tiny bubbles

[weizer896]

I can't seem to figure out why I keep getting these....any comments and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[weizer896]

attatching to glass and corals :cry

[VeeDub]

Do you have a powerhead or 2 that's too close to the waters surface and sucking air occasionally?
Or do you think they are coming from the sump?
Are the bubbles constant or do they come and go?

Sorry about answering questions with questions.

Also, is that a triggerfish on the right side of the pic?

[weizer896]

yes that is a trigger fish...we have a powerhead in the middle of the tankand the bubbles are pretty much constant...everytime I clean them off of the glass and corals,they keep coming back.

[brieman]

Didn't think about it added a dual beckett skimmer recently and thats when the bubbles started appearing

[NaCl_H2O]

After you clean it off, how long before they reform? After its clean, can you see a bunch of tiny bubbles in the water (may take bright light to see them)?

Do you have any algae growth on the rocks or sand?

Is your cat playing in the aquarium when you aren't looking :P

[VeeDub]

Didn't think about it added a dual beckett skimmer recently and thats when the bubbles started appearing

Ahhh.

Do you have a bubble trap in your sump between the skimmer and return section? When I put a beckett in our old sump (just a single divider) we had alot of problems with bubbles.

[brieman]

Takes a little while for them to appear on the glass, there are no bubbles in the water, Starting to get a small outbreak of algae, and the cats are outdoor cats :P

[NaCl_H2O]

I'll bet ya the skimmer is injecting bubbles into the sump that are making it into the tank. They are VERY difficuly to see unless you can get an intense light (MH) over the tank and maybe even turn off the lights in the room.

Also, some algae will produce gas that will collect in little bubbles, but you wuld have ALOT of algae if that was the case. My money is on the skimmer!

Reduce the airflow into the skimmer, or add a filter sock on the skimmer output. Also, some baffles in the sump might help the bubbles escape before getting to the tank.

Can you post a pic of the skimmer/sump setup, or a drawing?

[brieman]

No bubble trap, crude setup. Using a 100g for a fuge for extra water capacity. Planning on upgrade to 300g in near future then I will take the time to set it up the best way I can. Naturally I'll be looking for advice here and reading past posts for idea's.

[brieman]

Thanks Steve will put a filter sockon output and I believe that should do it. Also thank you Veedub for your help
Thank you both very much, Brian

[NaCl_H2O]

You are very welcome :D

"Microbubbles" are probably one of the most common "Help" posts on MAAST! As folks get into bigger and more complex systems, they eventually install a bubble factory (aka: BF skimmer). Also, over time the bubbles created & the amont that makes it out of the skimmer will reduce, so your problem may self-cure to some extent. However, your head is in the right place, a well designed sump doesn't release any bubbles into the tank.

Good luck!

[NaCl_H2O]

Oh ... and keep an eye on that filter sock! They can clog up, create back pressure into the skimmer, and create "Microbubbles" on your floor :(

[weizer896]

Here are a couple of pics that might help too

[brieman]

Thanks for the heads up on the back flow of the skimmer. Probably would have overlooked that. And have already had my fair share of floor clean up already :o P.S. Wifey helps with clean up,s as well :wub