Bubbles in outflow of my Canister Filter. HELP!

[sparky2335r]

I have a plumbed acrylic tank with bulkheads on the back and I'm seeing bubbles coming out of the filter outflow. I checked all plumbing and hoses, no leaks, no kinks, nothing. Could this be from the filter needing a cleaning? Or any other culprits? I'm stumped have never seen this happen before.

 

[Andy Sager]

In order for bubbles to be coming out, there needs to be either an air leak or bubbles going into the filter. If you are positive it's not an air leak ( check the O ring on your canister: whistle, try lowering the intake further under the surface to see if that stops it. Make sure the water level is full inside the canister as well. If your canister hasn't been cleaned in a while, might as well take this opportunity to clean it to see if that was the case. (Canisters needing cleaning usually just run slower, not spit air bubbles.)

Hope this helps.

 

[sparky2335r]

Thanks for the advice Andy! I really appreciate it. My filter intake is about 6" from the bottom of the tank leading into a bulkhead (And I can't move it), but I knew that wasn't the problem. The filter and all my seals seem rock solid, no place for air leaks so I cleaned the filter (including the O ring .) After the cleaning, there was a significant decrease in the bubbles, but still a little bit. The intake was full of crap so I cleaned that as well and re-adjusted the outflow pipe and now it's completely fine. Not sure I exactly pinpointed where the bubbles were coming from, but problem solved and I've got much better flow and surface agitation now. WIN-WIN. I'll keep an eye on things just in case. And my fish are probably happy I'm not rooting around in their tank anymore.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thanks for the advice Andy! I really appreciate it. My filter intake is about 6" from the bottom of the tank leading into a bulkhead (And I can't move it), but I knew that wasn't the problem. The filter and all my seals seem rock solid, no place for air leaks so I cleaned the filter (including the O ring .) After the cleaning, there was a significant decrease in the bubbles, but still a little bit. The intake was full of crap so I cleaned that as well and re-adjusted the outflow pipe and now it's completely fine. Not sure I exactly pinpointed where the bubbles were coming from, but problem solved and I've got much better flow and surface agitation now. WIN-WIN. I'll keep an eye on things just in case. And my fish are probably happy I'm not rooting around in their tank anymore.

Sounds like then the outflow was faster than the intake creating a small air pocket inside the filter and creating the bubbles. If the bubbles don't stop in a day or 2, you might want to consider replacing the filter media inside the filter as it's probably too clogged to let all the water flow through it.