NEED ideas to make the water a bit more clear

[jfolley67]

I feel like my return pump is pumping a bit of tiny particles back into the water. I do not believe they are micro bubbles. Then the pumps just move this around a bit.....just need something to put in the sump to be able to catch the larger particles that float about. I need suggestions. Remember, this is my first sump so I am not sure what to purchase to try and do this properly....anyone???

 

[crumbletop]

Did you have these before with the other pump? If not, then you may be introducing some microbubbles near the intake for the new pump. If you had the particles before, then the best thing you can do is determine if they are microbubbles or not. Keep the lights off in the sump room, and shine a flashlight in the sump to try and determine if these are microbubbles. If so, then they are most likely coming from the skimmer or the drain. You can cut the skimmer off for an hour or two and see if the bubbles go away. That can help you determine the source. Again, that is only if they are microbubbles.

 

[jfolley67]

The refugium area of the sump is where the skimmer drains......There is surface movement here with some surface bubbles. I don't see any bubbles in the last part of the sump near the return. Yes, I had these with the other pump....It seems that they are just tiny particles that don't hurt anything, but it would be nice to make the water look more clear.
good idea to look at sump in dark though, cause I just realized that in the last bay where the return is, there is detritus on bottom of the tank and I bet it slowly gets pulled up into the return pump. remember that elbow faces down to bottom of pump....first, gotta clean that area out, but should we do something about the elbow facing directly down?

 

[crumbletop]

Go ahead and clean that section out. Also, shine the light to see if they are microbubbles. My bet is they are microbubbles. Another thing is they could be a precipitate of some type. I remember you were adding calcium and stuff to get the levels up. If things aren't balanced between calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium you could be precipitating calcium carbonate.

 

[jfolley67]

yep, I dosed calcium just last night.....what do I do if they are microbubbles as well? I can definitely see some are particles......BUT some might be the bubbles as well....

 

[eyebedam]

I had the same problem. Try turning your pump back just a tad & also the drains on your returns. Thats what was causing that problem for me.

 

[crumbletop]

If you have bubbles and know the source, then a plan can be devised to eliminate the problem. first you have to determine if you have any, and then the source.

 

[jfolley67]

I see a bit of microbubbles in the drain area of my sump.......I am going to try and taper back the drains and pump just a tiny bit like eyebedam says....BUT....we also decided to try and submerge the drain to the skimmer and now it is significantly better.....water is much clearer and skimmer seems unaffected....we also got the osmolator set up, worked fine the first time, then I was off doing something, came back and low level light was blinking.....so it says to reset and it turned on the pump but levels were way to high ...up to the second alarm thing....any ideas?

 

[crumbletop]

Hmm. Not sure. When it signals low and blinks, that is usually because the pump ran for several minutes without putting enough in. Then coming back with too much in the tank either makes me think of a siphon from the topoff reservoir, or that the pump again stayed on too long. Has it worked properly before or is this how it worked the first time? Maybe you need to wipe off the sensor? When they are brand new, it has a slight oily film on it that may be throwing it off. Put a paper towel in some vinegar and gently wipe the sensor and see what that does.

 

[jfolley67]

this is the first day we have put it together, so first time it has failed...no siphon we already checked into that....but will again...it is like the sensor is not acting correctly....
thanks for the tips, will try new things you mentioned...

 

[jfolley67]

oh yeah, and dialed back the pump slightly and drains SLIGHTLY....microbubbles ZAPPED.....gone...thanks!!

 

[eyebedam]

Cool Im glad it fixed your problem. I went through the same thing about 2 weeks ago.

 

[jfolley67]

yep....now gotta deal with my 2 part mix tomorrow.....and my pickling lime...and we are on a role.....