armymedic October 29, 2010 Share October 29, 2010 My tank is running great. i have some pics, but i also have a bunch of tiny air looking bubbles in the top of my tank. I am in the phase now of trying to get rid of them, and get my water to be as clear as possible. Any receommendations?? thx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iangibby October 29, 2010 Share October 29, 2010 Can you tell if they are coming from the return nozzle from the sump? Or do you have any HOB equipment? If you happen to have a seaclone hob, the pump can leak those annoying bubbles!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad October 29, 2010 Share October 29, 2010 Did you end up getting that airstone driven skimmer from silverspringnano? If so, there is a reasonable chance that is the culprit. But, it could also be low water lever, a powerhead pulling air, or a bunch of other sources. Have you detailed your equipment anywhere, now might be a good time to do it so we can help pinpoint the issue. Usually small bubbles are a simple fix (although finding the source can be tricky sometimes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic October 30, 2010 Author Share October 30, 2010 Ive got the 2 skimmers but neither one is in operation yet. I am trying to doing one thing at a time so not to shock anything. How do i add my info at the bottom of the page like some folks? i guess i could add it there. i have pictures of everything in my tank in my gallery. can folks just look at my gallery or do i have to send it to them ??? it does appear they are coming from a powerhead. the right one i believe. the water is complete full on the back of the tank up to the point that there isnt much seperation from channel to channel. just a few inches, so i dont think its that. I guess i could take the power head apart and clean it???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B216adkins November 1, 2010 Share November 1, 2010 Ive got the 2 skimmers but neither one is in operation yet. I am trying to doing one thing at a time so not to shock anything. How do i add my info at the bottom of the page like some folks? i guess i could add it there. i have pictures of everything in my tank in my gallery. can folks just look at my gallery or do i have to send it to them ??? it does appear they are coming from a powerhead. the right one i believe. the water is complete full on the back of the tank up to the point that there isnt much seperation from channel to channel. just a few inches, so i dont think its that. I guess i could take the power head apart and clean it???? hey do you have any pictures? I would like to see some pictures because we both started at the same time and my tank is complete. Srry to change the topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 November 1, 2010 Share November 1, 2010 If you got your power heads used, it might be a good idea to take them apart and clean them up really good. It could also be stuff getting sucked into the power head, but that shouldn't cause a steady flow of bubbles. If the power heads are spankin-new, then they may just need some time to break in. A week should be more than enough, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic November 2, 2010 Author Share November 2, 2010 hey do you have any pictures? I would like to see some pictures because we both started at the same time and my tank is complete. Srry to change the topic Hey brandon, i sure do have some pics. They are in my gallery and in photobucket. I am not sure how or if you can get to my gallery. I will post something to find out. I tried to pull up yours to see if you had pics in there but i didnt see anything. have you uploaded any yet to your gallery? By the way i picked up about 4-5 really nice frags at the meeting. Its really cool to meet alot of these folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic November 2, 2010 Author Share November 2, 2010 If you got your power heads used, it might be a good idea to take them apart and clean them up really good. It could also be stuff getting sucked into the power head, but that shouldn't cause a steady flow of bubbles. If the power heads are spankin-new, then they may just need some time to break in. A week should be more than enough, imo. And thanks Int. Theres not much invovled with the dynamics of the powerheads as far as i am getting quite a few air bubbles from both powerheads on both sides, so i guess i will just take them both apart and clean them to at least eliminate them from the equation. The air bubbles are coming from them, but i suspect they it might be from too much aeration prior to entering the powerheads?? I was hoping it would just work its way out in a week or so, but nada! time to start the investigating process.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B216adkins November 2, 2010 Share November 2, 2010 To look at my pics you have to look at the forum titled " tank is complete" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 November 3, 2010 Share November 3, 2010 I've never heard of too much aeration. I suspect cavitation is the cause of the bubbles. Basically, if the pressure inside the power head drops below the vaporization level, then the dissolved gasses in the water will precipitate out as bubbles. This can happen briefly when a object gets sucked into the power head or can be steady if the impeller is sufficiently blocked or spinning incorrectly by either oscillating along it's axis of rotation or wobbling around it. A good cleaning should do the trick. If not, then either a new impeller or new power heads are in order. If it's wobbling or oscillating it will usually make some kind of a noise as the impeller strikes the side walls around it. Sometimes rotating or shaking the power head around a bit will fix it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavitation btw. When you are cleaning the impeller, check the blades for damage. A chipped or cracked blade will unbalance the impeller and cause it to wobble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami November 3, 2010 Share November 3, 2010 Wes, is the powerhead in question completely under water? If not, is the pump volute completely under water? How large are the bubbles that we're talking about here? Is any part of the pump above the water line? If so, what parts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k November 3, 2010 Share November 3, 2010 Army Medic- If your powerheads are too close to the top of the water surface, they can suck surface air and inject bubbles into the water column. This will be apparent if there are little vortices above the powerhead. (looks like whirlpools) As far as the information that you see at the bottom of peoples' screens, that is from using an Aquacontroller and having it hooked up to the net to get real time status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecsavi November 4, 2010 Share November 4, 2010 +1 On the power heads sucking air from the water surface. Mine do it if I forget to top off my water level. Try putting them lower in the tank and see if it resolves the issue. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory November 4, 2010 Share November 4, 2010 I have been trying to figure my tiny bubbles out for some time now. I figured there was no way it was coming from the return pump because it's completely submerged. Thanks everyone for all this info. I can't wait to get off work tomorrow and get rid of these darn bubbles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic November 6, 2010 Author Share November 6, 2010 The powerheads are 2-4 inches below the top of the water level in each chamber. I dont think its that. I am trying to get rid of my red aglae and not too concerned with the bubbles at this point, however, i am looking at them right now in the tank and i just topped off the tank so it is not the water level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 November 6, 2010 Share November 6, 2010 how about a picture? any bubbles from the aquafuge return? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic November 6, 2010 Author Share November 6, 2010 (edited) i will put one on, i just did a huge water change to try to help with the red algae problem. Once the tank clears up i will take a pic. I just filed it up all the way to the top and there are still small particles (air bubbles??) floating around in the top. and yes i do have a HOB fuge. But these bubbles were coming out before i even added the fuge. it appears to be coming from the 2 returns of the powerheads. Edited November 6, 2010 by armymedic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory November 7, 2010 Share November 7, 2010 Wow, thanks again everyone for tips on cleaning my powerheads. It totally worked for me. Well, kind of. The back chambers of my AIO tank had so much gunk built up that was never moving around with my previously week powerhead that suddenly made it into the front. It's all settling down now I think. I'm kind of blown away by how much better they're working though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic November 7, 2010 Author Share November 7, 2010 So you just took out the powerheads and cleaned them and they were better? how long had they been running? here is a pic of my bubbles that i have, i call them bubbles but i am not sure exactly what they are. I just know under the MH lights they look like do do!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Bory November 7, 2010 Share November 7, 2010 My pumps had been running for only a few months, but I've had a real algae problem lately. It really was easy. Even if it doesn't solve your problem, they've got to be cleaned anyways. I don't think it can hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad November 7, 2010 Share November 7, 2010 ^ that almost looks like something is in the water, like hair or something. Does it look cylindrical like that in person or is that a camera exposure effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic November 7, 2010 Author Share November 7, 2010 (edited) exposure thing. they are the size of tiny bubbles....this makes it look longer but thats just because i cant take a very good pic..lol similiar to this one a few weeks back, but just not as much. Edited November 7, 2010 by armymedic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 November 8, 2010 Share November 8, 2010 wow, that is a lot of bubbles. If it's not a power head cleaning problem, i bet your skimmer is the culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymedic November 8, 2010 Author Share November 8, 2010 Lol. I have no skimmer on the tank!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad November 8, 2010 Share November 8, 2010 Intesting exposure effect! How are the bubbles doing? Has anytihng you have done worked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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