Hey Anthony, I was at NERAC and I remember you were talking about overflows, all of the noise they make, and how new guys usually aren't warned to make them large enough to be quiet.
well I was one of those unfortunate souls. In fact, my lfs cut things so close as to have 1, 1-inch drain pipe to accommodate a 600gph return. It couldn't handle the flow until the tank water level was about 4 inches above my drain lines, and I had to remove the screens because they impeded the flow too much.
as for noise, well..... Insane. If you were to imagine the sucking, slurping and hideous screaming of a cow that got it's throat sliii.... (maybe a little graphic for RC?) than I think U'd have an idea of what my drain sounded like. What a great noise for the bedroom!
So here is an easier fix for those who cannot drill another hole. I simply added a T-fitting off the back of my bulkhead, the bottom connects to the stand-pipe, and off the top I put a 90 degree fitting. I cut a HUGE, thick sponge to a nice tight fit and stuffed it in there.... BAM! problem fixed. My tank magically went from a screaming horror show mixed with a billion toilet flushes to the quite soothing sound of waves. No joke, about every 6 seconds a quiet whoosh would come from the pipes, which very much resembled the sound of a beach, other than that It sounded like a little stream in the bedroom.
Just a note, for any-one who would want to try this, make sure that they don't get a sponge that has anti-bacterial stuff in it, or soap, or whatever else.
Thanks for the conference and all of the info. Good stuff.
Take care
-Tyler
well I was one of those unfortunate souls. In fact, my lfs cut things so close as to have 1, 1-inch drain pipe to accommodate a 600gph return. It couldn't handle the flow until the tank water level was about 4 inches above my drain lines, and I had to remove the screens because they impeded the flow too much.
as for noise, well..... Insane. If you were to imagine the sucking, slurping and hideous screaming of a cow that got it's throat sliii.... (maybe a little graphic for RC?) than I think U'd have an idea of what my drain sounded like. What a great noise for the bedroom!
So here is an easier fix for those who cannot drill another hole. I simply added a T-fitting off the back of my bulkhead, the bottom connects to the stand-pipe, and off the top I put a 90 degree fitting. I cut a HUGE, thick sponge to a nice tight fit and stuffed it in there.... BAM! problem fixed. My tank magically went from a screaming horror show mixed with a billion toilet flushes to the quite soothing sound of waves. No joke, about every 6 seconds a quiet whoosh would come from the pipes, which very much resembled the sound of a beach, other than that It sounded like a little stream in the bedroom.
Just a note, for any-one who would want to try this, make sure that they don't get a sponge that has anti-bacterial stuff in it, or soap, or whatever else.
Thanks for the conference and all of the info. Good stuff.
Take care
-Tyler
