the bottom of the "T" and into the sump.

http://www.dursostandpipes.com/?page_id=58

Replace #8 with bulkhead #6 goes to sump. You don't need the stuff from #6 on. Sorry.. best pic I could find. Hope this makes sense.

And.... Rusty types faster.

 

[Sokretys]

ive got the y-shaped t hooked up to a 2" bulkhead right now. ive recently learned that 2" is quiet anyways due to the circumference of the tube. as far as the hole drilled in the top...its a very simple concept. how quiet exactly is it? simply not as loud? or dead quiet? thanks all

 

[rusty18]

With some tweaking (may need to try a few caps with different sized holes and let them run for a few minutes + before you can determine how loud continuously it will be) it can be close to silent.
Try using a zip tie in the hole too; it helps with the "fine tuning".

 

[Sokretys]

hm. like dropping a zip tie in with the clasp keeping it suspended due to being larger than the hole's diameter?

 

[Aquadiva]

You can also drill a hole through the cap and into the side of the PVC. Then, turn the cap to make the hole smaller or larger.

 

[rusty18]

hm. like dropping a zip tie in with the clasp keeping it suspended due to being larger than the hole's diameter?

yes, exactly, or you can do the above and adjust the hole by turning the cap.

 

[Sokretys]

Nice. Thanks guys. Is a hole closer to 1/4" more or less a good start. or something a touch larger or smaller? Ive heard of people using a small wad of filter floss under their end cap. Has anyone tried that?

Perhaps using a larger hole but allowing the filter floss to muffle the sound while the drain rips?

 

[guyduquette]

Also, keep in mind that if you use a durso you will lose that guarantee of a full siphon if the water level should rise in the display for some reason.

Unless of course you were to bend the air inlet hose into the tank just above the water line. Then, if the water level rises it will cut off the air flow and create a full siphon.

 

[guyduquette]

if you attach a hose of any length (8" or so) to the air inlet, it will quiet down the air suction sound too.

 

[JohnK]

You'll probably want the hole to be smaller than 1/4". That's an OK starting point, you'll just need to jam a bunch of zip ties in to get it right.

A nice way to cover all your needs in this case would be to drill and tap the cap to take a 1/4" john guest ball valve. Install the ball valve, and put the appropriate tubing into the open end and run that tubing over the tank wall and attach it so that if the water level rises, the water will meet the tube and cut the air off creating that "full siphon effect" that Guy mentioned.

 

[Sokretys]

OK, physically i understand how you would go about mounting it all...but what advantage would you have by the full siphon effect?

 

[JohnK]

A properly tuned duroso set up will operate under a partial siphion. That is there is air going in, but a limited amount, so you get a sort of semi-siphion in the drain that gives you a bit more flow.

Any and all drains will slowly become obstructed over time (so you need to clean them). If you don't notice the flow slowing, it will eventually get to the point of backing up, and sooner or later might cause a flood. This can also happen fast if, for example, a hunk of cheato gets sucked onto the strainer. (Never run a drain without a strainer of some sort, if you do one snail can easily cause a VERY big mess)

By having the air inlet in a location where a rising water level will block the air, when the water does rise and blocks the air inlet, it will start the "full siphion". This will signifigantly increase the flow down the drain (preventing the flood), and will usually cause a very noticable sucking or flushing noise (natural alarm system - "HEY DUMMY, CLEAN ME!!!")

It's a very simple precaution that has prevented many many a flood.