swilliams2207
Non-member
Hi All,
My tank has been running since NOV 2023 and I've had a persistent microbubble issue. These microbubbles are very faint and can only be seen if you look at the tank closely. There seem to be thousands of them and it's preventing my water from appearing crystal clear. The average person may not notice them but there is enough of them to make things look off to me.
Some notes to clear up any initial questions:
1. There is no skimmer running on this tank so it's not from that. I have one but it's been off for 2 months.
2. I don't have any plumbing leaks - everything feels dry.
3. The microbubble issue has been persistent since day 1.
4. I'm running 2 separate returns. A Vectra L2 (bought second hand) as the main return and Reef Oct Varios 2 (for UV return). My L2 runs at 25% and my V2 runs at roughly 75%.
5. My tank is a 150 cube with a basic 40 breeder sump. I run a Reefmat 1000 and have 1 return baffle before the return pumps. I have tried adding large sponges under the reef mat and in between my return baffle but nothing seems to help.
6. I have my return pump turned down to 20% (slightly helped) at the moment however I still have plenty of bubbles. If I ramp the pump up further to 30-50%, the bubbles get much worse.
7. My return section is not super high but I don't have any pump slurping or vortex forming.
8. I gave 1.5-inch drains and 1-inch returns to jumbo 1 inch loc line from VCA.
9. Not getting any vortex or slurping from the returns/loc-line. Could these being exposed above water cause bubbles?
10. Running 2 mp40s at 30%.
11. My e-drain goes into my return section and occasionally trickles but I can't imagine this being the culprit.
I have attached pics of my sump and return for feedback. Is there any chance my pump is too powerful and causing issues? Is my sump too small? Do I need more baffles? I added a large block of foam that spans the width and height of the sump the other day as a temporary 2nd baffle. This appeared to do nothing. The sump appears to have the same very tiny microbubbles, although they're difficult to see. If you look with a flashlight at night you can see them all more easily. Same with the display.
My last tank was crystal clear and appeared as if there was no water in it at times. I'm not sure where to start or how to continue to tinker with it. I hope I don't have unrealistic expectations but I don't think this is the norm in terms of tank clarity.
Here is a video of the bubbles: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c9jm...8611.mov?rlkey=y7g59dftvlcl9fj6vyaztpuah&dl=0
EDIT. With the whites on and all pumps off, it also looks like I have lots of fleks of white particulate. So hard to tell if these are bubbles or white little fuzzy things. As mentioned, I run a reef mat. How are these things not being filtered out?
My tank has been running since NOV 2023 and I've had a persistent microbubble issue. These microbubbles are very faint and can only be seen if you look at the tank closely. There seem to be thousands of them and it's preventing my water from appearing crystal clear. The average person may not notice them but there is enough of them to make things look off to me.
Some notes to clear up any initial questions:
1. There is no skimmer running on this tank so it's not from that. I have one but it's been off for 2 months.
2. I don't have any plumbing leaks - everything feels dry.
3. The microbubble issue has been persistent since day 1.
4. I'm running 2 separate returns. A Vectra L2 (bought second hand) as the main return and Reef Oct Varios 2 (for UV return). My L2 runs at 25% and my V2 runs at roughly 75%.
5. My tank is a 150 cube with a basic 40 breeder sump. I run a Reefmat 1000 and have 1 return baffle before the return pumps. I have tried adding large sponges under the reef mat and in between my return baffle but nothing seems to help.
6. I have my return pump turned down to 20% (slightly helped) at the moment however I still have plenty of bubbles. If I ramp the pump up further to 30-50%, the bubbles get much worse.
7. My return section is not super high but I don't have any pump slurping or vortex forming.
8. I gave 1.5-inch drains and 1-inch returns to jumbo 1 inch loc line from VCA.
9. Not getting any vortex or slurping from the returns/loc-line. Could these being exposed above water cause bubbles?
10. Running 2 mp40s at 30%.
11. My e-drain goes into my return section and occasionally trickles but I can't imagine this being the culprit.
I have attached pics of my sump and return for feedback. Is there any chance my pump is too powerful and causing issues? Is my sump too small? Do I need more baffles? I added a large block of foam that spans the width and height of the sump the other day as a temporary 2nd baffle. This appeared to do nothing. The sump appears to have the same very tiny microbubbles, although they're difficult to see. If you look with a flashlight at night you can see them all more easily. Same with the display.
My last tank was crystal clear and appeared as if there was no water in it at times. I'm not sure where to start or how to continue to tinker with it. I hope I don't have unrealistic expectations but I don't think this is the norm in terms of tank clarity.
Here is a video of the bubbles: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c9jm...8611.mov?rlkey=y7g59dftvlcl9fj6vyaztpuah&dl=0
EDIT. With the whites on and all pumps off, it also looks like I have lots of fleks of white particulate. So hard to tell if these are bubbles or white little fuzzy things. As mentioned, I run a reef mat. How are these things not being filtered out?
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