Silencer For Air Input To Protein Skimmer

[meitzler]

Looking for opinions or experiences for the design of a silencer to place on an ASM G-4 Skimmer air input. I have been trying to make my G-4 as quiet as possible. Some people put cotton in a small plastic enclosure on the end of the tube. Would love to leverage the experience of someone who has already done this or who has seen a great design. Would even be interested in purchasing if a commerical product is available.

 

[steve-s]

Don't know if this will apply to your skimmer but one thing I found that has worked with several HOB skimmer models is to extend the length of the air hose itself. Kinda works to muffle the sound some. Usually about an extra 12-18" and just coil it up.

Cheers
Steve

 

[DonW]

Just about anything you do is going to lower the air getting to the venturi, including lengthening the hose. A old film canister with a bunch of small holes works ok. Even with that you loose speed and ventrui effect.

Don

 

[RandyStacyE]

I've got just the solution! It works without any restriction to the venturi. It completely takes away all gurgling sounds.

I got this idea from an inline condensation collector I saw connected to an oxygen line.

The manufacturer info is here:
http://www.salterlabs.com/documents/SLC-33.pdf

If you think about it, it's similar to a supressor on a gun.

 

[jammet]

You could add filter floss and carbon to that and filter the air a bit as well. It would cut back a lot on the dust intake to the tank and as long as you dont compact it, you should be fine on not restricting air untill it a clogs. Mind you to clog one of those it would take at least 2-3 months to really do any harm to the air flow.

 

[meitzler]

Do you know of any stores or medical supply places that sell them?

 

[RandyStacyE]

I asked my sister-in-law since she works in a hospital and she said they are very common. She said the ones her hospital use are a different shape, but the same concept.

As long as the tube inside the silencer is the same ID as the hose to the venturi there will be no restriction.