Curious case of the bubbly Reefwave

[helmsreef]

I have this issue, I have 2 Reefwave 45's, 1 is great.. never has issues. I have another that does nothing but blow micro bubbles no matter what. I have cleaned it multiple times with vinegar and without fail, will blow bubbles 2 days after I have cleaned it. I have attributed this to a very thin coating of some kind of slime algae. So the weird thing is its only the one Reefwave that does it. My other one that I have has not been cleaned in 3 months, never blew bubbles. I have tried to allow the problematic reefwave run for a longer duration just to see if it will eventually stop, but to no avail. It does not matter where I place it as far as water level, it will blow bubbles 3" down or 8" down. Its obvious that when its closer to the surface my lighting is accelerating whatever algae growth I have on it. My last PAR readings where about 550 where the reefwave runs. (This is on a SPS only system) But the other Reefwave sits at the same height in the water. Its just rather baffling to me that just one gyre will do this. Any thoughts?

 

[blaxsun]

What do you clean it with? Do you perform a complete disassembly?

 

[helmsreef]

What do you clean it with? Do you perform a complete disassembly?

I’ve used vinegar and also citric acid at different times. I usually break them down to all individual components and use a bristle brush to clean each part

 

[blaxsun]

I’ve used vinegar and also citric acid at different times. I usually break them down to all individual components and use a bristle brush to clean each part

Try to avoid white vinegar on any rubber or silicone parts. I've also found that the magnet brackets get "tacky" if left in citric acid too long.