My gyres cause my 180 gallons external overflow to get very noisy! Can anyone help?

[mrpontiac80]

Hi everyone. I recently set up my 180 gallon mega matrix planet aquarium tank with an external overflow using bean animal drains. I have been trying to make this tank quiet for days and while doing so, I eventually turned off the gyre pumps and the tank suddenly got quiet. Mind blown that I didn’t try this earlier.

has anyone came across this issue? What did you do? Any suggestions? I need flow so leaving them off is not going to happen.
as the tank matures a little, I will eventually move more gear over from my smaller tank including two more gyres I was planning on placing on the rear glass. Maybe this will help as it should change the flow completely.
I apologize for the long video, but If you can watch it with the sound, maybe you can help. I even thought maybe I need to make acrylic sides or shields to place on the sides of the inner overflow box to shield the sideways flow from the weir.

 

[TheBear78]

I have the same problem with my gyre but with an internal overflow. Ultimately I had to play with the flow until it stopped blowing directly at the weir.
I'm assuming that most gyres are the same so can you twist each end Independently to change the flow direction? I had the side nearest the weir flowing almost horizontal and the farthest end pointing more toward the surface for agitation.
I have played around with the flow so many times to try and keep new additions happy (low flow on my mushrooms but high on my GSP) but I now have an anemone. I have added the guards to the gyre but now flow is so restricted that even 100% at the surface will not affect the overflow. I may well invest in another wave maker in the near future as my fish could probably do with a bit more movement.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I have the same problem with my gyre but with an internal overflow. Ultimately I had to play with the flow until it stopped blowing directly at the weir.
I'm assuming that most gyres are the same so can you twist each end Independently to change the flow direction? I had the side nearest the weir flowing almost horizontal and the farthest end pointing more toward the surface for agitation.
I have played around with the flow so many times to try and keep new additions happy (low flow on my mushrooms but high on my GSP) but I now have an anemone. I have added the guards to the gyre but now flow is so restricted that even 100% at the surface will not affect the overflow. I may well invest in another wave maker in the near future as my fish could probably do with a bit more movement.

Thanks for the feedback! I hate your dealing with it too but glad it’s not just me. Maybe adding flow from the back glass to the front will help.

 

[TheBear78]

The advantage of using gyres is their ability to move large volumes of water so they're best suited to longitudinal flow. I tried playing with my returns to counter the gyre flow near the weir but it got too turbulent in areas where I needed calm. Random higher flow everywhere is the goal if your inhabitants are happy with that so certainly try adding more wave makers if you want.

 

[mrpontiac80]

The advantage of using gyres is their ability to move large volumes of water so they're best suited to longitudinal flow. I tried playing with my returns to counter the gyre flow near the weir but it got too turbulent in areas where I needed calm. Random higher flow everywhere is the goal if your inhabitants are happy with that so certainly try adding more wave makers if you want.

I wonder if running them in the rear/side corners would work? Maybe aiming the upper flow diagonally to front center and the lower flow across the back? I will definitely play around with them. Do traditional power heads seem to not cause the same noise issue?

 

[Midrats]

My Tunzes make my my external overflow louder when I crank up the flow. I just lowered the water level in the overflow box a bit. I still get a little noise in the E drain when the pump pulses.

 

[vtecintegra]

I would say raise the water level in the rear box if possible. I don't get why almost all of these boxes are designed where the water has to drop as it goes through. I built my own overflow where the rear water height is level with the internal box so it doesn't act like a water fall. I've got two gyres up top and it's completely silent. If you have a gate valve, close it down and bring the rear box level up. The only pipe I use in the rear is the emergency. The other two main drains just have strainers. One is 100% siphon, and the other has a gate valve for fine tuning water height.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I would say raise the water level in the rear box if possible. I don't get why almost all of these boxes are designed where the water has to drop as it goes through. I built my own overflow where the rear water height is level with the internal box so it doesn't act like a water fall. I've got two gyres up top and it's completely silent. If you have a gate valve, close it down and bring the rear box level up. The only pipe I use in the rear is the emergency. The other two main drains just have strainers. One is 100% siphon, and the other has a gate valve for fine tuning water height.

See this is what I’ve struggled with for 4 days. I felt like my return must be too powerful or my drains were too small diameter. It’s none of that. I actually only accidentally discovered it was related to the gyres.
I think I’m going to have to play around with gyre placement and or direction of flow. I feel like the flow is powerful enough that it actually prevents water from entering the weir constantly and therefore I get the surges.
Believe me I tried every adjustment I could on all levels of my return pump power with gyres on and once turned off, I can run the return in any speed with only slight adjustments.