Camineet
03-17-2013, 11:50 AM
Hi all,
I'm looking to get back into the hobby and am particularly excited about SM's HOG.
I'm limited to SM's HOG because of cost, size, and time considerations (I'm poor, I can only set up a 29gal, and I don't have time to build my own ATS).
Unfortunately, I'm sensitive to noise, and any kind of gurgling water noise will bother me. I mean any kind of gurgling noise. I don't mind the humming sound of pumps at all. Nor do I mind the periodic peristaltic pump topoff sound very much (not that I love it). I can also tolerate the giant chiller kicking on and turning the room into an airport hanger of noise once every couple hours. But constant gurgling even at the lowest level is something I know will bug me. Heck, I get annoyed when the humidifier in my room burps just a few times ever couple of hours.
I read a post from SM elsewhere in which he stated that due to cost considerations, the HOG cannot accommodate the needs of someone who requires silent operation.
That's fine, but I still want to see explore it.
I was thinking some kind of silencer could be made. Tell me what you guys think about this. Keep in mind, I'm not skilled in these areas and my thoughts may sound silly to experts.
Position the HOG under the water line for optimal water flow as described in the instructions. Bubbles then rise from the top of the unit, bursting at the water level and causing noise.
Make some kind of shroud that extends from the top of the HOG where the bubbles exit to the water line and a few inches beyond. The shroud would provide a channel of sorts, through which the bubbles could rise and receive their silencing treatment. Something like a black pipe or rectangular acrylic assembly, maybe 6 to 8 inches long.
The shroud is some kind of bubble bursting chamber - a housing in which bubbles can be made to burst in a way such that the bursting sound is silenced. Perhaps there is some principle of acoustics that can be used to cause the sound to be have an affect imposed on them that is opposite of echoing. I know in car audio applications, some kinds of principles of acoustics are used to build subwoofer boxes in a way that causes bass sound waves to be somehow multiplied into earth shaking booming. I believe it’s called an echo chamber. Perhaps the opposite of that acoustic principle can be used to reduce rather than magnify sound.
Maybe the HOG silencing device would work similarly to however a silencer on a pistol works.
And another thought - don't skimmers have to deal with this issue as well, and do so quite successfully? A skimmer is a column of unruly bubbles that rise and terminate in a way such that they're a frothing angry mob when the cup isn't in the skimmer. But when you drop the cup in, all becomes no more than a steady hum, or a steady something or other that's maybe like fairly well attenuated pink noise depending on the skimmer.
In that regard, I guess one of the issues we're dealing with here is that the bubbles are large unlike a skimmer's micro-bubbles. So I guess large bubbles don't even out into a froth of steady noise, and tend to cause gurgling.
And another thing, don't we need something to deal with those bubbles bursting at the surface to avoid what I believe is called salt spray? I mean that thing that happens in which salt gradually gets encrusted around the top of the tank in various areas like the canopy, tank frame, hoses and pipes and such.
So, what do you guys think about this?
I'm looking to get back into the hobby and am particularly excited about SM's HOG.
I'm limited to SM's HOG because of cost, size, and time considerations (I'm poor, I can only set up a 29gal, and I don't have time to build my own ATS).
Unfortunately, I'm sensitive to noise, and any kind of gurgling water noise will bother me. I mean any kind of gurgling noise. I don't mind the humming sound of pumps at all. Nor do I mind the periodic peristaltic pump topoff sound very much (not that I love it). I can also tolerate the giant chiller kicking on and turning the room into an airport hanger of noise once every couple hours. But constant gurgling even at the lowest level is something I know will bug me. Heck, I get annoyed when the humidifier in my room burps just a few times ever couple of hours.
I read a post from SM elsewhere in which he stated that due to cost considerations, the HOG cannot accommodate the needs of someone who requires silent operation.
That's fine, but I still want to see explore it.
I was thinking some kind of silencer could be made. Tell me what you guys think about this. Keep in mind, I'm not skilled in these areas and my thoughts may sound silly to experts.
Position the HOG under the water line for optimal water flow as described in the instructions. Bubbles then rise from the top of the unit, bursting at the water level and causing noise.
Make some kind of shroud that extends from the top of the HOG where the bubbles exit to the water line and a few inches beyond. The shroud would provide a channel of sorts, through which the bubbles could rise and receive their silencing treatment. Something like a black pipe or rectangular acrylic assembly, maybe 6 to 8 inches long.
The shroud is some kind of bubble bursting chamber - a housing in which bubbles can be made to burst in a way such that the bursting sound is silenced. Perhaps there is some principle of acoustics that can be used to cause the sound to be have an affect imposed on them that is opposite of echoing. I know in car audio applications, some kinds of principles of acoustics are used to build subwoofer boxes in a way that causes bass sound waves to be somehow multiplied into earth shaking booming. I believe it’s called an echo chamber. Perhaps the opposite of that acoustic principle can be used to reduce rather than magnify sound.
Maybe the HOG silencing device would work similarly to however a silencer on a pistol works.
And another thought - don't skimmers have to deal with this issue as well, and do so quite successfully? A skimmer is a column of unruly bubbles that rise and terminate in a way such that they're a frothing angry mob when the cup isn't in the skimmer. But when you drop the cup in, all becomes no more than a steady hum, or a steady something or other that's maybe like fairly well attenuated pink noise depending on the skimmer.
In that regard, I guess one of the issues we're dealing with here is that the bubbles are large unlike a skimmer's micro-bubbles. So I guess large bubbles don't even out into a froth of steady noise, and tend to cause gurgling.
And another thing, don't we need something to deal with those bubbles bursting at the surface to avoid what I believe is called salt spray? I mean that thing that happens in which salt gradually gets encrusted around the top of the tank in various areas like the canopy, tank frame, hoses and pipes and such.
So, what do you guys think about this?