Bubbles in my algae?

Like the title says, bubbles in my algae....

Oh yeah, remember I'm freshwater. Not saltwater like most guys here.

A few bubbles that develop under the hair on the screen.

Then TONS of bubbles that sit on the algae hairs that float on top of the water next to my screen.

Good/bad/normal?
Here take a look.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35...psa6ca1258.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35...ps1f630b0e.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35...psb8220879.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35...pse744ef3e.jpg


Tomorrow I'll upload pictures with the LEDs off, and add them as progress in my Gutted Refug scrubber build thread.
So far, it's working. I just don't know how good yet.

Oh, right these are pictures...

These bubbles are stagnant? They don't move or pop. No activity. They're kind of cloudy looking.

They don't move - they're not regular water bubbles is why I'm asking.

The bubbles in the algae are probably just the result of photosynthesis (oxygen). Although not harmful in itself, they may actually reduce efficiency slightly. If you can turn the pump off for 20 or 30 seconds every 2 or 3 days, the bubbles go, but they will return. Most people don't worry about them. The sump bubbles indicate an excess of dissolved organic material to me. You could scoop it out and run a bit of carbon to stop it if you wanted.

Well, thanks.

I'd definitely have to agree with the high amounts of dissolved organic material. My nitrates are pretty high... My overall ppm is embarrassing.
Luckily, the past few days, the scrubber has slowed down how much PPM I increase in - in a day.

For exmaple:
TDS PPM would go up by 18ppm between 1/29/2013 to 1/30/2013.
1/30 - 1/31 : 9 PPM increase.
1/31 - 1/2 (2 days) 7 PPM increase. (3.5 PPM a day)

Eventually, I"ll increase 0 PPMs a day, then it'll start going down I hope.

I don't thing you mean TDS; you just mean PPM nitrate.

I have a Total Dissolved Solids digital meter. Reads in PPM.

At least I think it's a TDS meter.

Then that would be measuring particles in the water (mostly food particles), not nitrate.

Oh, I thought it was total chemicals in the water.

Either way, you want TDS ppm to go down anyway right?

Well either way, my nitrates have dropped too.

No, you don't measure TDS in the tank water at all. Actually, the more the better (more food particles).

TDS is only to measure RO or RODI water.

Well dang! I've been logging it, thinking I'm going somewhere with it.

RODI is only for SW tanks. His is a FW tank. If you used RODI on FW you would have to add elements back in that you are removing. In SW we add salt mix to the water to create the levels that we want, and only water evaporates, and we add other things like Alk Cal Mag etc to keep parameters where they should be as corals and organisms take these out of the water. If you topped your tank off with pure RODI in FW you would mess up your pH

Ah well FW does make a difference; TDS of of no use then.