Dreaded Micro Bubbles....

[Fly n Reef]

Hey I thought I would ask you all how do I solve my micro bubble issues? I have two returns into my sump/refugium and a closed loop with the ampmaster 3000.
The sump water returns from the tank in two places, left to the refugium and center to the sump. I appear to have micro bubbles everywhere.
I have tried suggestions of foam block and bioballs to little avail.
Any suggestions out there?

 

[szidls]

Hey Fly,
I would try and figure out if any bubbles are being caused by the closed loop itself by turning off return pump. You might be able to isolate it. Also do you have ball valves on display return/sump return lines? Try and adjust flow down some. Just a thought.
Scott

 

[Fly n Reef]

Hey Scott thanks for the suggestions. I do have ball valves on the returns and sump. I will try tweeking it a bit. What do you think about the foam and bio balls, should I remove them first?
Karen

 

[szidls]

Fly,
I would remove bio-balls/foam and make sure sump return line is submerged well below water level. Possibly close to sump bottom as to avoid splashing. Let me know if it helps. I just got finished testing Colleen's new 60 gal for sump flow. It's a pita for sure. Just keep tweeking.
Scott

 

[Fly n Reef]

Scott,
Thanks again I am totally frustrated with these bubbles. I forgot to mention that the skimmer returns water above the sump waterline. I can visibly see the bubbles here, should the skimmer return below the water line also?
Karen
ps Congrats to Colleen...I bet it will be awesome.

 

[reedman]

Hey Karen,

If you shut the closed loop ampmaster off do the microbubbles stop?

If so then you know where the problem is. Then you just have tolook fo rany small air inputs into the intake side of the pump (usually) and eliminate them.

If the microbubbles don't go away with the CL off then I would guess that you are geting some of the bubbles from your skimmer output making it into your return pump. If your running an AM3K as your return, they churn up bubble into microbubbles real well (voice of experience). You would probably need to add the foam block to the output of the skimmer and maybe some baffles in the sump to eliminate them before they make it into the pump.

My 2 cents worth.

-Reed

 

[Fly n Reef]

Thanks Reed,
I am going to shut down the closed loop this evening and test that theory. The AM3K is for the closed loop only. I hope this works for I am going to go micro bubble crazy. I am using foam block on the skimmer return right now but one question...should I have the skimmer return submerged or not?
Karen

 

[szidls]

Hey Karen,
Any returns to the sump..........skimmer or overflow, if they are splashing into the sump are causing more bubbles. You need to limit that as much as possible. Thats why I suggested keeping any returns submerged under water line.
I agree with Reed on the closed loop. Try running without the cl and look where bubbles are coming from. What size tank return pump do you have? Like I said earlier, tweek the ball valves to adjust flow. Also what is water height inside overflow? If water is dropping a long way and causing more bubbles inside overflow you might try and increase stand pipe height. Try and eliminate areas of concern one by one.
Scott

 

[Fly n Reef]

Tried shutting down the closed loop...I still have some bubbles but it was noticeably better. The return pump is an Iwaki 55 RLT. I don't want to pull that back it if I can help it. The overflows are full, I have standpipes.
At this point I turned to closed loop back on and will need to deal with it on Wednesday when I get back.
Thanks for the help guys.
Karen

 

[reedman]

Karen,
I have a standpipe on my closed loop (AM3K) that just didn't have enough wraps of teflon tape. It was shooting bubbles like crazy because it was on the input side of the pump. If your bubble problem dimished with the CL off, I would just check all of the fittings along the path of the CL.

Sometimes it's just a small input that causes a huge mess. You can always get Mike to redo all of the plumbing for you (He He He).

 

[Fly n Reef]

Hey Reed,
I just got back into town to only find that my micro bubbles are still with me. I will try some more trouble shooting tomorrow. I just don't feel like dealing with it tonight if ya know what I mean. Thanks for the suggestions.
My cl does not connect with the standpipes at all. It may be in the return pump area that goes through the chiller and out my seaswirls. I am going to shut down one pump/section at a time and try to pinpoint the issue or I am going to call on all my reefer friends to come over for a BBQ and micro bubble solving party.
LOL.
Any volunteers?
Karen

 

[Katchupoy]

I used to have micro bubbles... and like reedman said... It came from my stand pipe also...