I still have bubbles :-(

[Mihai]

Hi,

I tried the trick with enlarging the pipe (from 3/4" to 1.5") to reduce the bubbles coming from the upstream refugium into the display tank, including a somewhat gentle slope.

Unfortunately it didn't work for me (see the pics).
Am I doing anything wrong? Any other ideas to get rid of the bubbles?

Thanks,
Mihai

 

[HClH2OFish]

Maybe some kinda filter sock in the outtake before it finally drains into the tank?????

 

[Mihai]

I keep hearing about this filter sock thingie. What's that, what's the good of it (if water goes through, air will - or will not?) and where do I get it?

In desperation I'm starting to think to make a small (5"x5") box with baffles to be hanged behind the tank and put the output in there, but I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.

Thanks,
Mihai

 

[tenshi]

I just thought this up, so I'm really not positive if it will work. I'll try to explain my simple drawing below. The top left box is your refugium and bottom right box is your tank. Will start at the refugium. First comes a 90 degree pvc elbow coming from your refugium bulkhead. Then a vertical piece of pvc going down. Then a 90 degree elbow. Then another section of pvc going horizontal. Then another 90, then a small peace of vertical pvc. Then a " T " pvc coupling, followed by a horizontal pvc section, then a 90, then a vertical and finally a 90. At the " T " you might end up adding another vertical on top to keep the water from spilling out.

Alright the idea is sorta of a Durso Stand Pipe/Baffle in design. Does it make any since. The idea is that after the first big drop from the refugium there's airbubbles in the water, right. Well if you allow the water a place for turbulence to settle down, the air bubbles will want to escape the water. That's where the double u-turn in the pvc and " T " coupling come into play. In the upside u-turn the air settles out and the " T " that has the open end allows the air to escape the plumbing.

What do you think people?

 

[Mihai]

I see, it's a good idea. However, I'm not sure that the bubbles have time to get out of the water by the time they get to the T. I probably need something bigger than just a pipe to slow the water enough to get the bubbles out. One more thing that can go wrong: with the right debit the water (i.e., not only the air) will start getting out of the T, but this can be fixed by adding a taller pipe on the T. Still, I'm not sure if the water will slow down enough in the horizontal pipe...

Heck, I'm gonna try it and make the horizontal pipe as long as the tank...

Wait, there is a problem: the bubbles cannot escape the water in the horizontal column: the horizontal column will necessarily be filled with water -> it has to be for the water to go up the T (and then to the right). The design should be with the T sitting upside down.

M.

 

[tenshi]

I think the u-turn in durso stand pipe is not filled up with water, so I think the u-turn wouldn't fill up all the way, giving the air a way to escape. I might be wrong?

 

[Mihai]

It will fill like in the picture, which means that the air will still have to get out through the water to get out through the T... In my design the pipe is rather empty but the water entering it flows through it faster than in your design... I start to like yours better .

M.

 

[tenshi]

I just did a little modification and this is the way I think the water would flow... I think it would work because the second water drop wouldn't be a long one that would cause alot of turbulence and bubbles into the tank...

 

[Mihai]

It should work. I'll give it a try. The only modification I'll make will be putting 2 x 45 degrees elbows instead of the 1 x 90 degrees at the beginning of the horizontal line (to avoid the noise that a high drop would make in the standing water in the horizontal pipe).

Thanks a lot for the idea,

All the best,
Mihai

 

[tenshi]

Anytime, I hope it works out for you and let me know if I sent you down the wrong road!

 

[Mihai]

Yup, you sent me down the wrong road. Nice try though.

Built the stuff and I still have lots of bubble.
Wost of all is that they are smaller than before. I guess that the big bubbles are getting separated but lots of small ones don't. I'm planning to make a box with baffles (and nothing else but baffles) between the refugium and the tank.

I can't believe that I'm the only one with this problem - I'm sure that there should be lots of guys with this problem. And one has the optimal solution... I'm not even sure if 3 big baffles are better than 5 small ones...

Regards,
Mihai

 

[Ben1]

Why not just let it flow into a internal bubble trap, like the box used for the intake pumps of remora pros. This way the water flows out over the teeth and bubbles are dispersed at the surface. Kind of like the double boxs on the outflow of a turboflotor t 1000.

 

[wade1]

You are very close to having it right, except that the standpipe should have the riser (above tank water level) at the elbow where it leaves the tank (where the elbow goes 90 degrees down). This will allow you to dial in the air going into the pipe and it will really make things quiet.

Mihai- sometime I really need to make it over to your place to check it out.

Wade

 

[Mihai]

Why not just let it flow into a internal bubble trap, like the box used for the intake pumps of remora pros

hmmm.... that sounds good, if I only knew how that works . I'll try to look on the Internet, maybe I'll be able to find some pics.

You are very close to having it right, except that the standpipe should have the riser (above tank water level) at the elbow where it leaves the tank (where the elbow goes 90 degrees down). This will allow you to dial in the air going into the pipe and it will really make things quiet.

It's pretty quiet. That's not the problem - the bubbles are :-(.
Actually the overflow from the refugium is a Stockman stand pipe with an air valve at the end, so I can dial it really well. It doesn't seem to make a difference though :-(.

Mihai- sometime I really need to make it over to your place to check it out.

That would be highly appreciated.

M.

 

[tenshi]

Sorry I didn't get it all right for you, Mihai.

 

[Mihai]

I think that the basic idea is good, I just need a very big horizontal pipe (long and thick). Mine is only about 12" long and 1.5" diameter, so the small bubbles don't have a chance to separate... Probably a larger separation chamber would do. The problem is that when I exit the chamber I'll likely pick up some bubbles again... I'll make a drawing to make things clear and I'll bug you again.
M.