bubbles from sump

[Wayne]

I have a 45 gallon bowfront with a homemade overflow (thanks to Marc at
http://www.melevsreef.com/) going to a 10 gallon sump underneath the
stand (all that will fit) with a mag 3 for a return pump and a remora
hang on skimmer (on the sump) with another mag 3 in the sump to drive
it. As you can see, not a lot of room in the sump with the two mag3s
and the heater. I estimate I have about 6-7 gallons of water in it,
though. I've tried wedging some acrylic sheets in the sump for
baffles, not 100% water tight, and that has cut down on the bubbles
some. I've tried turning of the skimmer, but still have bubbles, so
they're probably coming from the tank drain going into the skimmer.
What else can I try to eliminate the bubbles?

[Mike Mumma]

I've never tried it myself, but this website suggest using a small
mesh bag around the return line to eliminate air bubbles from the
return. Not sure if you could put one on the outlet of your
skimmer???

I've tried adding a foam prefilter to the inlet side of my return
pump, and that helped somewhat.

Beside aestetics, do bubbles harm/annoy corals or other residents?

Mike

http://www.superskimmer.com/sump_tanks.htm


On 6 Apr 2005 05:32:51 -0700, "Wayne" > wrote:

>I have a 45 gallon bowfront with a homemade overflow (thanks to Marc at
>http://www.melevsreef.com/) going to a 10 gallon sump underneath the
>stand (all that will fit) with a mag 3 for a return pump and a remora
>hang on skimmer (on the sump) with another mag 3 in the sump to drive
>it. As you can see, not a lot of room in the sump with the two mag3s
>and the heater. I estimate I have about 6-7 gallons of water in it,
>though. I've tried wedging some acrylic sheets in the sump for
>baffles, not 100% water tight, and that has cut down on the bubbles
>some. I've tried turning of the skimmer, but still have bubbles, so
>they're probably coming from the tank drain going into the skimmer.
>What else can I try to eliminate the bubbles?


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[Mike Mumma]

I've never tried this, but you could try adding a very small mesh bag
around the drain pipe coming into your sump. This web site claims it
eliminates bubbles. You could also try adding a foam prefilter on the
inlet side of your return pump. That seemed to cut down bubbles for
me.

Beside aestetic preference, do bubbles harm anything in the tank? Do
they 'annoy' corals or fish.

Mike



http://www.superskimmer.com/sump_tanks.htm

On 6 Apr 2005 05:32:51 -0700, "Wayne" > wrote:

>I have a 45 gallon bowfront with a homemade overflow (thanks to Marc at
>http://www.melevsreef.com/) going to a 10 gallon sump underneath the
>stand (all that will fit) with a mag 3 for a return pump and a remora
>hang on skimmer (on the sump) with another mag 3 in the sump to drive
>it. As you can see, not a lot of room in the sump with the two mag3s
>and the heater. I estimate I have about 6-7 gallons of water in it,
>though. I've tried wedging some acrylic sheets in the sump for
>baffles, not 100% water tight, and that has cut down on the bubbles
>some. I've tried turning of the skimmer, but still have bubbles, so
>they're probably coming from the tank drain going into the skimmer.
>What else can I try to eliminate the bubbles?


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[Marc Levenson]

Keep in mind that it takes two weeks to slime everything
over, and that will help reduce microbubbles.

You mentioned wedging some baffles in there. Here's one
more trick: http://www.melevsreef.com/plumbing/pvc_solution.jpg

Marc


Wayne wrote:

> I have a 45 gallon bowfront with a homemade overflow (thanks to Marc at
> http://www.melevsreef.com/) going to a 10 gallon sump underneath the
> stand (all that will fit) with a mag 3 for a return pump and a remora
> hang on skimmer (on the sump) with another mag 3 in the sump to drive
> it. As you can see, not a lot of room in the sump with the two mag3s
> and the heater. I estimate I have about 6-7 gallons of water in it,
> though. I've tried wedging some acrylic sheets in the sump for
> baffles, not 100% water tight, and that has cut down on the bubbles
> some. I've tried turning of the skimmer, but still have bubbles, so
> they're probably coming from the tank drain going into the skimmer.
> What else can I try to eliminate the bubbles?
>

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[Marc Levenson]

Mike, that isn't a mesh bag - it is a filter sock. These
need to be cleaned regularly to avoid creating nitrates, and
I recommend turning off the sump when feeding the display
simply to avoid trapping and wasting food in the sock.

Bubbles can affect both corals and the gills of fish, but
mostly it interferes with the clarity and visibility of the
display tank.

Marc


Mike Mumma wrote:

> I've never tried it myself, but this website suggest using a small
> mesh bag around the return line to eliminate air bubbles from the
> return. Not sure if you could put one on the outlet of your
> skimmer???
>
> I've tried adding a foam prefilter to the inlet side of my return
> pump, and that helped somewhat.
>
> Beside aestetics, do bubbles harm/annoy corals or other residents?
>
> Mike
>
> http://www.superskimmer.com/sump_tanks.htm


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[Wayne]

Mike - I may try the sock to see if that will help. I was trying to
avoid anything that may require special attention (having to clean the
sock constantly), but may not have any other options. I don't see that
the bubbles are doing any harm, but they distract from the view.

Marc - I've tried the pvc with slots on the drain line, but so far
hasn't seemed to help. However, as you mentioned, my sump has only
been running for about a week. Maybe it needs some more 'break-in'
time. I'm thinking my sump just isn't big enough (or long enough) to
allow all of the bubbles to rise to the surface to pop. The baffles
are definitely helping, if I remove them, I get a lot more bubbles.
They aren't water tight, however (some water can go around them, since
they are only wedged in). Perhaps I need to pull the sump tank out and
glue/seal the baffles in so the water is forced over/under them. I'm
also thinking about placing a 'refugium' above the sump (but still
under the display). I have room above it for another 10 gallon tank,
if I rest one end of it on the sump and brace the other somehow. Then
place an overflow on it to feed the sump and have the tank drain into
the refugium. This would give the bubbles more time to escape, I
think? But the water draining from the display comes in pretty
quickly. Would this flow be too fast for the refugium (with some sand,
liverock, caulerpa)? It would be a tight squeeze under my stand, but
I'm pretty sure it could be done.


Thanks!

[Marc Levenson]

If you can fit a separate refugium under the display, your
sump now is larger since it is only holding the skimmmer
section & the return section.

I would prefer to see you drill the 10g for a bulkhead or
two, rather than setting up an overflow box just for that
small application. Then you could have it drain quietly
into a jar or vase in the return section, where the
container is 1" taller than the return section's water
level. You won't have to deal with microbubble issues with
that method.

Marc


Wayne wrote:

> Marc - I've tried the pvc with slots on the drain line, but so far
> hasn't seemed to help. However, as you mentioned, my sump has only
> been running for about a week. Maybe it needs some more 'break-in'
> time. I'm thinking my sump just isn't big enough (or long enough) to
> allow all of the bubbles to rise to the surface to pop. The baffles
> are definitely helping, if I remove them, I get a lot more bubbles.
> They aren't water tight, however (some water can go around them, since
> they are only wedged in). Perhaps I need to pull the sump tank out and
> glue/seal the baffles in so the water is forced over/under them. I'm
> also thinking about placing a 'refugium' above the sump (but still
> under the display). I have room above it for another 10 gallon tank,
> if I rest one end of it on the sump and brace the other somehow. Then
> place an overflow on it to feed the sump and have the tank drain into
> the refugium. This would give the bubbles more time to escape, I
> think? But the water draining from the display comes in pretty
> quickly. Would this flow be too fast for the refugium (with some sand,
> liverock, caulerpa)? It would be a tight squeeze under my stand, but
> I'm pretty sure it could be done.
>
>
> Thanks!
>

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Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com