Sicce 2.0 Humming

[joro]

I'm in the process of cycling my Reefer 170 (you can check out the build in my signature link) and I've had the Sicce 2.0 running for approximately 3 weeks. I've read that sometimes the Sicces need some time to "wear in" before they are quiet; however, I'm not sure if should have taken this long. I've tried holding the unit and the tubing to see if that's causing the noise but neither reduces the noise, so I think it's something with the pump. Any ideas or suggestions on how to get it silent? It's killing me that everything is quiet except for this loud humming :mad:

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Is it sitting directly on the bottom of your sump? does it have rubber feet or suction cups?

 

[joro]

Is it sitting directly on the bottom of your sump? does it have rubber feet or suction cups?

It has rubber feet on the bottom of the unit so it's not directly on the sump but close

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

I would take it apart and make sure nothing got inside. and check the impeller to make sure nothing's broken and that the magnet isn't chipped.

It has rubber feet on the bottom of the unit so it's not directly on the sump but close

 

[mcarroll]

Even a very small piece of detritus in the wrong place can cause this. My QuietOne 4000 had some noise the first few times I fired it up. Had to take it apart twice to rinse out whatever it was....and it's been dead silent ever since. (This is a QO made by Sicce, as they all used to be.)

 

[joro]

I would take it apart and make sure nothing got inside. and check the impeller to make sure nothing's broken and that the magnet isn't chipped.

Even a very small piece of detritus in the wrong place can cause this. My QuietOne 4000 had some noise the first few times I fired it up. Had to take it apart twice to rinse out whatever it was....and it's been dead silent ever since. (This is a QO made by Sicce, as they all used to be.)

So while I was doing my water change today I went ahead and took the pump out for a good cleaning. I soaked it in some very hot water for about 15 minutes then broke out the brushes from the Tunze Cleaning Kit to get all the grates and crevices. It's been running now for about an hour and the hum is definitely still there. Is it true there is a "break in" period for these pumps? If not, I think I'm going to find something else because it's annoying to hear this on our main floor all day/night

 

[ksfulk]

I dont see a picture of your sump area anywhere in your build thread, so I couldnt tell, but I have to ask the question - are you hard or soft plumbed? Any pump can cause noise if the plumbing isnt properly supported. When I put together my latest tank with a Vectra pump, I spent three days trying to figure out where the humming was coming from in the sump. I thought it might be the reactor or the skimmer pump, but it was indeed the Vectra! I tore it apart twice trying to clean anything out of it before realizing that I had never screwed the pvc clamps into the stand, and had only just snapped them around the pipes. Three screws and ten minutes later - sweet sweet silence. Might be something worth looking at.

 

[joro]

I dont see a picture of your sump area anywhere in your build thread, so I couldnt tell, but I have to ask the question - are you hard or soft plumbed? Any pump can cause noise if the plumbing isnt properly supported. When I put together my latest tank with a Vectra pump, I spent three days trying to figure out where the humming was coming from in the sump. I thought it might be the reactor or the skimmer pump, but it was indeed the Vectra! I tore it apart twice trying to clean anything out of it before realizing that I had never screwed the pvc clamps into the stand, and had only just snapped them around the pipes. Three screws and ten minutes later - sweet sweet silence. Might be something worth looking at.

It's soft plumbed with a pretty thick green flexible hose which comes standard with the Reefers from what I understand (you can see it to the left of the 2 other pipes in the back of the pic). I've tried holding that tube to see if it's a vibration issue and no dice, it still hums.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

And not touching any of the side panels? possibly a bad impeller.

 

[joro]

And not touching any of the side panels? possibly a bad impeller.

Are you referring to the tubing from the return pump? If so, it's not touching the side panel of the stand or the pipes next to it.

 

[ksfulk]

It's soft plumbed with a pretty thick green flexible hose which comes standard with the Reefers from what I understand (you can see it to the left of the 2 other pipes in the back of the pic). I've tried holding that tube to see if it's a vibration issue and no dice, it still hums.

Worth a shot. Hmmm - I assume the humming stops with the pump off. Does the 2.0 impeller come out? Check the rubber "boot" that sits on either end of the impeller to help seat it properly when in motion. Otherwise if nothing is cracked or worn weird, it might be a problem with the impeller.

 

[ksfulk]

And not touching any of the side panels? possibly a bad impeller.

Ha! I was typing the same thing!

 

[joro]

And not touching any of the side panels? possibly a bad impeller.

Worth a shot. Hmmm - I assume the humming stops with the pump off. Does the 2.0 impeller come out? Check the rubber "boot" that sits on either end of the impeller to help seat it properly when in motion. Otherwise if nothing is cracked or worn weird, it might be a problem with the impeller.

The setup is dead silent when the pump is off, so I know the noise isn't coming from the skimmer and/or mP10s on the back. In terms of the impeller, when I cleaned everything out I did re-seat it, so that shouldn't be an issue. Out of curiosity, this return pump came with the system when I bought the Reefer from a local person. Is the impeller something expensive to replace and/or is Sicce going to give me grief since I'm not the original owner? May just save the headache and buy something new to eliminate issues.

 

[ksfulk]

Looks like its about $30

http://www.aquacave.com/replacement...e=1&fep=5623&gclid=CMOAr7aXps8CFYMehgodhEcP7w

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

If the impeller has any minor fractures (not always visible) it will throw off the balance. try running it in a 5g bucket and see if it does the same thing.