(Micro?)bubbles coming from my new pengiun bio-wheel 170

[flipz]

hey everyone. i had a quick question about what microbubbles were? ive read about them in the marine forum, and they seem to be a bad thing. is it something different than just bubbles?

a week or so ago i got a new pengiun bio-wheel 170 and it seems to have a ton of bubbles. the whole side of the tank that the filter is on is a wall of bubbles down to the bottom. they aren't actually stuck to the side, just that the current is pushing them down. they just seem to float right back to the top, and don't actually stick to anything other than the heater which is right next to the filter. i have my water line about 1/2 inch below the "drop off" where the water flows out, so it does have a kind of "water fall" action. i keep it kind of low because my black fin shark likes to jump.

ive never really worried about it until today because i fed my puffer a cricket for the first time and it kept getting stuck in the bubbles, and he was sitting there munching on it, and kept swallowing bubbles. and then he would just kind of burp them up. but i was afraid they were bad. should i do something about the bubbles or are they ok? thanks in advance

-brent

 

[Bearfan]

Not a big deal in FW, actually kind of good unless your tank is planted.

 

[flipz]

It's brackish so not completely FW, but close enough I suppose. But no, not planted at all. So it seems I'm ok. Thanks bearfan!

 

[Menagerie]

It should be fine. That sounds like a lot of bubbles, perhaps over time, this will decrease.

 

[xray]

That just hits my funny bone. Burping fish! Do they excuse themselves
Sorry.
I'm glad your fish are OK.

 

[William]

1) Have you checked your impeller to see if its seated propperly?

2) Is the water level grossly below the filter output?

 

[Overstocker]

Add water to your tank and get it up to the "drop off" then the bubbles will go away. They don't hurt anything but do take away from the appearance...imho

 

[flipz]

Honestly, I don't know what it is about it but I almost like the bubbles. I think they make the tank look very natural... or something. I don't know. haha.

I have checked over the filter and everything seems to be working perfectly fine. The water flow is good, and it sucks up anything that's near the intake tube.

The water is about 1/2 inch below the drop off. im sure filling it up would help. i just wanted to make sure these weren't bad.

-brent