Micro bubbles in remote fuge, how to best resolve?

ojonas81

New member
I have recently (over the last couple of months) been starting up my new 150 gallon tank build. So far everything have been going fairly well. Two days ago I finally turned on my remote 20 gallon fuge with DSB. That is when I started to have a hell with micro bubbles. The fuge is fed from a T off the main return line (the only tee-off at the moment) with a 1" pipe. No matter what I do I seem to not be able to get rid of the bubbles in the fuge. The bubbles then follows all the way through the fuge drain to the sump and then eventually into the main DT. Any ideas on how I can resolve the issue, or at least reduce the number of bubbles. Pictures of the sump/fuge area below.

Thanks!

Link to my build thread: The build thread

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I had the same problem coming from my skimmer output.
Sucks and makes you DT look cloudy.
Tried all kinds of stuff but what worked best was force the skimmer output water to go through a cloth or felt sump filter sock. Not the poly ones either because they would still let bubbles through.
Maybe you can raise that pipe above the water level, add an acrylic sock holder just below it and give it a shot.
 
You could try to put a reducer on the end of the output in the fuge. It looks like the ball valve is shut down pretty far. I would bet that where the bubbles are forming.
 
Yeah, the ball valve is not open much at all since I do not want a ton of water going through the fuge. I'll try the reducer tonight. Would like to avoid socks if possible as they would also trap pods that I would like to make it through the system without getting trapped. That would be a last resort.
 
Ideally you would want a smaller line feeding the fuge, but it looks like everything is glued already. My thought on the reducer is that it would increase back pressure, thus reducing bubbles. It would be a good start to help determine the problem
 
Yes, unfortunately it is already glued. Did not pay attention to the bubbles during my FW leak test. I can reduce it all the way up at the ball valve or just do it at the very end before the output. Would it matter where?
 
You may also have a tiny hole in one of the glued joints that is sucking in air. I was recently tuning a ba overflow and the last run of pvc was simply snugged into the gate valve as I didn't know what the final length needed to be. It generated a ton of micro bubbles and didn't leak a drop of water out of the joint. Simply wrapping my hand around the joint cut the bubbles down. When I finally glued it the bubbles stopped all-together. I was surprised since I had the pipe jammed in valve pretty tight. Might be worth exploring.
 
Changed out the end piece to a 1/2" pipe instead and it seems to have reduced the amount of bubbles. They are not gone completely but greatly reduced. Will see if I can make it even better later on.
 
Great! Can you reduce it at the valve without too much trouble? I still think the large diameter pipe with such low flow I the culprit, although as carpas mentioned, you could also be drawing air at the valve. Good luck, keep us informed.
 
Probably could with not too much trouble. The valve is fortunately a true union version so could replace all the plumbing from that point to the fuge itself and see if that gives me some more playroom when it comes to flow. Right now it is rather slow.
 
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