Air getting into pump, don't know how

[FearTheDentist]

Hello- this is my first post and I'm new to salwater aquariums, so go easy on me

I purchased an established 110 gal saltwater aquarium 2 weeks ago. Moving it was challenging, but went smoothly, no problems geting it set back up and the residents have done prety well.

Last week I was doing a water change and I must have bumped the hose to the pump on the protien skimmer, because it popped off and I had water spraying everywhere (the pump outlet was pointing straight up!). After I got it shut off and the mess cleaned up I decided to re-plumb the whole thing as I really lost confidence in the existing setup after that incident (no hose clamps were used at all and the whole setup was pretty sloppy looking).

So- now it's re-plumbed and much less cluttered, and every connection has a hose clamp. BUT, I am going crazy trying to figure out how air bubbles are getting into the system. The water pumped back into the tank is very cloudy there are so many very fine air bubbles in it, and it really spoils the look of the tank (may be harmful as well, not sure). From reading online it sounds like I have a very small leak on the input side of the pump that is allowing air into the system, but I've rebuilt it twice now with no improvement.

What else could it be? Are there seals on the pump that can go bad and cause this sort of behavior?

Thanks!

[dskidmore]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice!

Could you describe a bit more about your setup?

Do you have:
a sump?
a wet-dry?
an in-sump or hang-on-back skimmer?
a seperate pump for your skimmer?
bubble baffles?
bubble sponge?

Skimmers naturally produce lots of bubbles. You may be able to use the adjustments on your skimmer to reduce bubbles, or place some sort of bubble trap (baffles or sponge) after the skimmer to remove bubbles.

[roka64]

WELCOME TO AA!!!

I don't own a skimmer, so I will let the experienced folks step in. If you update "my info" with tank size/equip/critters that would help us all.