Been Months and STILL bubbles in tank

[Kdocimo90]

So it has been about 8 months since my 210 has been set up and there are STILL bubbles in the tank... I tried taking off the sponges to the pumps but that didnt help... I tried cutting down bubbles in the sump but that didnt help...

I have 2 Danner Mag-Drive Supreme 12 1200 GPH Pump acting as return pumps.... Is that just too much?

Its not constantly spraying bubbles into the tank. About once every 10 seconds, one of the returns on the overflow sprays a mist of bubbles into the tank, this builds up and the tank appears cloudy all the time...

I just want to get a prestine and very clear looking tank, whereas having cloudy/bubble is getting reallly annoying.

anyone think they could help?

Thanks

 

[crvz]

are you confident that your plumbing is sealed well? sometimes when the plumbing doesnt have full integrity air can sneak in and cause microbubble issues. Also, could the pumps be drawing air in from a vortex? How deep are they submerged in the sump (Assuming they're used in-sump as opposed to external).

 

[Kdocimo90]

Yes they are internal pumps.
there is about 2-3 inches of watter above the pumps
as for a Vortex im not sure... im gonna draw up a picture to show you how the sump is structured... I'll post it in a sec

 

[Kdocimo90]

oh and i dont know if it makes a difference but my sump is only about 35 gallons... most people i know have a much larger sump.

but that could be totally irrelevant.

 

[Kdocimo90]

oh and the pumps are facing so the sponges on them are inwards

 

[Kdocimo90]

adn the bubbles are very very tiny.. so they dont float to the top right when they're sprayed in the tank, they just mist the tank up

 

[sjm817]

Shut off one pump and see how it is.

 

[Kdocimo90]

ok

 

[Kdocimo90]

alright well one pump has been off for about an hr now... the bubbles have calmed a bit.. but i still see a mist of small bubbles coming out the overflow hooked up to the pump thats still on.

 

[jallen18]

do you have a filter sock on your drain and/or skimmer output?

 

[azcraig]

I had a problem with bubbles that were coming from the hole they put in the return lines to prevent backflow in case of a power failure. It was above the water so it apparently was sucking some air. I raised the water level in that overflow and it cured the problem.

 

[aww_419]

it sounds like either there is a mis-seal in the plumbing, or the skimmer return is letting out bubbles or your taking in bubbles from your overflow. try putting a filter sock on the sump return and running the skimmer return also into the sock.

 

[BigEivlSquid]

I have seen pumps cavitate and inject bubbles before. are you throttleing the pumps back at all, that can cause it. Do the pumps make any unusual noise when you get ublles in the tank?

 

[weluvfish54]

add a filter sock to your drain in the sump. prob solved for me.

 

[Kdocimo90]

1. I dont have a filter sock in the sump
2. I dont think that is the problem because if it were bubbles from the sump doing this, wouldnt there constantly be bubbles blowing out of the return?
3. How can i raise the water level in the overflow? wouldnt that just raise the water level in the sump?

 

[weluvfish54]

is it built in overflow, or external box?
if its built in, look up a durso pipe.
if xternal, just lower the box that hangs in the tank and make sure you have a full siphon tube and be sure your pumps are fully submerged...a filter sock would help id try it. even just a rag and zip tie will work.

 

[Everyones Hero]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13320479#post13320479 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kdocimo90

oh and the pumps are facing so the sponges on them are inwards

From your drawing it looks like the skimmer exit is dumping right onto the sponges for your return pumps. If that's the case the bubbles might be coming from water that already has micro bubbles in it falling onto the filter & making more bubbles.

Might also be because of your sump feed creating bubbles. Do you have the room to build a bubble trap?

 

[Kdocimo90]

well i have had the skimmer off for about a day... the pump died some how... also, if the sump was creating the bubbles then wouldnt there be a constant flow of bubbles back into the tank rather than just a mist of bubbles ever so often?

 

[Kdocimo90]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13323444#post13323444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by weluvfish54
is it built in overflow, or external box?
if its built in, look up a durso pipe.
if xternal, just lower the box that hangs in the tank and make sure you have a full siphon tube and be sure your pumps are fully submerged...a filter sock would help id try it. even just a rag and zip tie will work.

1. built in overflow... i had to hook up myself though because it didnt come with the tank.
2. my pumps are fully submerged
3. what do you mean by look up a durso pipe, what would i be looking for?

 

[sassafrass]

The pulsing nature of your micro-bubble problem indicates a cycle. Is your return line right at the waters surface? if so put a 90 degree elbow on it. what can happen is the water exiting the return at a high speed raises the water level in that chamber slightly causing back pressure slowing the flow a tiny bit that in turn causes the water level to drop starting the cycle over .The elbow will prevent that. Hydro dynamics are very complex maybe this will work perhaps not but at least it is cheap and easy. My two favorite things.