If you are keeping aquariums in your house, you might have faced the issue of hearing rattling and different kinds of noises coming from your aquarium. You also might have realized that the noises are coming from the air pump you have added for your fish.
Well, if you have, you will surely agree that it’s no less than annoying than a buzzing, sound-making fridge. While you know how to fix a fridge that makes a buzzing sound, do you know how to soundproof an air pump that’s making various noises?
You can make a soundproof box for an aquarium air pump that will help you get rid of any sort of annoying noises. The soundproof box will absorb most of the sound and will help you keep a soundless air pump. You can build these boxes for both internal and external air pumps. And they don’t cost much either.
Let’s see a detailed procedure on how to make these soundproof air pump boxes for your internal and external air pumps.
Building Soundproof Box For Internal Air Pump
Internal pumps create noise by rattling against the side of your aquarium wall or by the cable rattling against pieces of your aquarium accessories. This constant rattling noise surely gets very annoying.
If you are using an internal air pump for your aquarium, this one trick is for you. You can’t say this is exactly a soundproof box for your air pump. But this is the most similar to a box you will get for an internal air pump.
What You Need
- A vessel or a jar. Whatever you choose, make sure the jar opening and the lid are wider than the air pump itself.
- A roll of duct tape
- A pair of scissors
The Process
It is a very simple process. go through these steps:
- First, place the air pump in the jars. Make sure both the pipes are out of the jar.
- Cover 1/3rd of the jars’ opening with duct tape. Make sure it’s nicely stuck.
- Now you need to get the air pump from the bottom of the jar so that it’s suspended. In that way, it won’t create any rattles. For this, twist the cable so that it faces the taped area.
- Then tape the cable with the first tape that you had put on the opening. Before taping, make sure you have suspended the pump as much as possible, and it’s not touching any sides.
- After you taped the first cable, put another layer of duct tape around it to make it stick strongly.
- You can now tape down the whole opening, leaving the other cable hanging out. Leave small air spaces while taping so that you don’t overheat the air pump inside the jar.
- Duct tape from the opposite direction to make sure the other cable stays in its place and duct tape around the lid opening.
This is the whole process. Now you can shake your jar or soundproof air pump box to see if you see it rattling around.
Building Soundproof Box For External Air Pump
If you have an external pump, you will need to step up a bit to make a soundproof air pump box. It’s nothing fancy and no more difficult than the previous method if you know your way around wooden stuff. You just need to follow the instructions written here.
What You Need
- Plywood to build the box’s structure
- An exhaust fan. You can find it here or on Amazon for around 15 bucks.
- Closed-cell foam
- Dynamat
- Foil Tape
The Process
Start by choosing a clean workplace for you. Then,
- Take the plywood and make a box. The box should be one or two sizes bigger than your external air pump. This will ensure your air pump is housed comfortably. And you will also need the extra space to fill in the foam for extra noise suppression.
- Make a long narrow slot in the side of the box so that the water can go inside. The slot needs to be in the upper portion of the box. the best way to ensure the perfect slot is to compare it with the air pump’s pipe and then cut the box.
- Make a similar kind of slot in the lid of the box. This slot will be used to get the water out.
- You need to install a fan so that the air pump doesn’t heat inside the box. Install the fan on the opposite side of the first slot. The fan will draw air in from the slots and evacuate the hot air produced by the air pump.
- Now that your box is ready use some generic Dynamat to cover it up. Cover up all the outer and inner walls of the box. You can leave out covering the inner position of the lid.
- Use foil tape to make sure the dynamat stays put.
- For extra noise suppression, use closed-cell foam. Cut it so that it fits in your box. wrap the foam with dynamat and tape the whole thing. Place the foam at the bottom of the box.
Your soundproof box for the external air pump is ready for use. You can test how much sound it catches by putting a sound box inside. If you feel like the noise catching is not enough for you, add extra foam on the sides. In that case, consider adding another fan to help with air circulation.
Conclusion
A noisy air pump is annoying, to say the least. Imagine trying to sit for a quiet time with your fishes, and the rattling noise doesn’t let you do that. With these easy steps, you can now make a soundproof box for the aquarium air pump. Most of the necessary items mentioned above are very cheap (well, except the dynamat) and can be found on Amazon.
Don’t endure the noisy air pumps anymore and get the tools and make your own DIY soundproof air pump box. Also, make sure that your air pumps are getting enough breathing room and not overheating in that box.
