best materials for acoustic isolation

[Erica Staaterman <>]

Hello all,

I am trying to create an acoustically-isolated environment to record some small animals in tanks. Unfortunately, the area where I'm working is quite noisy due to flow-through aquaria and pumps, etc.

I'm wondering if anyone on this list has had any luck muffling background sounds using certain types of foam, and if so, which type has worked best? Have you found that a styrofoam cooler or plastic bucket works better than a glass tank? Have you tried putting a layer of foam below the tank (or other container) in addition to the sides, or have you used a special type of table that can dampen vibrations?

Any tips/techniques that you've found to be successful would be a big help.
Thanks,
Erica

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Erica Staaterman, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center