Bubbling method to replace skimming?

[arking_mark]

I'm doing a 525xl mixed reef build ~ 108gal and was on the fence on going skimmerless. That way I have enough space in my sump for a refugium and coral frag grow out.

I came across the bubbling method and thought best of both worlds. Run an airstone under my return pump at night and turn the whole tank into a skimmer. As I'm using a roller mat, I figured it would remove the 'skimmate' as it goes over the overflow and into the sump. So no additional cleaning to do. ULM!

It seems that bubbling was popular a couple years ago...and seems to have disappeared.

So would bubbling be able to provide a good alternative to skimming?

 

[HuduVudu]

I'm doing a 525xl mixed reef build ~ 108gal and was on the fence on going skimmerless. That way I have enough space in my sump for a refugium and coral frag grow out.

I came across the bubbling method and thought best of both worlds. Run an airstone under my return pump at night and turn the whole tank into a skimmer. As I'm using a roller mat, I figured it would remove the 'skimmate' as it goes over the overflow and into the sump. So no additional cleaning to do. ULM!

It seems that bubbling was popular a couple years ago...and seems to have disappeared.

So would bubbling be able to provide a good alternative to skimming?

This isn't really skiming because you are not concentrating the bubbles to properly remove the DOCs. Also doing this you are going to create a fine spray over the top of your tank. This is going to create some really irrating salt creep.

There are good reasons not to use a skimmer. If you agree with those reasons then go skimmerless. If you don't agree with those reasons then run a skimmer.

 

[arking_mark]

As I understand it, concentration of the bubbles is used to push up out of the tank and into the cup. I'm suggesting that the removal of DOC will be performed by the mat roller.

I didn't think about the salt spray...

 

[Alchameth]

You have to use superfine air stones, most bubble skimmers use wood ones that algae loves to grow on so you have to replace them fairly frequently. You'd not get any 'concentration' of bubbles to do much other than fill your tank with microbubbles. The flow would prevent any skim from being produced.

 

[arking_mark]

So is the theory that bubbling the tank doesn't bind up and remove DOC?

 

[Alchameth]

So is the theory that bubbling the tank doesn't bind up and remove DOC?

It will, if there are enough bubbles, and they are confined. They make small bubble skimmers for AIO tanks. In this application I don't think it would.

 

[92Miata]

So is the theory that bubbling the tank doesn't bind up and remove DOC?

The density and size of bubbles is going to be nowhere near as good as a skimmer. It may have some effect, but it'll be very minor.

 

[slojim]

If it did, my skimmer would go nuts when I turn on the air pump. I turn it on a few times a week, especially when I am blasting my rocks. I'm hoping it will help float some detritus into the overflow. But my skimmer only responds occasionally - so I'd say that in my tank, it does not really do that function.