I have a ATS that sits maybe 2 feet above my display. The drain from the ATS goes straight into the display and I'm getting a lot of bubbles from it. Someone suggested adding a tee to the drain to let the air out. Does that section have to be higher than the ATS water level? Or can it just be higher than the display water level? I'm using 1" pvc for the drain. See the attached image for a better idea of what I'm talking about.
Getting rid of bubbles
- Thread starter Poonaka
- Start date
That's my plan if I can't get rid of the bubbles. I'm draining it into the display right now because it's a good way to get pods.
TylerHaworth
Active Member
Being two feet above your display, the velocity of the water entering the display tank is what I would guess is causing the bubbles.
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The drain is 1" under water in the display tank. So it's pulling air from the ATS and creating bubbles. The ATS has a 1" drain on it to prevent flooding. There's no valve on the drain as I've always read that was a huge no no.
TylerHaworth
Active Member
Water velocity is hurting you here, you need to figure out a way to make the water enter the DT in a gentle manner, rather than a straight dump, perhaps by using a piece of flexible tubing to make the water enter at a more gentle angle and having part/all of the drain tube right on top of your water line.
I'll give that a shot. Thanks for the help.
TylerHaworth
Active Member
I know it's really ugly, but this oughtta get my idea across...
I have a similar issue now that I redid all of my plumbing today - also using 1" drain line. The pump in my refugium is pumping up a lot faster than the original did and the drain water back into the fuge is creating a lot of bubbles... from regular size, big and even the teeny tiny ones that take away from the clearness of the display tank. I've put angled joints at the end of the line to create an actual right angle on the line with additional flexible hose from there further down into the fuge to slow the water down.
My original design from 7 years ago when I did the plumbing the first time was at the end of the drain line... I had a 1" diameter pvp pipe that was about 5" long with holes drilled into the bottom of it. The pipe make a right angle at the tank surface to be parallel with the top of the water. I may end up going back to that if I can't get this new design to work.. but at this point, it's creating enough bubbles to actually get past all of the baffles in my fuge. If you could find a way of drilling holes in pvp pipe and having it in your display tank while making it look nice... it might be worth a shot.
I haven't tried this yet and actually just thought of it while typing this. Since we're using 1" diameter drain line, the odds of it ever completely filling are slim. I wonder if drilling the regular holes on the bottom to release water into the tank and smaller holes on the top to help release air.
I could be completely off base with all of this, but thought I would throw out a couple thoughts that hadn't been mentioned yet
My original design from 7 years ago when I did the plumbing the first time was at the end of the drain line... I had a 1" diameter pvp pipe that was about 5" long with holes drilled into the bottom of it. The pipe make a right angle at the tank surface to be parallel with the top of the water. I may end up going back to that if I can't get this new design to work.. but at this point, it's creating enough bubbles to actually get past all of the baffles in my fuge. If you could find a way of drilling holes in pvp pipe and having it in your display tank while making it look nice... it might be worth a shot.
I haven't tried this yet and actually just thought of it while typing this. Since we're using 1" diameter drain line, the odds of it ever completely filling are slim. I wonder if drilling the regular holes on the bottom to release water into the tank and smaller holes on the top to help release air.
I could be completely off base with all of this, but thought I would throw out a couple thoughts that hadn't been mentioned yet