# Sound proofing/vibration



## Millns84 (20 Jun 2019)

Morning all

I've recently attached an Oase UV unit to the inside of my Rio 450 cabinet and it's creating quite a din though vibration from the canister filter which was previously silent. 

I've stuck a sound deadening pad between the UV and the cabinet but the sound persists, presumably because it's actually travelling down the screws that are holding the UV to the cabinet. 

Any suggestions to deal with this? It's quite intrusive in the living room and I'm used to the tank being practically silent.


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## Andrew Butler (20 Jun 2019)

Millns84 said:


> Morning all
> 
> I've recently attached an Oase UV unit to the inside of my Rio 450 cabinet and it's creating quite a din though vibration from the canister filter which was previously silent.
> 
> ...


Unsure what the unit looks like and how it attaches but you're saying the vibration is from the filter, assumably vibration being caused somehow from something and travelling back down to the filter?
I guess there's several options if this is the case; put some closed cell foam under the filter, use a piece of silicone hose instead of PVC being the main ones that spring to mind.
You can make double deadening pads if it's from the UV itself where you would use a piece of wood bigger than your fixings on the UV with rubber behind that and then also put rubber between the piece of wood and your UV, this might work although probably not! Maybe fix the UV to the underside of your cabinet so it's directly under the aquarium if that's possible.
Alternatively just do away with the UV if it's that much of a pain - maybe it's causing a restriction on your filter so the vibration is from the filter working harder?

Maybe a picture of under the aquarium; what's there, how it's fixed etc would help.

Just thinking aloud with my above comments, let us know how it goes.


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## ian_m (20 Jun 2019)

Why do you need a UV unit ?


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## Millns84 (20 Jun 2019)

Andrew Butler said:


> Unsure what the unit looks like and how it attaches but you're saying the vibration is from the filter, assumably vibration being caused somehow from something and travelling back down to the filter?
> .



Yes, there's just a slight vibration from the filter which is passed on to the uv via the hose and then through the cabinet. Essentially, it's amplifying the very slight hum from the motor.

The filter is already on an old bit of carpet and was silent until the UV was fitted. Also, if I unscrew the UV and let just hang there, the noise completely disappears but I'm a bit nervous of letting its weight hang on the hoses for obvious reasons!

I'm at work at the moment but I'll upload a picture this evening.


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## Millns84 (20 Jun 2019)

ian_m said:


> Why do you need a UV unit ?



Paranoia about disease having had a couple of bad experiences in 2017/18 that wiped out 50% of my fish.

I do find that it helps with water clarity too. I've got some pretty messy fish and run three canisters but still struggled with getting the water as clear as I'd like.


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## Simon Cole (20 Jun 2019)

... or just try one cardboard box and sitting it in sand.


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## sparkyweasel (20 Jun 2019)

Or hang it on rubber straps?


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## Andrew Butler (20 Jun 2019)

Millns84 said:


> I do find that it helps with water clarity too. I've got some pretty messy fish and run three canisters but still struggled with getting the water as clear as I'd like.


You run three separate filters on your Rio 450? - I'm not quite sure how you have things set up but if this is the case then something doesn't sound right to me.
I do agree with @ian_m and unsure of the necessity for the UV but that's your choice.
Have you considered a filter which you can put a decent amount of activated carbon in or some Seachem Purigen and get a good force through it?
Have you got decent flow in your aquarium?

Best I wait to hear back from you before commenting anymore.


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## Millns84 (20 Jun 2019)

Andrew Butler said:


> You run three separate filters on your Rio 450? - I'm not quite sure how you have things set up but if this is the case then something doesn't sound right to me.
> I do agree with @ian_m and unsure of the necessity for the UV but that's your choice.
> Have you considered a filter which you can put a decent amount of activated carbon in or some Seachem Purigen and get a good force through it?
> Have you got decent flow in your aquarium?
> ...



1st canister - Boyu DGN 520 - 1610LPH - with 11w Oase UV a fair bit less I'm guessing - Connected to 2 foot+ spray bar on left side of the tank.

2nd canister - Aqua Nova NCF 1500 - 1500LPH - Connected to 2 foot+ spray bar on right side of the tank

3rd canister - Resun EF 2800 - 2700LPH - Connected to a 4 inch wide outlet in the centre of the tank between each spray bar.

Flow is really good with the above set up - If anything slightly too much with the Resun which is why I went for such a wide outlet to diffuse the hurricane force that was digging up the gravel at the front of the tank!

I've previously ran three 100g bags of purigen (one in each canister) and didn't see the improvement it promised. It needed recharging after two months as it went dark brown so no doubt that it was doing its job.

Currently running two 400g bags of carbon in the Aqua Nova and Boyu canisters as I'm recharging the Purigen and it takes a couple of days.

Don't get me wrong, the water's clear but I'm trying to get it crystal clear looking down the length of the tank and it's got a slight haze to it. Essentially, I'm chasing perfection but do understand that it can be quite difficult with messy fish and a high bioload.


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## Millns84 (20 Jun 2019)

sparkyweasel said:


> Or hang it on rubber straps?



That's a good shout actually, my father in law did that with an air pump years ago... literally a thick elastic band and you couldn't hear it.


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## Millns84 (20 Jun 2019)

So here's a picture of how it's currently installed on a sound deadening pad. One screw either end of the UV.


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## sparkyweasel (20 Jun 2019)

The problem is the screws. However good that pad might be, the screws give the vibration a direct route through to the cabinet. If you can suspend it, or rest it on rubber, sand, etc the UV will be able to vibrate without the vibrations getting through to the cabinet.


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## becks (20 Jun 2019)

Millns84 said:


> Paranoia about disease having had a couple of bad experiences in 2017/18 that wiped out 50% of my fish.
> 
> I do find that it helps with water clarity too. I've got some pretty messy fish and run three canisters but still struggled with getting the water as clear as I'd like.



unfortunetly the only thing the hobby grade UV and Ozone is good for is water clarity, a more effective solution is an effective quarrentine program.  Personally I would ditch the UV.


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## Aqua sobriquet (20 Jun 2019)

I thought UV also help reduce some algae?


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## alto (20 Jun 2019)

I’ve gotta ask 
What fish!

Are you sure you’re not seeing “Green Water” opaqueness?


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## Millns84 (21 Jun 2019)

alto said:


> I’ve gotta ask
> What fish!
> 
> Are you sure you’re not seeing “Green Water” opaqueness?



Nothing too extravagant! In terms of the messy guys, I've got a pair of blue acaras, a juvenile female convict, two pairs of kribensis (one of which I think is actually a giant kribensis).

Others include a couple of moonlight gouramis, assorted rainbow fish (red, lake kutubu, boesemani and neon dwarf), two bristlenose plecs, two siamese algae eaters, two Orinoco angel plecs, several mollies/swordtails, two American flagfish, 6 peppered corries, single male blue paradise fish and a group of cherry barbs.

Didn't know what direction to go in with this tank hence it's a real mix.

Not sure whether it could be green water, it's certainly not actually green and I'd have thought that the UV would take care of that. It just looks like a slight haze but only when looking at the tank side on.


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## zozo (21 Jun 2019)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> I thought UV also help reduce some algae?



Strong and long enough UV expossure burns and kills cells, hence we too get a tan from sunbading, hence we too shed that first burned skin layer after a sun burn. 

Thus the main idea and goal behind an in line UV light in a filter system is burning the cr@p out of single cell organisme passing through. UV doesn't discriminate, it burns all that is exposed. Such as free floating single algae cells, mainly the algae cells that cause green water, or the bacteria that cause milky water and also single cell phatogenes and parasites.

But it needs to pass the UV light first, as long as it doesn't do this it stays happily alive and thriving if the conditions are favorable..

In general conserning small water volumes suffering green water and or phatogens/parasite investation than there certainly something else is severely out of order. Than proper action in form of maintenance, husbandry and or sufficient planting is a much better, cheaper and healthier solution than using an expensive temporary functioning and energy consuming UV light.

Sufficient healthy growing plants outcompetes algae and is the best biological fiter system avaiable. This with regular water changes, healthy food supplemts and healthy stocking numbers results in a healthy invironment that fights of phatogens and parasites on its own devices. Laking in any of this, than an UV light doesn't realy solve the problem. .


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## Millns84 (21 Jun 2019)

There were two outbreaks of columnaris from transferring livebearers from another tank. I'm guessing the stress of the move triggered the outbreak which then got quite out of hand very quickly. It seemed to disappear for 8 months or so and then made a comeback. This is the main reason I hooked up the UV, but I also thought the water appeared clearer.

Maintenance involves 1-2 30% water changes per week including gravel vac inbetween plant roots.

It's certainly well planted - Loads of giant val, bacopa monnieri, pennywort, creeping jenny and then some blyxa japonica, anubias, a java fern just starting to get going. Also trying my hand at some echonodorus tenellus but my flagfish seem to like it a bit too much! I keep it low tech but do dose with TNC Lite and Flourish Excel... Kept the standard Multilux lights but also use a Aqual Leddy Plant at the back for when the main lights aren't on.

I don't actually have huge algae issues, only green spot on the anubias which is frustrating but I'm now experimenting shading the anubias which I'm hoping will take care of that.


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## Simon Cole (21 Jun 2019)

I have often considered using UV to treat columnaris. If it reoccurs it could be down to something like the food, but it sounds like a smart idea.


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