Setting up the Quietest Reef Tank
- Dec 11, 2021
- Anshika Mishra
- 431 0 0
People say that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. Well, in reef keeping, the only certainties are algae and tank noise.
But, in this article, we will share with you the secrete to setting up the quietest possible saltwater aquarium.
Firstly, you will need to choose a tank. It is better to get a tank with a sump as it is much harder to get running silently. However, a small, all-in-one tank without a sump or the water box mini tanks are easier to get quiet because they have less equipment, they don't have water moving up and down through plumbing, and the equipment they do need is much smaller.
But, with a sump tank, the smaller, the better when it comes to silence. In contrast, you might struggle with anything much larger than a red seaweed for 170, which is a little smaller than two feet cubes. Anything larger will require stronger pumps to move more water, and bigger pumps are generally noisier.
Plumbing
Plumbing is also a consideration here, and you will ideally want a tank with a get valve on the main drainpipe. Plumbing pipes build up biofilm layers over time, reducing the speed with which water can pass through. When that happens, plumbing makes a splashing or gurgling noise. So, you will need to open the valve slightly to silence the tank again.
You can do that on red sea reefer tanks with the diaphragm valve, but it is not as accurate as a gate valve, and it can take you several frustrating attempts over a few days to get the level correct. So, it is a great idea to either install your own gate valve or choose a tank that comes with a gate valve as standard.
Light
Ideally, when it comes to light, you want to avoid fans, as they make the most noise—especially over time as the clock with dust. So, you can either choose a t5 unit that does not have a fan or LED lights.
However, any light is turned off at night, so this is less consideration for a bedroom tank where silence is most important at sleepy times.
But, whatever light you choose, the key here is to oversize it and run it at lower percentages to keep the LEDs as cool as possible so that the fans don't come on.
Filteration
This is the tricky one, as you have to make compromises. A good DC skimmer light will run very quietly indeed, but not quite enough when you are in a room like an office or certainly an otherwise silent bedroom.
You can also go for algae refugium and a clarity filter instead. So, you can either go for an algae reactor or take steps to stop the light from escaping from your cabinet.
Flow
The key here is to choose smaller DC pumps and run them at a relatively low power output.
Powerheads
If silence is your priority, then the best option would be Neros, as they are the quietest powerheads you can possibly get.
Other Bits
The above are the main equipment you will need and the trickiest to get silent. But, there are a few other bits you will need to think about. For auto top-off, a gravity-fed system with a flow valve is going to be your quietest bet, and red sea reefers come with those as stock.
The Tunze osmolator is probably been too noisy for this application. But, if you are going for a bedroom setup, you may want to switch it off while you are asleep.
This is not ideal, but you are unlikely to lose much water evaporation overnight, so there shouldn't be much of a swing in your salinity when it comes on in the morning although, you should rather avoid it if possible. The noise is the part of the water trickling, and you can solve that by directing it against your sub wall.
Finally, there are dosing pumps for adding things like alkalinity, magnesium, and calcium. The best choice here would be the reef factory dosing pump, as it will not bother you. But, if you want a quiet setup possible, go for the doser, which is the most silent design pump you can get your hands on.
Conclusion
So, will all of this guarantee you complete silence? It will take some time for you to get accustomed to it, but it will stop bothering you after some time. However, maintaining silence is an ongoing battle as there is always something around the corner.
With this tank setup, you will have to commit to more maintenance in the long run, as return pumps' powerheads and fans get noisy over time if you don't clean them.
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