Has anyone tried Sorbothane rubber between powerheads and glass?

[Kilman805]

I have two Sicce Voyager Nano 1000 powerheads in my 32 gallon tank. They aren’t exactly loud, but there’s definitely a constant vibrating hum. Has anyone tried clamping a thin sheet of Sorbothane rubber between the mount and glass to damp vibration and quiet powerheads? I see occasional mentions of people placing it under return pumps, but not powerheads.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Sorbothane is a special rubber formulation that’s extraordinary good at damping vibration.

 

[Kilman805]

I would be surprised if no one has thought to try this, so just bumping to see if there's any response.

One odd thing I've noticed is that the powerheads are sometimes especially noisy when first powered on. But if I cycle power a few times, they go to a state where they are much quieter. Has anyone seen that before and have any explanation? I don't know if it's a quirk with this model or something more general.

 

[Kodski]

I would be surprised if no one has thought to try this, so just bumping to see if there's any response.

One odd thing I've noticed is that the powerheads are sometimes especially noisy when first powered on. But if I cycle power a few times, they go to a state where they are much quieter. Has anyone seen that before and have any explanation? I don't know if it's a quirk with this model or something more general.

Most powerheads do this. I beleive an organic film builds up in between the magnets and causes a cushioning effect which in turn lowers the noise. My Jebao gyres are MUCH louder when clean vs after a week, but that being said, when I had my AI Nero and Reef Octopus powerheads, they also took a few days to quiet down all the way, they just were less noisy from the get go.

 

[Kilman805]

Most powerheads do this. I beleive an organic film builds up in between the magnets and causes a cushioning effect which in turn lowers the noise. My Jebao gyres are MUCH louder when clean vs after a week, but that being said, when I had my AI Nero and Reef Octopus powerheads, they also took a few days to quiet down all the way, they just were less noisy from the get go.

I've read about that sort of thing where they get better over time as they break in, build up a biofilm, or whatever is happening.

But this is different. In this case, if I just rapidly stop and restart the powerhead a few times it will change from a pretty loud vibration to a relatively quiet hum. Sometimes it only takes one power cycle, sometimes several, and sometimes they power on quiet to begin with. It's really weird.