Aquarium cabinet noise

[xfire]

I would appreciate advice about reducing the noise from my aquarium sump/pump cabinet.

The cabinet is 6x2x3 feet. It is constructed with 3/4 inch fir plywood top and bottom, 1/2 oak faced plywood cabinet doors and sides, and a 1/4 masonite back. The cabinet sits on a 4" hollow pedestal which sits on a tile floor. The back of the cabinet is 4 inches from a painted Sheetrock wall.

The noises are in four modes:
1. water cascading (unobjectionable)
2. mechanical vibrations from the pump (sits on 1/2" of mouse pad foam) (300Hz???)
3. Bass emanation from the hollow pedestal
4. Vibration from the water flow thru 1" PVC plumbing

Thanks for the support

[Gilbert]

I'm not sure exactly but I once had a similar problem and an soundproofing consultant and contractor in San Francisco helped me out by phone.  It cost a little but of money but it was well worth it.  I think his website was www.bayareanoisecontrol.com.  

Good luck!

[skip]

xfire:

Suggest that you look into:

http://www.soundproofing.org/sales/prices.html

Lining the cabinet with that 1" thick closed cell foam shown there has worked for many individuals with large home aquariums.

Skip
Super Soundproofing Co.

[Mick Roff]

Hi,

I was just wondering if you resolved your issues...
I am currently having the same problems and looking into what solutions there are to reduce the noise without impacting on the performance of the sump.

Any update would be apprecaited.

Thanks

Mick

[xfire]

I've gone a long way, but have more to do.

1. I purchased 1" thick closed cell black foam with antibacterial and anti-fungal characteristics, with sticky-back. From soundproof.org. I applied it to the four insides of the cabinet, including the doors. It was easy and quick and really lowered the pump vibration noise.

2. I got some isolating pads for the pump to sit on. It is a heavy 3/8 thick pad with grooves in opposite directions on each side. It decouples the vibrations of the pump motor from the floor of the cabinet effectively.

3. Now, other things were noisy! I replaced the hood vent fans (200 cfm) with 220v (40 cfm spec) fans run at 120, to get even quieter. I don't need much air flow.

4. No the halide ballast hum is dominant. I didn't even know it hummed before!

5. Remaining steps. a. Put foam on the ceiling of the cabinet (may not be worthwhile). b.Downscale the cabinet fan. c. Invest in an electronic halide ballast.


Summary, Thanksgiving dinner conversation didn't leave the table for hours, and music from other rooms floated through the dining room, instead of the old roar of our reef!