Turning Main Pump ON/OFF

[AgentSPS]

I am in the process of putting together a new reef and am a little worried about the noise level of the tank at night. I know my Velocity T4 is a very quiet pump but I am a little worried about the compound noise of a skimmer, chiller, chiller pump, and the main pump. I was thinking about having the main pump and chiller pump on a timer to go off in the evenings. My worry is that this might not be healthy for the T4. Does anybody do this currently or know what the effects could be?

 

[Anonymous]

I think the cost would be wear and tear on the pump. You might have to get a new one sooner than later.
I would be more worried about the loss of circulation in the tank when you turn the pump off. Have you considered this?

RR

 

[robbinson]

Your water should circulate 24/7. Regarding noise, you can either keep your equipment in another room (rather than under the tank stand) or use quiet pumps. The lifeguard quiet one is a virtually silent pump that is appropriate for non-pressure rated situations like a return. The T4 is a quiet pump that can be used to run your skimmer. Also, you could use a submersible to run your skimmer that is relatively quiet.

It is true that full reef systems can get very loud, particularly if you use a chiller. I'm currently thinking about retrofitting my plumbing to move all pumps and the chiller to another room.

 

[johns120]

I continue to make mistakes but the one thing I did do correct is have my sump on a table in the basement directly under the show tank. I only had to cut a 3"x3" hole in the tank stand, carpet, and wood floor. The disadvantage is lost of water flow. The advantages include all pumps are in the basement so there is no noise in the family room, the basement is cooler so I do not need a chiller (nor do I have air conditioning), water changes and acclimating of new arrivals occur in the basement with concrete floor so water spills are no problem, and salt spray will not coat your tank stand. I also believe the on/off will be wear and tear and believe should run 24/7 for circulation.

 

[ReefLion]

If you are looking for a quick fix, why don't you just turn the chiller and its pump off at night, but keep the system pump running? I would not turn off the system pump for the reasons mentioned above.

I also highly recommend a basement sump, by the way, but just turning off the chiller pump might be a quick solution if you don't have the time/space to do the basement sump.

Tim

 

[Reefguide]

Shut your main pump off ? 8O Not a good Idea IMO. The guys are right ! There are people that have generators, battery back-ups, battery powered airators, ext hooked up to their tanks avoid loss of circulation and to maintain oxygen levels during power outtages. A tank with no circulation = a dead tank pretty quick.