Stupid Micro Bubbles!!!! Please Help

[demariners]

I am not sure if you can see the bubbles. Still having the same issue. I have relocated the output of my media reactor and my skimmer to the left side and I made a baffle and still it is doing the same thing. Not sure where they are coming from. I guess I can start turning off devices until they dissipate. I think it is my skimmer. I have an ASM. Not sure if there is one out there that would create less bubbles on the output.

 

[demariners]

I wonder. Could a pump produce micro bubbles? Maybe my main return pump is causing them. I look near the return pump with a flash light and I do not see the bubbles. If that is the case how could you even begin to diagnose it? I do notice when I unplug the pump and plug it back in the pump spews out a ton of bubbles initially.

 

[Bugger]

I have them too . I tried everything but the sponge between the baffles is all I use I never got rid of them all but I have alot less now. I aso opted for a less ppowerfull retur pump

 

[demariners]

Well I have some filter floss? I don't have a sponge. Not sure if they do the same thing?

 

[demariners]

It seems like most of the bubbles are coming from my ASM skimmer. Maybe I should swap it out. Not sure if there are any skimmers out there that produce less bubbles.

 

[JSeymour]

That is one crowded sump.

To answer you question about salt creep. It's just dried salt outside of the tank. If your return line is pulling air(venturi), there will likely be some salt creep at the connection. Not always though.

I wonder. Could a pump produce micro bubbles? Maybe my main return pump is causing them. I look near the return pump with a flash light and I do not see the bubbles. If that is the case how could you even begin to diagnose it? I do notice when I unplug the pump and plug it back in the pump spews out a ton of bubbles initially.

Definitely possible, although your pump is being damaged if that's the case. This would be due to cavitation around the impeller. I don't think this is the case though, as it would have gotten worse when you slowed the flow even more.

As others have stated, without a set of three baffles, you'll likely keep having bubbles in the display. I think your sump needs a remodel. Looking at the pictures, it looks like you have two reaction chambers. If you can, try to mounts these outside the sump(shouldn't be an issue). This will free up a lot of space to install three baffles, one inch apart. Scrap the maxijet for circulation too, shouldn't need it.

Put all equipment and reactor outputs in the big chamber, The small chamber will have your return pump and your ATO switch.

 

[demariners]

Try to mount what outside the sump? I bought the acrllyc and I am going to make the baffles. I have plenty of room to make the baffles. I bought a new skimmer also. I brought it into the LFS and it looks like the impeller in the pump was bad. I have ha this skimmer forever so I just decided to get a new one.

 

[Sk8r]

I cured mine (not as big a problem as yours) with a huge wad of cheato in the fuge. It's a pretty good bubble trap.

 

[demariners]

So I made a three way baffle. I am hoping this will fix it. I also got a better skimmer. Here is the pics. I hope the baffles work. I put small sponges in between the baffles to help and slow down the bubbles.

 

[JSeymour]

Try to mount what outside the sump? I bought the acrllyc and I am going to make the baffles. I have plenty of room to make the baffles. I bought a new skimmer also. I brought it into the LFS and it looks like the impeller in the pump was bad. I have ha this skimmer forever so I just decided to get a new one.

Your Phosban Reactor and and whatever the blue lid thing is. If you can get some of the equipment out of the sump, the water will flow "slower" through your sump as well as cause less turbulence, i.e. fewer bubbles making it to the pump. Since you replaced the skimmer, remember, new skimmers create a lot of bubbles until they "break in". Out of curiousity, what skimmer did you get?

So I made a three way baffle. I am hoping this will fix it. I also got a better skimmer. Here is the pics. I hope the baffles work. I put small sponges in between the baffles to help and slow down the bubbles.

Awesome, that will help immensely. Not to be too nit-picky, but you should have spaced them one inch apart. Fewer bubbles will make it passed, but the sponges will help. Make sure you clean them regularly, atleast once per week.

Let it run for about a week to see how well it's working before trying any other tweaks.

 

[demariners]

Sounds good. The blue thingy is a media reactor and it is a shorty so it actually does not hit the water. I also removed the phosban reactor and placed in on the outside of the sump. Hopefully the baffles work.

 

[demariners]

I got a vertex IN-80. Seems to be working great and it wasn't too pricy. I took a look at the tank when I got home today and there are still MINOR bubbles but not even close to as bad now.....Hopefully the baffles did the trick. When cleaning the sponges what should I clean with?

 

[JSeymour]

Good choice. I've never used a Vertex, but they have great reviews. You don't need to clean the sponges with anything special. Just rinse them out with water until clean. Who knows, once the skimmer breaks in, you might not even need the sponges.

 

[demariners]

Yea, still have some minor bubbles. Hopefully the skimmer stops producing many. I have an ozone reactor that also spits out a little but not much. Mainly the skimmer is producing the bubbles.

 

[demariners]

Well I still am experiencing these stupid bubbles. They are only noticeable when the lights are on at 100% brightness. When they are dim I barely notice them. Still I am not sure the bubbles are getting "trapped". I have the baffle as you can see in the pictures. I put a sponge right at the lip of the output of the baffle and low in the beginning baffle because there are slits in the baffle. Not sure what else to try now.

 

[JSeymour]

There probably isn't much more you can do short of slowing the flow in the sump. If you can only see them at peak brightness(I have a few tanks like this), I'd say try not to stress about it. :beachbum:

 

[rreveron]

What happens when you turn off the skimmer? Do the bubles go away?

 

[demariners]

Yea they do. I am pretty confident they are mostly from the skimmer. I have bought some more sponge to see if that helps any.

 

[demariners]

Well it seems I was able to cut down the bubbles quite a bit. Now however I am getting some sort of "soap suds" on the surface of the sump. This interacts with the auto top off so I need to figure out why I am not getting these and how to remove them. Any ideas?