Air In Tank

[wsboyette]

I just got my first Berlin setup assembled and filled with the actual salt water to be used in this FOWLR setup. I have a filter sock, venturi skimmer, and carbon canister filter in my sump. The main pump has about a 480 GPH flow rate on a 45 gal. tank. I have been running the setup (with the tank still empty) since I got the water in it today, and I noticed that there are clouds of tiny air bubbles in the tank. This diffuses the light and makes the water appear unclear. Is this normal for this type of setup, and if not, how does one keep the bubbles out ? Will they go away after I get the stuff in the tank ?

 

[user 26995]

It could be that the skimmer is creating the bubbles and when it is broken in, it will stop. The sponge, if you have it in, could be holding air too and releasing it slowly. How long has it been running. I would give it a couple days to work itself out. I am not familiar with the berlin sump but its not much different than what most of us have built or use.

 

[wsboyette]

By Berlin I was just referring to the general type of setup (no biofilter, just skimmer w/LR in tank). My sump is just a 10-gallon tank with an acrylic sheet baffle across the middle of it to separate the skimmer from the carbon filter stage. It has been a long time since I last set up a tank, and it was fish-only. Maybe, as you point out, the bubbles are coming from the skimmer and will cease soon.

 

[Krish]

Do you have a bubble trap in your sump before the return chamber or is there just one single baffle separating the chambers?


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[wsboyette]

Just a single baffle. What is a bubble trap ? I did have the output of a powerhead (which draws water thru a carbon canister) connected directly to the intake of the system pump (which I had done to boost the flow rate). When I separated the two pumps,that seemed to just about do the trick. Still some bubbles, but apparently little more than is normal.

 

[Krish]

I'll have to get to a pc to post a picture but a bubble trap is what is used to eliminate bubbles in the return chamber of a sump. It's usually 3 baffles spaced about an inch apart that allows water to flow under-over-under each before the water enters the return chamber. Some people set them up differently going over-under-over. I'll get to a pc and post a picture in a sec.


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[Krish]

Here's a thread that should explain a bit more about sumps http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f124/all-about-sumps-59756/. I gotta run, but you will see the baffles I'm talking about in there.

 

[Krish]

When I get a chance I will post an actual picture explaining it but if you look at some of the sumps in that link as well as the sketch with the water flow through a sump you'll see the bubble trap being 3 baffles close together.


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[wsboyette]

I see exactly what you are writing about, now. I do not know if it would trap such tiny bubbles, it's almost like dissolved air. Anyway, relocating my carbon filter pump eliminated the bubble problem. Glad of that, as (since I just filled the tank) I do not want to have to drain the sum and remove it for modification.

 

[Krish]

Well I'm glad you got it sorted out without any modifications. Sorry I couldn't post a detailed picture, but I'm just loaded with work today.


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[jrgilles]

the bubble traps are made to trap the tiny bubbles. The flow through them is very slow, allowing the bubbles to separate out in the water column