Bubbles in tank?

[elm0]

I've noticed an increase of bubbles in my tank lately, tiny bubbles coat my sand bed and most of my rocks, I dont have anything blowing bubbles into the tank, just alot of tiny air bubbles on just about every surface of the tank....just curious what this might be caused from, and if i should be concerned, and if i can do anything to get rid of it

[GaryP]

Could it be from algae?

Gary

[newhomes4reef]

This happened to me recently when i switched my light fixtures out to MH. I cut back on the time my lights were on and it greatly reduced the amount of bubbles ( not completely though )

[elm0]

Yeah, I did recently switch to MH lighting and they are currently running about 16 plus hours a day....how is the light causing air bubbles??

[Ram_Puppy]

16 hours? really? I only run my halides for 10!

[newhomes4reef]

woah!!! 16 hours?!?! I run my actinics about 11 hours and my MH's 8 hours. I think all the bubbles have something to do with photosynthesis...but a chemist i am not. I think everyone here is going to tell you to cut down the amount of hours on your lights. think about it like your trying to mimicing nature...not entirely possible, but fun to try

[GaryP]

The bubbles are oxygen coming from algae. Oxygen is produced by photosynthesis on your LR and sand when your lights are on. New bulbs have greater output, therefore your algae are photosynthesizing more, therefore more oxygen, therefore more bubbles. If that deductive reasoning doesn't work then my guess is that the butler did it.

Gary

[monica]

I just did the same but went from 175 to 400 and new bulbs, I also cut back light time,

Will it go away on it own? about how long?

[GaryP]

Extra circulation will disperse the bubbles or sweep away the oxygen before noticeable bubbles will form.

It will go away on its own if you don't have any algae, but that's not really a good option, is it?

Gary

[monica]

well I got the slight hint of brown alomg with the bubles

What do I do? chemyclean and waterchanges?

[Ram_Puppy]

monica, that slight tinge of brown, I am assuming that is in the water, can be one of two things off the top of my head, the start of a diatom bloom, or organic compounds suspended in the water. Carbon will help i nboth situations, as will using RowaPhos or Phosban if you have any detectable levels of phosphate to fuel a diatom bloom. Check your water perameters to determine if anything is out of whack.

Another thought to consider, if there is photosynthesis occuring IN the sandbed, those oxygen bubbles may be causing a stronger than usual updraft in the sand, disrupting your anoxic zones and uplifting nutrients that are usually trapped.

I think most will agree MH lighting should not be run more than 12 hours a day, I personally run my PC's for an hour, bring up the halides for 10, and then the PC's stay off for another hour, trying to mimic in my own sad way the solar cycle.

If it is a diatom bloom (if it is dissolved organics in the water NEW carbon should make a noticeable difference in hours.) then you may need to cut back on your light to starve it out... I have heard of people on reef central covering the tank with a blanket and depriving it of all light for three days.. this seems a tad excessive to me unless the case is just beyond reason.

[elm0]

That makes alot of sense, I noticed this morning when i turned the light on that there are no bubbles in the tank at all, but by the time i get home from work tonight, the tank will be covered once again. My only lighting right now is my single 400w MH, If I put it on a timer to only run 12 hours during the day then I would never get to see my tank because I work such long hours. Can I put it on a timer to run in say 2-3 hour cycles during the day, so that I can enjoy it in the mornings and evenings when I'm home, but not expose the tank to too much continual light??

[NaCl_H2O]

Run your 10 hour light cycle at the time most convinient for you (12-10, 2-midnight, ?) - I doubt any of your inhabitants have a watch, so they will never know ;)

Just don't leave a clock or TV close enough for them to see from the tank :-D

[monica]

the brown is only on the sand with the air bubbes. In the morning its not there but by lights out it is. So this is just a cycle from the lights?
my light cycle is only 10hrs and I have lowerd it to about 9.

Do I need to do anything extra to get the sand from being a light patch brown? Should I dose chemi-clean ?

[Ram_Puppy]

CHemi Clean if I am not mistaken (have thankfully not had to use it) is for Cyano Bacteria which is typically a red slime that rapidly spreads through your tank. It sounds to me like the sand bed has nutrients in it and the the light is fueling an algae bloom. My thought would be to one, get some critters in there that will stir the dand bed, nassarius snails come to mind, and I believe cerith and nerite are burrowers as well. Mini-stars, and bristle worms would be another couple of inverts to keep an eye out for. I think water changes are in order, perhaps with a very LIGHT siphoning of the top layer, but more effective may be the introduction of a RowaPhos or Phosban reactor.

Take what I say here with a grain of salt, I haven't had to fight this particular issue yet, so I am trying to remember what others have said (though the phosphate media will work wonders).

And Elm0, what NACI_H2o said, adjust your tanks schedule to suit you. My tank runs from noon to midnight or so, since on days I am home, those are hours I am typically awake.

[GaryP]

The brown color is probably hair algae, or possibly dinoflagellates.

Gary