sound proofing a box

About 25 years ago I built a sound proof box for an airpump which hung inside on a fabric cradle. When I was finished I discovered 3 things. i) airlines are noisy ii) airstones are noisy iii) airpumps overheat without good air circulation

Now with about 20 years of engineering experience (which included some sound proofing), the best advice I can give you is to get some long airline tubing and locate the airpump far away, or stop using an airpump.

Some people say they have very quiet airpumps. Too bad we don't all have the same hearing tolerance though ;~) ymmv

Dynamat made to sound deaden panels in cars with high end audio equipment will work.

A cheaper not as effective methode , paint the inside of the box with rubberized under car spray paint.

The best method. Buy a quality air pump that isn't noisy in the first place. I have a Dolphin 5 star air pump running in my fish room & I could easily sleep with that thing on full. Its currently running 12 tanks.

I have a small air-pump (Rena Air50) which claims to be ultra quiet. But that still makes a hell of a noise, and it doesn't have enough power in it to power two tanks.

I have finally found some information about sound proofing and I have come up with a design, it has air circulation, probably more than the current setup has.

I will give this design a go, when I get 5 mins and some of the materials to construct it.

I have been told that I should maybe get a bigger airpump than I need, which has a way of turning the motor down, so it only ticks over, which would provide enough pressure to go around, but does anyone know of any such pumps?

I know years ago my dad had a whistler pump, which had a dial on it, but as for now-a-days I have no clue.

I have looked at the 'Dolphin 5 star air pump' and it look great, the only problem is this, and its a tiny problem, I'm in the UK and no where stocks them, lol

Thanks for the tips.

Why not try a hydor Ario http://www.nutriculture.com/news_hydor.html

I put mine on a timer so that it turns off during hours when i am trying to get to sleep.

I have my lights on a timer, but its just as easy to unplug the air pump

hence the box

Simply ,, Glue Egg cartons to the inside of your box.