Pumps and noise in general

I'm in the market for a pump and i red all kinds of reviews for all sort of "experts", to personals, and one thing strikes me as bizarre. Two people both having the same pump saying the same thing how wonderfull its its and how good its is, but at one point they diverge completely, one says its a jet plane, the other its so quiet you hardly notice its there.

To understand this i've viewed some silly vid on YouTube, from a source that are constantly making mistake while comparing item. They usually never give the items, power, size, credo and stats and then tell you a story to sell you theirs.... So my question is on the matter of pump noise does it depends on

- the location of the pump

- its orientation , either ; in space or according to its couplings

-How its mounted and on what

- the distance and amount its pushing

- What else do you thing could affect such a discrepancy in a review of the same pumps.

By the way the pump i was interested in is a Pan World 100PX-X Magnetic Water Pump, just in case you have one.

 

Noise is a completely subjective thing from one person to another. With out actual readings, none of it matters. All those things matter, as does background noise and what you think is loud or quiet. There is no such thing as a silent pump, I can promise you that.

 

+1 to what Powerman posted. The one real way you can find out if something is noisy to you is to use a sound measuring meter. I'm sure it as a name...It measures in decibels. Once you know how many decibels is too noisy you should be able to find out from manufacturers how many decibels their product gives off.

 

It's a decibel meter. You were on the right track.
Just for information. I have a little giant 4 mdqx-sc and during the day it is quiet. I never hear it. If the doors are open and the tv or the baby is running around screaming or talking I never hear it. The only time I even hear the pump is at night when everything is quiet. I wouldn't say it's loud but its not quiet.
Like previously posted, noise level is subjective and each individual will have their own opinions when it comes to the noise level of a pump.

 

I just bought an upgraded return pump for my setup and I decided to go with Sicce. BRS just started selling them. And after I set it up and all in my sump. Wow, is all I can say. couldn't even hear it unless I put my ear an inch from the sump and you hear a slight hum. The pump comes with little rubber feet and also suction cups if you want to attach it that way.

 

Agreed all pumps are noisy I think it's more so the movement of water that is noisy. I have mine in the Master Bedroom closet it is loud until I close the door. In the living room I hear just the hum of the pumps running. Because I have them on a plywood shelf that's hollow on the bottom. I'm going to redo the whole thing soon as I get the rest of the $. I will make it more quiet by solidifying the surfaces, walls floor, shelves, etc etc. It's the vibration of those surfaces that make the noise and the water movement. Just messing around with the video. I was waitings on all my three girls to get ready. When I redo the closet I'm gonna make the sump portion closed off to the rest of the closet. http://youtu.be/2eBsec5HlH0

 

I was told by other wood and steel are the best vibration conductors if touched by the pump, and they'll run the vibration everywhere in the house. foam insulation is the key i'm told a good not solid but firm that absorb the vibration. then a box with foam on the wood panel will keep the noise inside the box. However, what makes some pump of the same model and make, louder than others is my question. I'm making an insulated wooden box with foam for my futur pump no matter what. Looks like a dog cage for the vet with the handle on top lol. The botton is a 4" firm foam on top of a 1" solid foam, that gona be on a steel stand. They are toped by a piece of wood covered with a rubber where the pump will be screwed on. Then i just slide the wooden bell on top . Hopefully out of sight ....less noise, no noise is not the goal.

 

Two of the key materials used to hold up the aquariums. LOl I think your idea will work fine in reducing noise. The foam, rubber pads, every bit helps. Because mine in in the living room I try and keep it low noise in there. The closet no issues there because I can close the door and it really reduces the noise. The people out there with all that equipment under the tank I think your ideas will benefit most. Maybe even some of that studio foam on the inside walls will help as well.

 

Yes but look at it this way your closet become like an audio speaker... you'll still hear the low band frequency. So the trick here is to use foam, but the egg shape one on the wall to refract the sound back toward the inside of the closet. Their's all kind of foam for all kind of jobs, hard and strong for support, firm a sturdy to absorb chock, shaped and molded also to support or redirect soundwaves. Density of foam are use in every kind of construction these days. Up to us to use the right kind.

 

As mentioned, there are a lot of variables to consider in terms of what makes a pump more noisy than another. However, IME, with most pump lines, there almost always seems to be a "size threshold", as the smaller pumps might be really quiet, but once you hit a certaqin size, the noise level can go up dramatically.

The absolute best stuff to kill vibe and the associated noise transmission is Sorbothane. I've used it to quiet/kill vibration on a couple of systems. Altho it comes in sheet form, the most efficient shape is the hemisphere, and you can attach them to the bottom of the pump or its mounting board. I get the stuff from sorbothane.com.