One of the common complaints about standard aquarium pumps is the amount of noise they produce. One pump alone may not be that loud but a typical reef aquarium will usually require several pumps, each with their own output of decibels. Although there are a few external pumps which are designed to be virtually silent, Tunze Silence line of pumps are the only internal aquarium (that we know of) which are designed with quiet in mind. We had the chance to handle some of the first Silence pumps to make it stateside at DFWMAS’s NExt Wave marine aquarium event in Dallas last weekend. We may have been a little overenthusiastic to dissassemble the pumps and reveal it’s innards. A few details of the pump are striking. First, the pump seems to be designed solely for internal use. Without any threads to plumb to the inlet, the Tunze Silence is all internal. Secondly, the Silence pump seems to be following the design trend of using impellers with external bearings. This second feature is likely the heart of what makes these pumps run so quietly. For more details on models and specs see our previous coverage of the Silence pumps but in the meantime, enjoy the nudie pics below.
