micro bubbles GRRRR!

need some help with a DIY

I have tuned my protein skimmer every which way i can, and still manage to pull skim, but i have TONS of micros. the bubbles are immediately sucked over to the intake which is inside a plexi box I built to try trap bubles out.

skimmer is an air injection box type.

my idea to solve this is to put the following in my sump to receive the water out of the skimmer, 6 inch pvc that is piped from the bottom (bottom closed) to the top of a 4 inch pvc that will be notched on the bottom to allow out flow.

my thought process is that it will give the bubbles time to reach the surface while stuck inside the pipe and allow water to flow out.

the other option i am thinking about is routing the outflow from the 4 inch back up thru the bubble trap in the sump to the inlet side this would make any left over bubbles go thru the fuge and give extra time to work out. but i risk reskimming.

has anyone tried this?

i think it sounds good in theory

any thoughts would be great.

 

Do you have any pics?? I just built my sump/fuge & getting zero bubbles on the return...

 

there are bubles in the return side because they come out of the skimmer, which sets in the same well. i have no bubbles from the overflow thru the fuge and to return side.

 

You have your return & skimmer in the same chamber? Hmmmm, have you tried a foam sleeve on the outlet of the skimmer, to trap the air bubbles or even perhaps a foam insert on the return pump. The return should have foam to protect the impeller from damage due to sand & what not.. It also helps against micro bubbles.

You can also try keeping the skimmer outlet as far away as possible from the return. That way it gives it a little time for the bubbles to go to the surface.

 

Put a filter pad of some sort over the outlet for the skimmer. This helps break down the bubbles pretty well. I have had luck with it as have many others. Quick, easy and cheap fix...

 

Can you rearrange a bit? If so you can put your skimmer and downspout from the tank on one side of the sump, the fuge in the middle and the return on the far side. The chaeto and baffles used in the fuge do a great job of getting rid of the microbubbles. I tried using the foam the skimmer came with and it really didn't do that good a job. It helped but not enough to keep the bubbles off my sand.

I set my sump up as a jury rigged fuge using a couple of pieces of undergravel filter cut to fit in the sump, connected them together using the uplift tubes and placed it in the middle of the sump.

I know people say that the flow needs to be really low and a lot of people want to place the fuge before the skimmer so the chaeto has a chance to get the nutrients first. My opinion has been as long as the chaeto is growing (I've had to harvest already and I have only had it setup about 5 weeks) and the skimmer is skimming then it doesn't matter what order the water gets to each part of the filter.

 

I used filterfloss on the baffles in my fuge and some over the return pump intake and it has cut my microbubbles down by like 95%. I get some still, but they just rise to the surface and go away.

 

no room to arrange this differently, and i can't raise the skimmer high enough to pipe back to the inlet end.

The solution i have set upon is this.

This weekend will be my first water change since tank set up.

1. I will drain the inlet and outlet side of the sump. leaving plenty of water in the fug area.

2. i am going to drill a 2" hole in the bubble traps at both ends above the high water line.

3. since my box type has an outlet valve and a pipe anyway i am going to route a pipe back to the inlet side so the water has to flow thru the bubble traps and fuge. my water creeps thru the fuge anyway.and the undisturbed distance the water will travle in the pipe should allow most of the bubbles to float out, the trap should get the rest.

if anyone has any tips for drilling thru glass i would appreciate it.
i would imagine patience during cutting rates right up there

 

the fix

so no room to moove stuff, solution move the water where i need it.

i drilled two holes thru the bubble traps above the water line and routed the output from the skimmer back to the sump inlet. the holes are offset one lower than the other to allow the water to drain freely.

heres some photos.










between the socks and the reroute i now have zero bubbles.

 

I have two (2) Euro-Reef Protein Skimmers. They exit directly back into the sump over a foam sleeve. I have had a micro bubble problem that I could never solve with all the possible solutions already mentioned in this post.
This is what I have done; I put my skimmers on timers that rotate between the light cycles, meaning that when the lights are on the skimmers are off. The micro bubbles are still there, when the lights are off, but I can't see them when the lights are on, so it works for me.