micobubbles

[duke62]

i dont know what everyone means when they say micro bubbles.is it exactly what it sounds like little bubbles in tank.if so i have little bubbles coming out of my return.is that bad and if so what do i do to stop it and why is that bad.please answer all questions so i may learn

 

[ellebelle]

Microbubbles are little tiny air bubbled that will shoot out of your returns. I don't think they are BAD, per se (someone with more experience correct me if I'm wrong) - they're just an eyesore. Personally, I like my water to be as crystal clear as possible and when there are microbubbles, it's not as pretty.

When I first set up my tank, I had a lot of microbubbles, but it was just a matter of waiting for the plumbing to "slime up". I just added a fuge to my system and am having the same problem again. Some people add dursos (a T shaped PVC attachment instead of an elbow with a hole in the top to let the air out) or baffles (a series of three acrylic or glass plates where the water tumbles over the first one, under the second one then back over the third one to release bubbles). I'm going to try a modified baffle with my fuge pipe using 1 1/2" PVC over my 3/4" drain from the fuge.

Hope that helps - the baffle thing "baffled" (har har har) me for the longest time - I didn't really understand until I saw a diagram with them.

 

[Hotwheels]

Check your water level in the return pump area. it may be to low allowing the pump to draw in air with the water.
did the bubbles always occur? if not, then it's just evaporation. and you need to replace your evaporated water.
check salinity as you add water.

bubbles increase evaporation and salt creep.

 

[Hotwheels]

a picture of your set up and a lil' more info about your system will help id and remedy the problem.

elle... nicely put, m bubbles r an eyesore

 

[TimberTDI]

picture of your set up and a lil' more info about your system will help id and remedy the problem.

We aren't going through that again

Where are your returns positioned in the tank? Sometimes if the are too close to the surface they will create a whirlpool effect and suck air from above.

How did you plumb your tank? PVC or Hose, there may be a small leak in one of the joints that is siphoning air in.

Steven

 

[Hotwheels]

lil' info and a flic...WOW:scratchch

 

[duke62]

my pics are in tank threads DUKES 120 sales big put them there for me check it out

 

[meschaefer]

Duke,

When I had a microbubble problem it was caused by the overflow going into the sump. A lot of air gets mixed into the water in the overflow, and you need to do something to remove them while they are in the sump, or they will get sent right back into the display tank. Look in your sump, and see if you have microbubbles there.

I see that you have an oceanic sump, wich I will assume has a set of baffles. Baffles work great, but sometimes they are still not enough. I ended up putting a filter sock over the pipe where the overflow runs into the sump. This helped out immensly, but the filter sock needs to be cleaned at least once a week.

 

[duke62]

i clean the filter sock everytime i change water.which is every week.i added more water to sump that seems to be working.i figured those bubbles where oxengenating the water,and it was a good thing.alright bubbles have diminished thank u

 

[Hotwheels]

watch that evaporation...glad to hear al is well

 

[reefs4life]

Small note to what ellebelle said, microbubbles are bad mostly if you have sponges in your tank. I dont mean small spontenous sponges, I'm talking about larger colorful specimens, like red tree/ball sponges. Know this from experience by going on vacation and when I got back a sponge that I had soaked up all the bubbles.(about sponges, when air get stuck between sponge tissue it's hard to get it all out and one small bubble ccan start decaying the sponge causing it to eventually die) Just wanted to add that as a little info on the harm air may cause sometimes.

 

[dylanjs]

I'm having similar problems... tons of microbubbles from the overflow even with a durso. I have a filter sock over the return, but it has only lessened the bubbles. I also have 3 baffles in the sump, and the water level in the last chamber is like 1/8" below the last baffle.

Any other suggestions?

I do have a tree sponge, so I'm hoping to resolve this soon.

 

[meschaefer]

I'm having similar problems... tons of microbubbles from the overflow even with a durso. I have a filter sock over the return, but it has only lessened the bubbles. I also have 3 baffles in the sump, and the water level in the last chamber is like 1/8" below the last baffle.

Any other suggestions?

I do have a tree sponge, so I'm hoping to resolve this soon.

How much flow do you have running through your sump. To much flow doesn't allow the baffels to be effective.

 

[dylanjs]

I haven't done a calculation of head pressure and all that, but I'd say somewhere between 600 and 700 GPH

 

[meschaefer]

I haven't done a calculation of head pressure and all that, but I'd say somewhere between 600 and 700 GPH

To much flow for a sump. Melev (from RC) reccomends 3 -5 times tank turnover through a sump. Granted his word on such things is not the end all, but the man does know something about sumps.

I agree with him, to the extent that if the water is moving two fast, microbubbles get pulled along with the water over the baffels and up into the display. I try to stay away from such easy calculations as total tank turnover. Because the flow is then dependent on the size of the display as opposed to the size of the sump. Think about it. You have a 55 gallon tank. 3 x turnover is 165 gallons per hour. Now imagine that going through a sump that is 15 gallons as opposed to a 30 gallon sump. The water is moving twice as fast through the sump, yet the "tank turnover" is the same.

 

[marrone]

If you place another baffles in the last compartment, where the return pump is, and slightly raise it, it will eliminate most of the bubbles. You're basically creating another bubble trap just before the return.

 

[dylanjs]

Would I have to drain the sump to add the additional baffle, then let it cure for 24 hrs? Or maybe I could improvise...

Unfortunately, there's not much more I can do other than that. There isn't room in the stand for a larger sump unless I got a submersible return pump.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[ari5736]

Maybe I can revive this thread here. I just switched out my internal pump for a much larger external pump. I have baffles in my sump, and although I don't see air bubbles in the sump itself, the returns are very strong and are blowing alot of bubbles. I am hoping some of the new plumbing is breaking in :irked:, because I have checked all of the other causes for bubbles in this thread and my only other clue is that I am turning over too much water (1100 gallons/hr after head loss) for my sump (30 gallons on a 125 gallon tank).
Any advice would of course be appreciated.

 

[Dj Orion]

New tubing from the factory usually constitutes micro bubbles. It took 3 weeks for my skimmer to stop spitting out microbubbles into my tank.