Dumb question re: microbubbles

serpentman · 06/03/2006, 05:45 PM

I am waging a war on microbubbles and losing. I have tried everything, baffles, bubble tower, etc. and am still getting microbubbles in my tank. I am begining to wonder if I have my expectations too high (no microbubbles at all).

Is typical to have some microbubbles or should I keep battling to completely elminate them?

James77 · 06/03/2006, 05:47 PM

Have you checked all your plumbing?

serpentman · 06/03/2006, 05:59 PM

Yes, the return to the sump is generating a ton of bubbles, I can see in the sump that they are making past the baffles and through a foam sponge to the pump chamber.

James77 · 06/03/2006, 06:04 PM

What size sump and how much are you running through it?-

Have you tried a filter sock?- I don't know how much it would help

serpentman · 06/03/2006, 06:08 PM

I will try anything at this point.

Its a 15 gallon sump (no room for more). I believe the flow rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 550gph which may be a tad too much for my 92gal. I am considering backing it down a little.

Infern0 · 06/03/2006, 11:11 PM

That's not to bad a flow rate...I've seen a lot higher.

Try a sock or a sponge...clean frequently to prevent the bacteria thing from kicking in. I'd say every week at the least.

Nathan4Wvu · 06/04/2006, 12:24 AM

On my sump i had alot of micro bubbles and i added a 100 micron filter sock and it cleared it right up

Danfish · 06/04/2006, 12:28 AM

I have the same trouble and I'm starting to win the battle.

I have a small sump, maybe 10-15 gal, used to be a wet/dry but I'm converting it slowly.

Originaly I couldn't find the origin of the bubbles because my powerheads made everything worse. If you can, first kill the powerheads and make sure to empty any collected air inside them.

Second diagnose what the origin of the bubbles is. For me it was my skimmer return.

What I had to do is I removed the exit pvp elbow on the skimmer and ran some flex tubing from there over the wall of the wet/dry and into the bioball chamber. So the bubbly return water had to filter through the bioballs (which collected alot of the bubbles).
But that wasn't enough, and I don't want the bioballs in in the first place. So I removed the eggcrate floor and droped the balls all the way down into the bottom of the sum, in the water, hopefully there they will process some nitrate, or create less. Basicly I removed the "dry"

Now I still had microbubbles, so I had to leave in the 3" sponge at the end of the bioball chamger. I want it gone but I've tried a baffle there and it doesn't stop many, if any, micro bubbles.

Now I have about 650gph flow through the sump right now, so its pushing still some bubbles through the sponge. So I cut a piece of filter pad and wraped my main pump with it. Not just a layer after the sponge, but all around the pump itself. So anything that makes it into the final chamber of the wet/dry has to penetrate the blue filter pad also.

For me this stoped the production of the micro bubbles.
I'm going to have to clean the sponge and the filter pad weekly because I don't want it to become a nitrate factory, but as long as it stops the bubbles.

One last thing, don't turn the powerheads back on untill the water turns clear. Took mine about 4 hours. If I turned on my powerheads they would just suck up the micro bubbles, make a large air mass inside the pump, and then that would break appart and be chooped into more microbubbles every 30 seconds or so. Making a cycle inside the tank between the powerheads. (maxijet 1200s)

My tank is a 65gal.

serpentman · 06/04/2006, 08:52 AM

Quote:

One last thing, don't turn the powerheads back on untill the water turns clear. Took mine about 4 hours. If I turned on my powerheads they would just suck up the micro bubbles, make a large air mass inside the pump, and then that would break appart and be chooped into more microbubbles every 30 seconds or so. Making a cycle inside the tank between the powerheads. (maxijet 1200s)

I noticed that every 30 seconds or so, a burst of bubbles come from each powerhead. Interesting. I will shut it down and see if I can pin it down.

serpentman · 06/04/2006, 09:34 AM

I think that was the problem. I kicked one of the powerheads on and off and it generated a ton of bubbles. It must have somehow had air trapped in it. I'll keep an eye on it. Hope that is the solution!

Danfish · 06/04/2006, 01:08 PM

If your powerheads are submerged then they have to get the air from somewhere originaly.
Could be they had air in them from when you added them to the tank, and they were just passing it back and forth.

But for me they originated from the skimmer output.
Took me about 2 weeks to finaly narrow it down to the skimmer, and another 2 weeks to finaly find a way to rig the skimmer so its return would be filtered enough to remove the bubbles, but it can be done.

I'd reccomend, if you can, keeping the powerheads off long enough to identify if/where the original source of the bubbles would be. Since while they do make a bad situation worse, they really can't cause it in the first place, when they are fully submerged.

06/03/2006, 05:45 PM	#1
serpentman part time superhero Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Deep in the Heart of the Snowbelt (NE OHIO) Posts: 5,698	Dumb question re: microbubbles I am waging a war on microbubbles and losing. I have tried everything, baffles, bubble tower, etc. and am still getting microbubbles in my tank. I am begining to wonder if I have my expectations too high (no microbubbles at all). Is typical to have some microbubbles or should I keep battling to completely elminate them?

06/03/2006, 05:47 PM	#2
James77 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 8,158	Have you checked all your plumbing? __________________ Jim Current Tank Info: 120g Mixed Reef and 75g Freshwater

06/03/2006, 05:59 PM	#3
serpentman part time superhero Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Deep in the Heart of the Snowbelt (NE OHIO) Posts: 5,698	Yes, the return to the sump is generating a ton of bubbles, I can see in the sump that they are making past the baffles and through a foam sponge to the pump chamber. __________________ BS in Marine Bio ('96), First SW tank in 1992. Current Tank(s) 300g SPS with 90g frag tank and 40 anemone tank - decommissioned 46g LPS/Softy Cube 300g FOWLR under construction - decommissioned

06/03/2006, 06:04 PM	#4
James77 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 8,158	What size sump and how much are you running through it?- Have you tried a filter sock?- I don't know how much it would help __________________ Jim Current Tank Info: 120g Mixed Reef and 75g Freshwater

06/03/2006, 06:08 PM	#5
serpentman part time superhero Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Deep in the Heart of the Snowbelt (NE OHIO) Posts: 5,698	I will try anything at this point. Its a 15 gallon sump (no room for more). I believe the flow rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 550gph which may be a tad too much for my 92gal. I am considering backing it down a little. __________________ BS in Marine Bio ('96), First SW tank in 1992. Current Tank(s) 300g SPS with 90g frag tank and 40 anemone tank - decommissioned 46g LPS/Softy Cube 300g FOWLR under construction - decommissioned

06/03/2006, 11:11 PM	#6
Infern0 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Virginia Posts: 229	That's not to bad a flow rate...I've seen a lot higher. Try a sock or a sponge...clean frequently to prevent the bacteria thing from kicking in. I'd say every week at the least.

06/04/2006, 12:24 AM	#7
Nathan4Wvu Do you like Phil Collins? Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Home:Charleston, West Virginia Posts: 1,574	On my sump i had alot of micro bubbles and i added a 100 micron filter sock and it cleared it right up __________________ Let's Go Mountaineers! Current Tank Info: 120 gallon mixed reef

06/04/2006, 12:28 AM	#8
Danfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 296	I have the same trouble and I'm starting to win the battle. I have a small sump, maybe 10-15 gal, used to be a wet/dry but I'm converting it slowly. Originaly I couldn't find the origin of the bubbles because my powerheads made everything worse. If you can, first kill the powerheads and make sure to empty any collected air inside them. Second diagnose what the origin of the bubbles is. For me it was my skimmer return. What I had to do is I removed the exit pvp elbow on the skimmer and ran some flex tubing from there over the wall of the wet/dry and into the bioball chamber. So the bubbly return water had to filter through the bioballs (which collected alot of the bubbles). But that wasn't enough, and I don't want the bioballs in in the first place. So I removed the eggcrate floor and droped the balls all the way down into the bottom of the sum, in the water, hopefully there they will process some nitrate, or create less. Basicly I removed the "dry" Now I still had microbubbles, so I had to leave in the 3" sponge at the end of the bioball chamger. I want it gone but I've tried a baffle there and it doesn't stop many, if any, micro bubbles. Now I have about 650gph flow through the sump right now, so its pushing still some bubbles through the sponge. So I cut a piece of filter pad and wraped my main pump with it. Not just a layer after the sponge, but all around the pump itself. So anything that makes it into the final chamber of the wet/dry has to penetrate the blue filter pad also. For me this stoped the production of the micro bubbles. I'm going to have to clean the sponge and the filter pad weekly because I don't want it to become a nitrate factory, but as long as it stops the bubbles. One last thing, don't turn the powerheads back on untill the water turns clear. Took mine about 4 hours. If I turned on my powerheads they would just suck up the micro bubbles, make a large air mass inside the pump, and then that would break appart and be chooped into more microbubbles every 30 seconds or so. Making a cycle inside the tank between the powerheads. (maxijet 1200s) My tank is a 65gal.

06/04/2006, 09:34 AM	#10
serpentman part time superhero Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Deep in the Heart of the Snowbelt (NE OHIO) Posts: 5,698	I think that was the problem. I kicked one of the powerheads on and off and it generated a ton of bubbles. It must have somehow had air trapped in it. I'll keep an eye on it. Hope that is the solution! __________________ BS in Marine Bio ('96), First SW tank in 1992. Current Tank(s) 300g SPS with 90g frag tank and 40 anemone tank - decommissioned 46g LPS/Softy Cube 300g FOWLR under construction - decommissioned

06/04/2006, 01:08 PM	#11
Danfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 296	If your powerheads are submerged then they have to get the air from somewhere originaly. Could be they had air in them from when you added them to the tank, and they were just passing it back and forth. But for me they originated from the skimmer output. Took me about 2 weeks to finaly narrow it down to the skimmer, and another 2 weeks to finaly find a way to rig the skimmer so its return would be filtered enough to remove the bubbles, but it can be done. I'd reccomend, if you can, keeping the powerheads off long enough to identify if/where the original source of the bubbles would be. Since while they do make a bad situation worse, they really can't cause it in the first place, when they are fully submerged.