Drain chamber full of bubbles... sock overflowing

[SJMFW]

New tank 1 week. not cycled, no livestock.

drain pipe is approximately 1" below the surface.

Tank is a Planet 120

Single 1" Megaflow Durso, 1" emergency, dual 3/4" returns fed by two Sicce Syncra 3.5 pumps. Both pumps are dialed 1 click above all the way down. Skimmer is not running.

Is this amount of bubbling and sock overflow normal?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

New tank 1 week. not cycled, no livestock.

drain pipe is approximately 1" below the surface.

Tank is a Planet 120

Single 1" Megaflow Durso, 1" emergency, dual 3/4" returns fed by two Sicce Syncra 3.5 pumps. Both pumps are dialed 1 click above all the way down. Skimmer is not running.

Is this amount of bubbling and sock overflow normal?

Feeling like I'm looking at my own post... here is a Grand Prairie "HOWDY" from your DFW neighbor. I'm going to be watching this. In my case my phosphates somehow were almost unreadable by our Hanna Ultra Low Phosphate Tester. Bought my tank used and feel like perhaps some cleaning agent was used... so likely even though your symptom and pipe location are the same, your cause is probably different. I've just taken two back to back water changes (nitrates were just 15 before 1st of 2) just to knock my phosphates back down.

Watching for other's feedback here on bubbles...

 

[FSP]

Are the socks new? A 1" Durso at that flow rate will produce a fair bit of bubbles on its own, and new socks come with a surfactant or something that makes skimmers hyper for a bit.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Are the socks new? A 1" Durso at that flow rate will produce a fair bit of bubbles on its own, and new socks come with a surfactant or something that makes skimmers hyper for a bit.

Plus 1 on this. Any new filter sock if not rinsed first will cause foam or bubbles and also make your skimmer go crazy

 

[SJMFW]

Thanks for the feedback. The socks are new and were not rinsed because everything is new and the tank is uninhabited. The skimmer however is not running yet.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Thanks for the feedback. The socks are new and were not rinsed because everything is new and the tank is uninhabited. The skimmer however is not running yet.

Well there you go problem solved. Make sure to rinse those next time before using

 

[FSP]

Skimmer was just an example. There's enough turbulence in the drain to make bubbles.

 

[SJMFW]

Yeah, replaced the sock with a thoroughly rinsed sock and it still overflows with bubbles. Should I reduce flow by running only a single pump? Are my pumps pushing more water than my drain can handle?

 

[SJMFW]

Or possibly get two smaller pumps?

 

[FSP]

Whatever was in the socks is in the water now so that needs to be replaced or skimmed out if the bubbles are bothersome.

Flow is whatever. If you get excessive salt creep or it's too noisy, you can back off.

 

[SJMFW]

Is a single 1" durso capable of keeping up with the output of two syncra 3.5 pumps?

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

Yup that doesn't look like normally drain bubbles, more like skimate... but seems like you got your answer

 

[FSP]

I'd imagine it could. Isn't it already running like that?

Again, it's the level of noise you're comfortable with.

 

[TheBear78]

Is a single 1" durso capable of keeping up with the output of two syncra 3.5 pumps?















I don't think it would create bubbles if it couldn't, you'd just overfill the DT and drain the sump.

 

[TheBear78]

I don't know why my replies populate the quote box...

 

[homer1475]

What's the overflow box look like? It almost seems to me like you're not purging the air from your siphon line.

Any elbows in the setup?

 

[SJMFW]

 

[SJMFW]

 

[SJMFW]

All changes of direction are 45 degrees. No 90s except for the emergency drain.

 

[homer1475]

Ok you have 2 standpipes, set it up as a herbie, and take all the extra stuff off the main siphon. Your sucking air down the line with the top cap, thats where the air is entering, and causing bubbls in the sump.

Forget how they want you to plumb it, and follow this:

Herbie Overflow Plumbing Guide for Quiet Reef Aquariums - gmacreef

The Herbie method can quiet down your aquarium drain and eliminate microbubbles. The guide includes helpful diagrams and explains each component.

gmacreef.com