SCA 301 skimmer noise level?

[Philipgonzales3]

I have heard people describe their SCA protein skimmer as near silent. Mine seems pretty loud. I can't really hear the main return pump (PH2500 utility return pump) but the skimmer pump is pretty noisy. It is brand new, tank was just setup yesterday. You think it will quite down? I took apart the pump and everything seemed fine. I held the pump suspended by the power cable and it appears the noise is coming from the pump itself and not from vibration against the glass.

Is this normal?

 

[TheEngineer]

I have heard people describe their SCA protein skimmer as near silent. Mine seems pretty loud. I can't really hear the main return pump (PH2500 utility return pump) but the skimmer pump is pretty noisy. It is brand new, tank was just setup yesterday. You think it will quite down? I took apart the pump and everything seemed fine. I held the pump suspended by the power cable and it appears the noise is coming from the pump itself and not from vibration against the glass.

Is this normal?

It is somewhat loud, unfortunately. I have the same skimmer in my system.

Here's the noise with the skimmer off (~46dB)



And with the skimmer on (~53dB)


Every 10dB increase is a perceived doubling in volume. In other words, my tank is twice as loud when the skimmer is on. I run an insanely quiet return pump (Vectra M1) so the difference is extra noticeable for me personally. Now balance all of this with the fact that a fridge is right around 55dB when it is running. The skimmer is just "locally loud" if you know what I mean

 

[tvu]

That’s odd. My 301 is very quiet. Have you unassembled the pump and looked at it?

Maybe the pump requires a little break in as well.

 

[TheEngineer]

That buzzing sound is not normal. Something is vibrating that shouldn't be. Make sure the pump is all the way in the housing and that the feet are on too.

 

[falconut]

I have the SCA 302 and it was dead silent. When I 1st got it, it had a rattle sound, but the impeller was broken, put a new one in and it went silent. Of course my model has the pump inside the body. It sounds to me like a vibration noise. My MaxiJet's make this sound from vibrating on the glass bottom. If it's bothering you, maybe see if you can narrow down the noise, but moving the pump off the bottom or away from certain parts of the skimmer body.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

That’s odd. My 301 is very quiet. Have you unassembled the pump and looked at it?

Maybe the pump requires a little break in as well.

I have the SCA 302 and it was dead silent. When I 1st got it, it had a rattle sound, but the impeller was broken, put a new one in and it went silent. Of course my model has the pump inside the body. It sounds to me like a vibration noise. My MaxiJet's make this sound from vibrating on the glass bottom. If it's bothering you, maybe see if you can narrow down the noise, but moving the pump off the bottom or away from certain parts of the skimmer body.

Hmm so I took the whole thing apart again and everything looks normal. I think I narrowed it down. It seems that with the blue piece connected to the inpout side the rattle is there. If I remove the blue piece from the input side the rattle is gone. It's all back together and sounds worse than before. I don't understand. I pushed the blue piece so that it is fully seated. Also tried pulling it off slightly. Any suggestions?

 

[TheEngineer]

The blue adjustment tube?

 

[Philipgonzales3]

The blue adjustment tube?

No, the blue cylinder part that goes over the input side of the pump. This is facing the side opposite of the blue adjustment tube. It seems that when I take this part off the rattling is gone.

 

[TheEngineer]

That's the venturi. It would stand to reason that it is quieter with this off, but you shouldn't hear a rattle. That to mean points to the pump itself being a problem. I'd say either the feet aren't all the way on or there's a problem with the impeller. Does the sound stop if you block the air intake?

 

[Philipgonzales3]

That's the venturi. It would stand to reason that it is quieter with this off, but you shouldn't hear a rattle. That to mean points to the pump itself being a problem. I'd say either the feet aren't all the way on or there's a problem with the impeller. Does the sound stop if you block the air intake?

I don't think it's the feet. If I block the air intake the pitch of the rattle changes. It sounds like it's a little quiter blocking the air intake but not much.

 

[TheEngineer]

Next thing I'd check is the impeller.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Next thing I'd check is the impeller.

How do I check that? I mean I pulled it out but wasn't sure what to check for besides it seems to be all in one piece.

 

[TheEngineer]

Make sure there aren't any pieces missing or anything stuck to it. Rotate it in the pump by hand and make sure it isn't binding anywhere.

 

[falconut]

Maybe the venturi has a loose piece, if you take it off & lightly shake it, do you hear anything. I believe it's made up of a few pieces glued together.

 

[User]

What’s with all the ‘exhaust bubbles’...?

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Make sure there aren't any pieces missing or anything stuck to it. Rotate it in the pump by hand and make sure it isn't binding anywhere.

I emailed Steve from SCAquariums and he is going to send a replacement pump. I'll replace it and see if that fixes the issue.

 

[Philipgonzales3]

What’s with all the ‘exhaust bubbles’...?

Not sure, I think it clears up after a while. Still a lot of exhaust bubbles right now. I'll check in in a day or so and see if they've gone away.

 

[User]

Wasn’t sure if that was a thing with those skimmers or not

 

[Philipgonzales3]

Wasn’t sure if that was a thing with those skimmers or not

It may be. Not sure yet lol.

 

[TheEngineer]

I emailed Steve from SCAquariums and he is going to send a replacement pump. I'll replace it and see if that fixes the issue.

Nice!