'Silencing' Pumps. Advice? Good or bad idea?

[CookeRS]

So I was a bit bothered by the humming/droning that I was getting from my Return Pump and Circulation Pump.

I had some filter pad lying around that I cut to size and sat underneath my return pump, and between my circulation pump and glass. Viola! Sweet silence. [emoji28]

I am just checking in here to see if anyone foresees a problem with this in regards to... Will those pads end up soaking up bacteria and just becoming problems in terms of like Nitrate traps? My gut feeling is it might be a problem down the track...

Does anyone else have any advice or better suggestions on how to reduce the droning/humming from pumps and such?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ncaldwell]

I've seen silicon pads for the same purpose. Maybe a soft rubber. I'm sure those would be fine for a month or so then replace them. I know brs has some that look like you could find at Walmart or wherever

 

[mcarroll]

I had some filter pad lying around that I cut to size and sat underneath my return pump, and between my circulation pump and glass. Viola! Sweet silence.

Seems fine to me vs something not intended for inside a tank. Cheap to replace if you need to.

I'm a little surprised the 6040 (with silicone dampers) was a noise issue. Did you hear it all the time? What kind of noise was it making?

 

[Dugless]

I’d be nervous on the circulation pump, it might scratch the glass over time with its gentle vibration and movement.

 

[Retro Reefer]

I have been using a piece of filter padding under one of my noisy pumps for a while and it works great, just change it out every few months if it becomes real dirty.

 

[CookeRS]

Seems fine to me vs something not intended for inside a tank. Cheap to replace if you need to.

I'm a little surprised the 6040 (with silicone dampers) was a noise issue. Did you hear it all the time? What kind of noise was it making?

Nice product identification [emoji14] - Yeah all the time, it was just that regular low vibration sound I am probably a bit over zealous on tackling the noises my tank makes because it's close to the couch in the living room and you can hear it when your watching TV and stuff.

 

[Forsaken77]

For the return pump, they sell OXO Good Grip silicone mats. You can get them from BRS but they're way overpriced. Amazon for that. A silicone mat won't absorb anything like a pad.

As for in the tank, there's nothing I would use. Your magnet may lose grip and the pump could drop into the sand. The powerhead shouldn't really make noise though.

 

[mcarroll]

Nice product identification [emoji14] - Yeah all the time, it was just that regular low vibration sound I am probably a bit over zealous on tackling the noises my tank makes because it's close to the couch in the living room and you can hear it when your watching TV and stuff.

Could be normal I suppose, but I'd consider taking a movie with audio of the pump/noise and emailing Roger at Tunze to see if he thinks it is too. (see: https://www.tunze.com/US/en/about-us.html?type= for Roger's contact info.)

Their pumps were already REALLY quiet before they added the silicone isolators....it's hard to imagine needing supplemental dampening WITH the dampers if all is well.