Tiny bubbles everywhere

[virginreef]

Hey fellow reefers,

so after 3 months of tank modifications, I am finally cycling my tank. I decided to go with a rushed acclimation process, which required me to shut my skimmer off for 47 hours.
today I cut my skimmer back on and now I have these tiny bubbles all throughout the display portion of my tank.
Will these bubbles eventually resolve on its own... if not, how do I get rid of them?

 

[andrewey]

Have you run the skimmer before without bubbles? Is it a new skimmer and how long had it been running for before hand? Lastly, is this a HOB skimmer or located in the sump and if it's in the sump, are there any baffles between the skimmer and your return pump?

 

[virginreef]

Have you run the skimmer before without bubbles? Is it a new skimmer and how long had it been running for before hand? Lastly, is this a HOB skimmer or located in the sump and if it's in the sump, are there any baffles between the skimmer and your return pump?

yes the tank was finally set up on Tuesday of this week... I started acclimation on Thursday and turned my skimmer off. Before then, for two days, the skimmer ran with no tiny bubbles.
The skimmer is a EShopps S120, brand new, never used before Tuesday. The skimmer is located in my sump. By Baffles do you mean dividers? There is one divider.

 

[andrewey]

Yes, dividers=baffles. So the water enters the compartment pictured, goes down and up (through the black filter foam) and back into the chamber with the return pump?

In any event, the bubbles should go away on their own. Skimmers usually leak micro bubbles during their break in period and it wouldn't be uncommon for it to last days/weeks until it settles in. If this is still going on, it could be due to the setup of your sump, but before you go out and change anything or change your bubble trap up, I would let it run for a couple days/weeks more and you should see the bubbles taper off until they dissapear completely.

 

[Neoalchemist]

If the water level in the skimmer section varies you will have problems dialing the skimmer in. The water level must be the same all of the time.
If the skimmer ran b4 without bubbles it should clear up.
Try to shut the gate valve a little bit at a time to see if you can get it clear again.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I think that skimmer needs to be submerged a bit more. Tiny bubbles can make it threw filter pads, so want to trap as much as you can in the skimmer.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Sometimes tiny bubbles are part of the break in period

 

[virginreef]

Yes, dividers=baffles. So the water enters the compartment pictured, goes down and up (through the black filter foam) and back into the chamber with the return pump?

In any event, the bubbles should go away on their own. Skimmers usually leak micro bubbles during their break in period and it wouldn't be uncommon for it to last days/weeks until it settles in. If this is still going on, it could be due to the setup of your sump, but before you go out and change anything or change your bubble trap up, I would let it run for a couple days/weeks more and you should see the bubbles taper off until they dissapear completely.

Yes, that is how my sump flow... and yes I will wait for a week or two before making any changes needed.
I do have another problem... I added 3tsp of PH booster and my Salinity dropped significantly. My tank is 50g, it’s one tsp per 20 gallons. I added the sump volume as well which is why I added more than 2tsps. Should I do a water change.

 

[virginreef]

If the water level in the skimmer section varies you will have problems dialing the skimmer in. The water level must be the same all of the time.
If the skimmer ran b4 without bubbles it should clear up.
Try to shut the gate valve a little bit at a time to see if you can get it clear again.

Interesting... wachse I do here the water more up top... however my ATO should have come on by now. Maybe the evaporation is the problem. The gate valve is pretty low, but I can turn it Some more

 

[andrewey]

I personally wouldn't recommend using ph booster. You'll find some that do, but in my experience it causes way more problems then it fixes. Properly mixed saltwater should get you in the range of ph that you need. If you want to increase it, you're going to need to increase your aeration (to drive off CO2) via either a powerhead pointed at the surface, airing out the room/house the tank is in, running the air intake line for the skimmer outdoors, using a CO2 scrubber, or nothing at all. I wouldn't chase a number personally and I really don't like those products. If you want a technical reason why those products aren't ideal for a reef tank, Randy Holmes Farley has written extensively about them/pH in the reef aquaria.

 

[Neoalchemist]

Interesting... wachse I do here the water more up top... however my ATO should have come on by now. Maybe the evaporation is the problem. The gate valve is pretty low, but I can turn it Some more

Can you post a pic of your whole sump?

 

[virginreef]

Can you post a pic of your whole sump?

The best views I can get

 

[Spieg]

I think that skimmer needs to be submerged a bit more. Tiny bubbles can make it threw filter pads, so want to trap as much as you can in the skimmer.

Eshopps says water depth needs to be 7-9", so I'd shoot for 8" (measured from bottom of skimmer to the water surface in sump). As stated, consistent depth is very important (1/8" variation might require adjusting the skimmer). Also, salinity level will affect the way bubbles are formed.
EDIT -
Is that float valve in the skimmer section for an ATO? If so, I think it should be in the section with the return pump.

 

[virginreef]

Eshopps says water depth needs to be 7-9", so I'd shoot for 8" (measured from bottom of skimmer to the water surface in sump). As stated, consistent depth is very important (1/8" variation might require adjusting the skimmer). Also, salinity level will affect the way bubbles are formed.
EDIT -
Is that float valve in the skimmer section for an ATO? If so, I think it should be in the section with the return pump.

Yes the float valve is the ATO and I couldn’t fit it in the return session... I can try again however. Should I place the probes in the skimmer compartment?

 

[Spieg]

ATO sensor (a float in your case) needs to be in the return section because that is where the water level will drop as water evaporates from the system. If water level gets low there it will suck air into the return pump and cause bubbles in the tank. If your float wont fit there, you may need to get a different ATO with smaller sensor (Tunze for example has pretty compact optical sensor).

 

[virginreef]

ATO sensor (a float in your case) needs to be in the return section because that is where the water level will drop as water evaporates from the system. If water level gets low there it will suck air into the return and cause bubbles in the tank. If yours wont fit there, you may need to get a different ATO with smaller sensor (Tunze for example has pretty compact optical sensor).

Tracking... I manage to fit it in there and placed the probes in the skimmer section. I also removed the blacks from the skimmer bottom so that the skimmer can summer get 8’ in the water. But now the skimmer cup is filling up way too fast and the valve is closed as much as I could get it... thoughts on what I should do next?

 

[Spieg]

The bottom of skimmer is 8" below the water level? Hard to judge size by photos... Is the skimmer pump adjustable? Or is the air inlet adjustable? If not you may need to raise the skimmer up to 7" of depth. Also, is your salinity at 1.025 - 1.026?

 

[virginreef]

The bottom of skimmer is 8" below the water level? Hard to judge size by photos... Is the skimmer pump adjustable? Or is the air inlet adjustable? If not you may need to raise the skimmer up to 7" of depth. Also, is your salinity at 1.025 - 1.026?

It’s about 71/2” below ... the air inlet is adjustmable, which is what I have turned down to it’s lowest part

 

[Spieg]

Okay, so I think we may not be using the same terminology. In doing some research on the S-120, it appears that the skimmer pump is not adjustable so not any control to be done there. I also don't see any means to adjust air intake. When you say you are adjusting the air, are you turning the knob on the right in this image? If so, that is not the air intake, that knob controls the water level in the skimmer. If you have not already done so, you want to adjust that knob to open the valve so the water level is at the lowest level it can be inside the skimmer. If it already is, then you can only raise the skimmer in the sump to the minimum level that Eshops recommends (7"). You may also be able to install some sort of valve on the silencer (on the left in this image) to reduce the amount of air being drawn into the skimmer (many skimmers come with a control installed here but your's does not seem to have one). As someone already stated, there is a bit of a break in period for skimmers so it may calm down some once it builds a film layer inside the skimmer which effectively pops some of the bubbles in the skimmer neck and reduce the amount of skimmate flowing up into the collection cup.

 

[virginreef]

Okay, so I think we may not be using the same terminology. In doing some research on the S-120, it appears that the skimmer pump is not adjustable so not any control to be done there. I also don't see any means to adjust air intake. When you say you are adjusting the air, are you turning the knob on the right in this image? If so, that is not the air intake, that knob controls the water level in the skimmer. If you have not already done so, you want to adjust that knob to open the valve so the water level is at the lowest level it can be inside the skimmer. If it already is, then you can only raise the skimmer in the sump to the minimum level that Eshops recommends (7"). You may also be able to install some sort of valve on the silencer (on the left in this image) to reduce the amount of air being drawn into the skimmer (many skimmers come with a control installed here but your's does not seem to have one). As someone already stated, there is a bit of a break in period for skimmers so it may calm down some once it builds a film layer inside the skimmer which effectively pops some of the bubbles in the skimmer neck and reduce the amount of skimmate flowing up into the collection cup.

Tracking... so yes the valve on the right is turn all the way open... I ended up putting two bio Lux logs underneath and it did in fact slow down some. But the tiny bubbles in the display are still ramped up. My current levels are moving in the positive... ORP is still an issue but my salinity is back up. Still need to elevate my PH... would you suggest me doing to 10-15 percent water change?