FISHSTICK
Guest
I used arylic cement to seal the union on my inlet, on a 1/3 hp dolphin amp master, when I had a bubble problem like this. It was shooting out very tiny bubbles, but not anymore.
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How to identify the source of microbubbles in closed a loop? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter boudster
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FISHSTICK
Guest
I bought it from Regal Plastic.
If you epoxy the union on the suction of your closed loop you won't be able to remove the pump.Unless you cut it out. Or are you just covering over your welds?......
You are gonne regret it if you take a short cut here.
Just my .02. I'll be quiet now
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You are gonne regret it if you take a short cut here.
Just my .02. I'll be quiet now
.FISHSTICK
Guest
just cover over the welds.
AquaNerd
Guest
i second kris's thought processes. you really want to do it right the first time around. it would be much more of a hassle to break down the plumbing on an existing/fully setup tank as opposed to a tank you've barely gotten into.
microbubbles can actually do quite a bit of damage in a reef tank. for one, they're ugly and annoying. secondly, microbubbles can cause your light to not penetrate as deeply. now i know your tank is shallow, but the principle still stands. thirdly, and i'm not sure if i'm 100% sold on this thought, but the logic seems good enough, is that excessive bubbles/O2 in the tank can create nitrate problems. i heard this idea in a podcast, and it made sense. follow me for a moment. in aquariums, we have a bacterial balance. populations fluctuate with nutrient load, but for the most part, they are aerobic bacteria. there are anaerobic bacteria that live within deep sand beds that convert nitrate into harmless nitrogen gas. but what happens if you have a large supply of oxygen from bubbles is you are supplying one of the limiting factors that keeps bacterial populations down. these bacteria will convert ammonia to nitrite, and nitrite to nitrate. so, to sum it up, allowing more bubbles/O2 to enter your water column may increase the amount of nitrifying bacteria thereby increasing the amount of nitrate in your tank.
i know there are flaws in this argument, but when i heard it, it kind of made sense. and the person who brought it up was explaining to someone else why we don't use airstones in our tanks like people use in freshwater tanks. again, i know the flaws of this argument and i'm not promoting it necessarily...just saying some possibilities.
microbubbles can actually do quite a bit of damage in a reef tank. for one, they're ugly and annoying. secondly, microbubbles can cause your light to not penetrate as deeply. now i know your tank is shallow, but the principle still stands. thirdly, and i'm not sure if i'm 100% sold on this thought, but the logic seems good enough, is that excessive bubbles/O2 in the tank can create nitrate problems. i heard this idea in a podcast, and it made sense. follow me for a moment. in aquariums, we have a bacterial balance. populations fluctuate with nutrient load, but for the most part, they are aerobic bacteria. there are anaerobic bacteria that live within deep sand beds that convert nitrate into harmless nitrogen gas. but what happens if you have a large supply of oxygen from bubbles is you are supplying one of the limiting factors that keeps bacterial populations down. these bacteria will convert ammonia to nitrite, and nitrite to nitrate. so, to sum it up, allowing more bubbles/O2 to enter your water column may increase the amount of nitrifying bacteria thereby increasing the amount of nitrate in your tank.
i know there are flaws in this argument, but when i heard it, it kind of made sense. and the person who brought it up was explaining to someone else why we don't use airstones in our tanks like people use in freshwater tanks. again, i know the flaws of this argument and i'm not promoting it necessarily...just saying some possibilities.
I don't mind redoing the plumbing, but I'd at least like to uncover the source of the bubbles first to make sure it's not the pump causing them. I just can't seem to find it and it's driving me crazy. So far I have attempted to seal every connection on the suction but haven't noticed any difference. I don't know what else to do. Is there any way it could be the pump, and if so, how could I tell?
Ok, so I'm going to redo the plumbing. I'm going to try to go with plastic tubing where I can since that can eliminate air getting in at joints. I will, however, still have to have some pvc/ball valves, etc, so how can I avoid leaks when connecting these? I was using PVC cement last time....is there something better I should be using, and if so, where do I get it?
Since you are overhauling check all sources of problems.
Open the pump volute.
Vaseline all o-rings in pumps and unions.
No, Pvc cement is the best thing there is. Its not just glue, it melts the pvc together making the best seal possible. Some tips......
Use the cleaner and when you are gluing.
Put extra cement on every weld using a rag to catch it as you make welds.
Rotate the pipe when you make the weld. IE put the glue on, insert the pipe and turn back and forth to be sure of a good contact.
Make sure your cuts are providing full insertion depth on all sockets. [I have a hard time with this]
Open the pump volute.
Vaseline all o-rings in pumps and unions.
No, Pvc cement is the best thing there is. Its not just glue, it melts the pvc together making the best seal possible. Some tips......
Use the cleaner and when you are gluing.
Put extra cement on every weld using a rag to catch it as you make welds.
Rotate the pipe when you make the weld. IE put the glue on, insert the pipe and turn back and forth to be sure of a good contact.
Make sure your cuts are providing full insertion depth on all sockets. [I have a hard time with this]
boogaman
Guest
I put the pvc cement on both ends you are going to glue together. That way you know you got the whole area covered. As Kris stated it will get a little messy.
I also had a snail somehow get sucked into my return line right before the pump that caused microbubbles in the tank. I know this is not the case for you , but thought I would share it.
I also had a snail somehow get sucked into my return line right before the pump that caused microbubbles in the tank. I know this is not the case for you , but thought I would share it.
