So I just finished my sump with a refugium in the center section so that I don't waste much space. I added what I thought was a large bubble trap on the intake side and another smaller one on the out end, but the flow is pulling the bubbles through. Currently, I am running a 20 gallon tank as the sump and I am pushing around 800 gph through the thing. The only way that I can see the bubble trap working at that flow is to not have a real sump or refugium but a 20 gal bubble trap. So my question is, where can I find information about bubble trap spacing versus flow rate? Also is there a good method for throttling back a pump? I don't really want to do this because I am trying not to have a single powerhead on my entire setup. This is all on a 75 gallon reef setup with about 800 gph flow. Yes, I am turning it over just over 10 times an hours! Of course it all drains very well through a single 1 inch bulkhead.
Sump running, but oh the micro bubbles
- Thread starter down&dirty
- Start date
Flow rate sounds good.. - May even want to up it in the future perhaps..
Looking at it while it's running can you tell what the source of the bubbles is? - From there you can plan out a course of action to eliminate them. (Baffles usually..) In the meantime you can try a sponge to capture them, but just remember to clean it often.
If you CAN'T see the source then look to your fittings to make sure you don't have a leak that's creating a venturi and giving you the bubbles..
I had one that puzzled the crap out of me in my little 30 not too long ago and took quite a while to find. (Had a pocket of air in one of my loc-lines and somehow it must have been able to suck air.. - After knocking it around a little I was able to seal it back up and blow out the bigger portion of the bubble and stopped them.)
Looking at it while it's running can you tell what the source of the bubbles is? - From there you can plan out a course of action to eliminate them. (Baffles usually..) In the meantime you can try a sponge to capture them, but just remember to clean it often.
If you CAN'T see the source then look to your fittings to make sure you don't have a leak that's creating a venturi and giving you the bubbles..
I had one that puzzled the crap out of me in my little 30 not too long ago and took quite a while to find. (Had a pocket of air in one of my loc-lines and somehow it must have been able to suck air.. - After knocking it around a little I was able to seal it back up and blow out the bigger portion of the bubble and stopped them.)
The bubbles are definitly coming from the downpipe from the main tank.
I have hopefully attached an image for you to see my design. Currently there is a bubble trap right after the main tank return. Then there is a second set of baffles to get the last of the bubbles. Unfortunatly, the current is so strong through the bubble trap and baffles that the microbubbles stay suspended in the water instead of going to the surface and popping. I understand that throttling down the pump or adding foam is all that I can do to help this sump, but I didn't spend all the $$$ to have microbubbles making my tank look cloudy. I don't mind rebuilding my sump since I have extra tanks that are empty laying around from my constant moves to larger tanks. I am glad I didn't give these away they are perfect for sumps. I just want to make sure that I don't go through all the effort of rebuilding another sump that doesn't work correctly. With this flow through a 12inch deep tank I think that my bubble traps will need to be atleast 2.5 inches between baffles but that gets rid of the refugium space. Will I really loss out if I cut my flow back to say 600-700 gph to try and combat the current? In this setup I am only expecting to keep some LPS and softies. I will not be adding enough light to keep anything else since school is out in only 16 weeks! Then I can get a real tank.
I have hopefully attached an image for you to see my design. Currently there is a bubble trap right after the main tank return. Then there is a second set of baffles to get the last of the bubbles. Unfortunatly, the current is so strong through the bubble trap and baffles that the microbubbles stay suspended in the water instead of going to the surface and popping. I understand that throttling down the pump or adding foam is all that I can do to help this sump, but I didn't spend all the $$$ to have microbubbles making my tank look cloudy. I don't mind rebuilding my sump since I have extra tanks that are empty laying around from my constant moves to larger tanks. I am glad I didn't give these away they are perfect for sumps. I just want to make sure that I don't go through all the effort of rebuilding another sump that doesn't work correctly. With this flow through a 12inch deep tank I think that my bubble traps will need to be atleast 2.5 inches between baffles but that gets rid of the refugium space. Will I really loss out if I cut my flow back to say 600-700 gph to try and combat the current? In this setup I am only expecting to keep some LPS and softies. I will not be adding enough light to keep anything else since school is out in only 16 weeks! Then I can get a real tank.
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Got a big wad of macro in the 'fuge already?
How about a bag on the end of the overflow drain?
Other than those two (and short of rebuilding) the only thing I can think of is a sponge.
On a rebuild, I'd swap the first two baffles myself. (So that the first one comes down from the top, second comes up from bottom. - This SHOULD force the bubbles that make it into the fuge area to stay higher in the water column and also allow you to expand the length of your 'fuge area....)
How about a bag on the end of the overflow drain?
Other than those two (and short of rebuilding) the only thing I can think of is a sponge.
On a rebuild, I'd swap the first two baffles myself. (So that the first one comes down from the top, second comes up from bottom. - This SHOULD force the bubbles that make it into the fuge area to stay higher in the water column and also allow you to expand the length of your 'fuge area....)
I am running about 3500 gph through my sump and have the same problem. I tried everything - horizontal baffles, vertical baffles, filling my sump with live rock rubble - but nothing worked. But I finally took care of the problem with 32" long 100 micron filter bags. I use 2 of these bags, one on each of the 1.5" drains that bring water to the sump. I get the bags from Custom Aquatics. The bags cost $6-7 and need to be washed every 4-6 days. They should hold up for 3-6 months before needing replacement (they eventaully lose their porosity). I have a bunch of these and change them out as soon as water starts backing out the top. When all of the bags are dirty, I wash them in the washing machine.
FWIW, I talked to several manufacturers of custom sumps and they pretty much acknowldged that in high flow systems, filter bags are the only option for eliminating microbubbles.
FWIW, I talked to several manufacturers of custom sumps and they pretty much acknowldged that in high flow systems, filter bags are the only option for eliminating microbubbles.
Ok, I have added the filter bags and the sponge. My sponge was almost immediatly sucked through because of the current. I guess I should have built with sponge and carbon filter pads in mind. Opps. The filter bag is helping, but I am going to have to reduce to a finer bag. I am also rebuilding the plumbing that brings the water back to the sump. I messed up and put 2 90 degree rights angles to bend the pipe a little and I am changing this to be 2 45s. This should help with the flushing toilet sound also. I am looking into a total rebuild, but I don't want to just trash this and start over, so I am going to go bigger. When in doubt double the size and cross your fingers! I am hoping to sell this one to someone with less flow. I do have a bunch of macro alge in the thing right now, but it is coming out this weekend since I found a better source of alge. This will be my 4th plumbing rebuild since setting up two weeks ago. I guess that Yuengling and on the fly design don't mix extremly well.
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