Reducing Bubbles from Overflow into Sump

[Tcox]

Hi All,
Im cycling my 75g/30g sump. I have a large amount of bubbles coming from the drain pipe/ chamber which simultaneously connects to my in sump refugium and skimmer box. Im worried that the amount of bubbles will be hard on both my fuge inhabitants and skimmer performance. I have a ball valve in my drain pipe that goes into my sump and I have tried restricting and increasing the flow. Certainly, drastically reducing my intake stops the bubbles, but my setup came with a magdrive 9.5 (950 GPH) and the return box will empty if the intake is too slow. Should I ditch the magdrive? suggestions to stop or reduce the overflow bubbles?

Tank you for the help!

 

[whosurcaddie]

Bubbles aren't going to effect anything. Not your skimmer or organisms. Now if they are getting back to your display then it becomes a cosmetic issue. Everyone has bubbles going into they're sump, if you want to reduce them you can look at adding filter socks to your drain lines.

 

[Mcgeezer]

Felt filter socks on your drain will eliminate all bubbles

 

[joekidwell]

How many gph is the return pump? I run 750 gph through a 20 long with some bubbles, I cut the flow back to 500 gph and no bubbles.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Change the ball valve to a gate valve., it will make all the difference in the world in adjusting this. Also the height from the bottom of your overflow pipe to the surface water of the sump has a lot to do with the production of bubbles. Like was stated the bubbles themselves aren't an issue. Bubbles are what makes your skimmer work and it creates it's own.

 

[Mcgeezer]

A very important thing to note is that if you use a gate valve on your drain you must also use a gate valve on the return line to balance the water drained vs. return pump input. Otherwise, you can experience tank overflow.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

A very important thing to note is that if you use a gate valve on your drain you must also use a gate valve on the return line to balance the water drained vs. return pump input. Otherwise, you can experience tank overflow.

Yes very true Ball valves will never fine tune to flow like a gate valve will.

 

[ajcanale]

A very important thing to note is that if you use a gate valve on your drain you must also use a gate valve on the return line to balance the water drained vs. return pump input. Otherwise, you can experience tank overflow.

This is only really true if you close the valve to the point of restricting flow greater than the return pump minus head pressure. I have always used a valve on drain line closing it only enough to create a true siphon.... to significantly reduce sound (will also reduce bubbles given there will be less air flowing through the drain). While I do have a valve on my return line, I've never used it. Just noting that it's not an absolute must.