What got me started thinking about this was my new skimmer. I got my new SCA-301 today and so i decided to do a vinegar bath break in and set it in a ten gallon tank with a 5:1 warm water vinegar solution. It started right up and was doing great, I was quite pleased at how quiet it was, i could barely hear any noise at all as I stood right next to it in the kitchen. I left it to run and walked down the hall past the bathroom and heard this incredible humming coming from the bathroom. Upon investigation it appears the skimmer in the 10 gal on the kitchen counter is setting up some sort of harmonic that is transmitting thru the counter, thru the kitchen sink, down the pipes and up thru the pipes in the bathroom sink causing a substantial noise coming from the bathroom. This is so wierd as to be by creepy. Thinking back, I can remember how many times a pump will not sound loud until you close the cabinet door and then the hum becomes noticeable, its as if the open space allows the sound to disipate while the enclosed confines of a cabinet, or in this case a kitchen sink magnify and channel the sound.
One day i will invent a noiseless reef system, complete with bean animal overflows, and active noise suppresion pumps.
