Tiny bubbles, in my tank

Jansin · 12-14-2002, 03:57 PM

Ok, had this great reef going with just a filter and overflo, and decided it was time to add a sump and protien skimmer. After my husband listened to me about how to do it (I wasn't allowed to do it, "I was going to do it wrong") and he decided to do the research, and decided how to do it all from a website. Three days later after I lost 3/4 of my stock due to the fact everything was stuffed into a 30 gal. tank (from a 75 gal. ) on the floor. The heater kept going on and off and the airation was too strong. I now have the setup done. I've adjusted things so it's doing pretty good, the only problem is I have tiny bubbles coming out of the spray bar. I have no leaks, from the skimmer to the outake chamber and there is another filter, the water going into the return is calm. The only thing I can think of that is causing the bubbles is the return pump. It is an Iwaki 30 RXLT. Is there a way to bleed this? I know I'm not going to be able to stock my tank again until this problem is solved. Any suggestions will greatly be appreciated.

Janis

SAT · 12-14-2002, 05:21 PM

Jansin, Welcome to TRT!

If the air is actually bleeding from inside the pump, you should take the pump back. That shouldn't happen.

Before you do that, let's make sure the pump is the problem. The Iwaki will suck pretty hard on its intake, so any tiny little holes in your fittings will allow air to bleed in... even holes that are too small to detect with a water leak test. Suggestion: remove the water from the pipes, seal the ends, pressurize it using an air pump, then apply a soapy solution to all your joints. If there's a leak you should see bubbles.

I'm assuming, by the way, that you have eliminated the possibility of bubbles escaping from the skimmer.

Doug1 · 12-14-2002, 05:21 PM

maybe its sucking a little air somehere in the intake side of the line going to the pump

BTW WELCOME to The REEFTANK

kali22 · 01-20-2004, 09:09 PM

hi jansin, just wondering if you ever solved this problem. i have the same pump and the same problem and the bubbles are not coming from the skimmer. thx!