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Thread: MicroBubbles

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    usa
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    MicroBubbles

    Help!
    I am setting up a new tank with a basic vertical scrubber built over the top of the tank. The scrubber is 3.5"X27" on a 47 gallon tank. 600 gallons of water is pumped up 1' to a 3/4" pipe feeding the vertical screen which drains into a tray with about 1/2" of standing water in the bottom with a 1 1/2" pipe draining back into the tank the same 1' distance back down. I am getting a serious case of micro bubbles from the water coming back into the tank. I've tried a few different pvc overflow designs consisting of a few elbows etc and nothing seems to solve the problem. I have this planned as the only filtration for the tank (no Sump). Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone know of a fix? the tank has been running for about 5 hours now and the bubbles just fill the whole tank. I had a reef tank previously with a horizontal scrubber in a sump but didn't have this issue. I'm assuming the problem is the water coming down too fast into the tank. would some airline tubing in the overflow help? will the bubble go away in time as the tank seasons? Any help would be soooo much appreciated.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    9

    Re: MicroBubbles

    I've got a totally different setup than you, but also have a serious microbubble problem. I have a bucket design, and had the pump in the bucket. I have limited space in my cabinet, and decided to hookup a second bucket, with bulkheads and a pipe between them, and the pump in the second bucket. Hoped that the bubbles would disappate in the second bucket. No luck. It seems a bit better than it was, but not good.

    I put some bonded filter pad in the second bucket, basically forming a wall for the water to go through. That eliminates the bubbles a lot, but not perfect.

    You might want to try bonded filter pad, BUT I do not know if that would trap the copepods from the scrubber. Does anyone know if it would?

  3. #3

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    57

    Re: MicroBubbles

    If it is an overhead design. you can run a pipe down into the tank from the tray so that it is in the water. if you have sufficient flow it will raise the water level in the tray slightly and perform full pipe flow as opposed to partial pipe flow which is sucking air in with it. kinda like the last bit in the bath tub. You could try putting a restriction on the end of the pipe to cause it to do this like a strainer etc. it will raise the height of the water in the tray and give it full pipe flow.

    As for the bucket design where its acting like a sump. You could use a couple of baffles and use it as a bubble trap. Otherwise in the second bucket you could use a few pieces of the scrubber screen with a small gap to disperse all the bubbles. otherwise you will need baffles in the second bucket. Baffles also allow you to keep precise control on water level in the tank by adjusting the water height of the last chamber.

  4. #4
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    Re: MicroBubbles

    Any mechanical filter will remove pods and collect waste, and thus increase nutrients. Try this;


  5. #5

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    Jan 2011
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    usa
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    Re: MicroBubbles

    Thank you so much for the reply - I will definitely give this a try.

  6. #6

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    Jan 2011
    Location
    usa
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    Re: MicroBubbles

    Does anyone know why the pipe has to be mostly submerged? Will it work if its above the water - mostly regarding the horizontal version in the graphic. Also, I am using a 1.5" bulkhead that drains directly to the tank and its a bit noisy as the water goes through. I don't have the depth in the scrubber tray to install something like a durso standpipe as my screen runs over top of the bulkhead. I could remove some screen but I still don't want the standing water to be over a half inch. Anyone have this issue or know how to quit it down.

    Thanks again for all the help.

  7. #7
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    Oct 2008
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    Re: MicroBubbles

    If you can't go deep, you have to go wide, like a big open pan. This slows down the flow and allows the bubbles to rise.

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