How Loud is my 120G Going to Be

[BuddaTurk]

I had a neighbor tell me my 120G aquarium is going to be "loud as hell" and there is nothing I can do about it. Is this true? I mean how loud is loud and is it going to overtake all sound in the house?

Thanks,
BT

[yote]

Its hard to say if it'll be loud or not.A lot depends on how the sump is set up,how its plumbed,what size return pump you use, and so on.
I know my 75 doesnt make a sound except for a slight trickle,as long as the cabinet doors are closed.

[cumminz]

I think in You have a stand with closing doors, I wouldnt worry About it

[daugherty]

they are not that loud

[cthegame]

Water draining down to the sump will not be that loud. It probably wouldnt be any louder than your sink on high flow. I dont even know why he made in issue of the sound. Because there really is no issue.

[Bifferwine]

There is no issue. Like others have pointed out, if you plumb it right, your tank will be completely silent. It doesn't matter what size the tank is -- any size tank has the potential to be noisy, but I have seen 100+ gallon systems be completely silent.

[Rcpilot]

It shouldn't be any louder than my 90g tank.

Here is a little taste of what your 120 should sound like with all the pumps running.
http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/~z...27-whistle.wav

[reeffreak]

The system itself will make noise.If I listen hard enough,I can hear the skimmer,return pumps and especially the cooling fans on the light fixture since it's not under the stand to muffle the sound.It all sounded kinda loud at first but I got use to it.There are somethings you can do like choosing equipment.Some pumps are louder than others,having a submersible pump are generally quieter than in-line pumps and although not as attractive,vinyl tubing quiets the noise of water running through the system better than pvc plumbing.

[Hornet]

Originally Posted by Rcpilot

It shouldn't be any louder than my 90g tank.

Here is a little taste of what your 120 should sound like with all the pumps running.
http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/~zhaa009/bb/sounds/35027-whistle.wav

LOL, That's not that loud.

[fatman]

I run three large pumps on a 120 gallon tank with a 40 gallon sump in my efficiency apartment and it is not loud. The pumps are two Sequence pumps (2400 gph and 3600 gph) and a PanWorld pump (1110 gph). There are two 2" overflows, many, many return lines, and 2 skimmers. Every thing but the ATO water tank fits under the tank in a standard commercial stand. There is less noise than from a typical conversation even with the cabinet doors open. Reef ready tanks tend to be a little noisy if you try to run a lot of water through their small overflow bulkheads. Just flow less and they quite down. Venturi or Beckett type skimmers can be noisy, butt he newer more common needle wheel skimmers are very quiet.