Overflow WAY TOO LOUD

stevenlu · Jul 22, 2018

Hello there,

I've just bought a 100.3 aquarium. Everything is set up and after I plugged in the return pump, the over flow noise started coming out. It is WAY TOO LOUD and I've never heard anything this loud before counting in pump noises, chiller noises, etc. Everything looks ok. There's only one red knob on the drain in the cabinet. Anything else I can do?

Thank you

Jimbo662 · Jul 23, 2018

Two things could be going on. What's water level in your overflow box? It may need to be raised. If that's not it could be too much water flowing into the tank and going into the overflow. The second turned out to be my issue. I've got a DC pump and had to turn it down a couple of % and it solved the problem.

JoshH · Jul 23, 2018

Deleted

AlexReef100 · Jul 23, 2018

Do you have any sort of fittings in your overflow box, or does the water pour over and go straight down the drain? You might want to look into an overflow box silencer setup.

Build a setup like this out of PVC parts and then place it in your overflow drain, it will keep the water level much higher in the box so it won't sound like a waterfall, and it drains out quietly as well. I've had this setup in my overflow since I initially setup my tank and it makes little to no sound.

stevenlu · Jul 23, 2018

Jimbo662 said:
Two things could be going on. What's water level in your overflow box? It may need to be raised. If that's not it could be too much water flowing into the tank and going into the overflow. The second turned out to be my issue. I've got a DC pump and had to turn it down a couple of % and it solved the problem.

Might be because I have too much water?

Jimbo662 · Jul 23, 2018

Yep. My tank has an external overflow box from Planet Aquarium...it's like the Shadow overflow. Water level in the box is limited. The more water you're pushing into the tank the higher the water level ends up being on the weirs and causes the loud waterfall noise.

Waterbox Aquariums · Jul 24, 2018

stevenlu said:
Might be because I have too much water?

You want to use the gate valve to dial in the water level in overflow to be just below the secondary or emergency drain in the overflow box. If you are getting loud noise from your overflow most likely water is going down that second drain which is designed to be loud when in use as it is the "emergency" drain of sorts. Let me know if you got it all dialed in or not