The air pump I am using currently is the Ocean Free Zero Noise Z-1000. It is actually already quite quiet (around 4o-45 decibels measured on a free iPhone app “dBMeter”).
I decided to create a DIY box to further absorb the sounds. Materials used are:
- Phone box (iPhone box cover used here, but probably any similar sized box works)
- Scissors (to cut holes for the air tubing and power cord to pass through)
- Corrugated plastic board (black). Initially I wanted to make a cover, but the pump was too tall to cover it. Hence, I added some corrugated plastic boards to raise the height of the box.
- Some black foam (I think it was part of the aquarium packaging) to line the inside of the box, for sound absorption.
- Corrogated plastic board and black foam was also used to make a “base” for the phone box. (I am not entirely sure if this helps or not, just thinking in the line of reducing physical vibrations.)
- Cloth from old shirt (blue) to line the inside of the corrugated plastic board, again to absorb sound.
In the end, I decided not to have a cover, to prevent overheating. Currently, there should be ample air flow as the box is essentially open top.
Results are quite ok, noticeably softer sound. Approximately around 5 decibels reduction in sound from the “dBMeter” app, to around 35-40 decibels. Probably it is quite hard to go lower than that since even a relatively quiet room is around 20-30 decibels.
Pictures are below:
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