Gurgle Buster

[+Mel in Elgin]

I'm wanting to build a gurgle buster for my extremely noisy overflow on my 40G Breeder. It looks easy enough to build, but my overflow drains out the backside of my tank. All of the illustrations I've found show the overflows that just go straight down from the bottom... Any ideas?????

[mFrame]

Why wouldn't you just put a 45 or 90 degree elbow under it?

[jaggedfire]

Is your overflow a HOB or drilled through? Depending on what kind of space/implementation is going to determine your design. I added a 'vertical' durso in my hob overflow box (~$4!) and it was night and day . Photos of your overflow will help. Im sure we can fix anything here.

[jestep]

Do you have an overflow box or a horizontal overflow?

[ClarkiiCircus]

If its a HOB overflow box you can either stick a straw/airline tubing down the center, or drill a few holes in the sides of the pipe leading down to the sump in the overflow. We always put a towel over the fop of ours too to avoid splash and muffle any noise.

[+Mel in Elgin]

Hi guys... Sorry for the delay in answering. I've been cleaning aquariums all day. The overflow is drilled, but it is weird. It is drilled into the back of the aquarium not the bottom. So the water goes over the edge and actually drains out the back of the aquarium down into the sump. The overflow box is very narrow so I don't think I could fit an elbow onto the bottom of a gurgle buster. I'll try to get some pics but it is in a weird position in a corner (hard to get to).

[Timfish]

If I'm understanding your setup correctly there is and internal overflow box but the bulkhead fitting leading to the plumping is in the side of the tank and down low. On the outside a bulkhead connects to a 90 degree elbow which leads to the sump, correct? If so a PVC Tee instead of an elbow on the outside with a standpipe that opens above the water line would let the air that is getting sucked into the plumping escape. You might also try threading an airline into the drain line to see if that helps the air escape. (I have a hammer if you need it. )

[jestep]

There are basically 2 ways to keep a drain completely silent. The first is to maintain a full siphon. This requires at least 2 drains. The incomming flow should be high enough so that the main drain never sucks air and the secondary drain is for any excess. You need 2 because it's impossible to perfectly match pump rate with a drain flow rate. The second method is to reduce the flow to around 30% of rated flow for the pipe. This will allow an air chamber down the center of the drain with laminar flow on the outside of the drain. Anything inbetween these will cause a gurgling or toilet flushing noise. You can often get it quieter with tubing or venting or muffling, but it wont be completely silent.

I would try venting the cap, but also reduce the flow if possible. I'm assuming that it has only a single return line to the sump.

[+Mel in Elgin]

@ Timfish... Funny that you mention the hammer. I had been trying to feed a piece of airline tubing down the drain to see if that would help. It seemed like it should be so easy to do, but with the location and orientation of my tank I was having way more trouble than I should have had. I screamed, "I'm just going to bust the ******* thing with a ******* hammer!!!!!!". My husband thinks I'm losing it

I was finally able to feed the tubing down into the drain and instantly it was almost silent.

Thanks everyone for the feedback!!!! Ya'll Rock

[offroadodge]

glad to hear, i think by the way u are explaining your box its a Shane's style overflow box...But im glad the air line worked.