Too many bubbles from skimmer...

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

scotteod

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 1, 2006
Messages
22
I have a "Proclear Aquatic Motorized 75" skimmer in my sump/refuge. The skimmer sits in the sump side (with the return pump), and returns water with bubbles back into the refuge side.

My problem is, too many of the bubbles make their way through the bubble trap weir and sponge (that separates the refuge from the sump), and get pumped bank into the display tank.

Anyone come up with an effective (homemade) bubble trap design?
I'm trying to avoid the obvious solution of buying something fancy and expensive that will easily fix the problem once and for all. I'd much rather spend hours agonizing over a complex and quirky retrofit to squeeze into my existing sump/refuge. :lol:

Thanks in advance...
 
A strategically placed tupperware lid works wonders for me. (Between the weir and the return pump, kinda like an unsecured baffle.)
 
I don't have room for a sponge prefilter for my return pump. Its a rio 1700, squeezed in a corner next to the skimmer, facing down to get the inlet as low as possible. I do have room to wedge in a bit more sponge there, and it does help some...

Ideally, I'd like to get rid of all sponges in the return process, so when pods start to flourish in the refuge, they can get drawn back up to the display through the return pump. I don't think that will work with the sponges.

I will mess around with the tupperware lid idea... Why not? I've tried weirder things...

Please keep the ideas coming. Thanks again.
 
I don't think that will work with the sponges.

Yeah. I'd end up cleaning the sponge as a part of regular maintenance and dumping the pods into the tank that were in it. Heck, once you get enuf living in the main in all those nooks and crannies of the rock, maybe it wouldn't be as critical to get them to flow thru your return.

I'd clean the sponge/filter in a bucket. Empty the bucket into a net and drop the ccritters in the main. Those that don't get eaten when they first drop make a bee-line to the rock.


Still wonderin' though if pods don't get killed anyway going thru the pump. I'm sure I don't know enuf about pump construction, but I'd wonder if they didn't get squished coming thru it.

If they do, then I'd try more sponge (to be cleaned every 2 weeks) where you almost have enuf now.
 
Back
Top Bottom