return plumbing help

[amf82380]

I have a 46 gal bow front and I am using an external over flow box with a mag 5 return pump in a amrical sump and I am getting alot of micro bubbles in the display from the return line I have done everything I can think of to prevent it but nothing seems to help I have taken the return line out and made a new one fearing it wasnt sealed well with no luck I put a foam block where the water enteres the return chamber still nothing I even put a foam filter on the drain end where the water enteres the sump and I am still getting them even taken the pump apart to clean it thinking something got sucked up inside of it and it was causing air bubbles to be formed but no such luck but its getting on my nerves cause I have the micro bubble stuck on everything tank walls and everything else so please help

Aaron

 

[rbursek]

FWIW it may not be a plumbing/pump problem at all, I get bubbles in my tank at times, I think it is gases formed in the tank substrate, because at times it is on top of my sand.

 

[Len]

How old is this tank. Newer tanks usually have bubbles galore.

Most bubble is from either the skimmer or the overflow IMO. Foam doesn't really reduce bubbles for me. I need a lot of baffles to reduce my microbubbles.

 

[amf82380]

the tank has been running with the over flow set up since january and its not like the bubbles come and go their there all the time I just changed things around and used an old 10gal tank I had laying around so Im going to give that a chance there seems to be less bubbles already I think cause things are a little further spaced out instead of being ontop of one another like they were in the old sump and I put a foam prefilter on the return pump so lets see if that maks a diffrence I think my sump looks pretty orginized now comepare to some drawers that are in my house lol I am a neat freak I hate disorginization and things like that lol

Aaron

 

[Len]

Ah. Spaced out is very important. Use baffles as well. Sponges don't have much ability to reduce bubbles. I particularly don't like sponges on the return pump The reason is they will trap air in themselves and get sucked up into the pump, which will dice them the bubbles up into tiny bubbles. However, sponges closer to the drain side is okay as the big trapped bubbles will just float to the top and pop.

 

[amf82380]

well luckly the foam filter I have on the return pump will also fit the drain plumbing side so I might just swap it over I also have the end of the drain line sumerged under water this way hopfully it will help elminiate some of the bubbles caused from there. So I will swap that prefilter over and see how that works I dont have any baffles in the 10 gallon as of now but once I get some matieral I will also add some of them which will work out pretty good because then I will be able to add a fuge to my setup right in there that way I dont have to worry about plumbing another tank into the system also.

Aaron