Microbubbles in your RSM? Check here!

[slakker]

I don't know the chemistry, but the food in the water inhibits the the skimmer from creating the "foam". The bubbles stay suspended in the water with bonding to creat the foam and just flows out the bottom of the skimmer.

[doubleduece]

I have removed my skimmer, removed one powrhead and replaced it with a mj powerhead, added a extension on the second powerhead and I still have microbubbles. I guess it might be coming from my return from the fuge....

[Reefmack]

I've been finding it harder to keep my water level up in back, to prevent the pumps from pulling in air. I noticed that my gate had so much coralline on it that I'd estimate the flow to the back was being cut by 25-50%. I scraped it off today (tough to remove) and my water level is now higher than it has been in quite a while.

[LaurentSeattle]

A very good post from NightFox at ReefsUK about RSM bubbles:

Reefs UK Community Forum • View topic - Red Sea Max - Bubble Troubleshooting Guide

[steveh]

Interesting observation Reefmack. Makes sense and isn't something I have seen mentioned before.

[steveh]

You will also find a very good troubleshooting guide through our website. This link should take you directly there.
http://www.redseamax.com/redseamax/d...diagnostic.pdf

[LimoMan]

Hey guys! I am new to the club, and from trial & error my RSM has been flawless. I do get microbubbles when I feed them either "Selcon" or a garlic concentrate. The bubbles dissappear after about 20 minutes. No stock media used in the tank except for the black mechanical filter (uncut) on top of skimmer pump. Just clean the filter twice a week. One all-gone pad and chemi-pure in chamber just to the left of the skimmer. 35 lbs of live rock and 20 lbs of live sand. Every water test I have done has been perfect except for one, where the PH level was a bit low. Hope this helps!

[Reefmack]

Hey LimoMan!

to Reef Sanctuary and the RSM Club! Thanks for sharing your
bubble-free" setup with the rest of us. The key to the bubbles seems to be keeping the water level & flow at maximum in that back section.

[LimoMan]

Thanks for the welcome Reefmack, I see you are quite the poster on these RSM threads! I have been reading the last few hours and thought I knew a lot, not so! I have what looks like a glass anemone coming out of one of my live rocks. I don't have my camera with me but I will take pics tomorrow and post if I get time. But from what I gather, the "peppermint shrimp" see to do the trick. I can't wait for the RSM 250, my 130 is in my office and I already have a nice open area in the family room for the 250

[Reefmack]

LimoMan - the peppermint may help, but never any guarantees. Red sea makes a product called Aiptasia-X that has gotten great reviews. I've used in on majanos with success also. I think it's better than Joe's Juice, and it stays where you put it much better than the JJ. If you can post a pic in the Full Tank Shots RSM thread. Getting off topic now in this thread LOL!

[LimoMan]

Definitely off topic! I will take pics tomorrow and post in proper thread.
thanks again for all of your help and ideas

[Tregor]

Hi!

One of my pumps have started to send out microbubbles, have checked and done all i can find about microbubbles in this forum. Checked my pumps and on the microbubble pump, the black top are loose, could it be why it sending out bubbles? On the other pump the black top sits solid.

Robert
Sweden

[Reefmack]

Tregor - Welcome to Reef Sanctuary and the RSM Owners Club!

If that top section on the pump is loose I think that is most likely the cause for the microbubbles. I would try putting a rubber band around the pump to pull the top tight, or even using some super glue gel to glue it down securely. I think that loose top is letting air get sucked into the pump.

[Whipitup]

OK, 3 days after transferring the contents of my Orca to the RSM I decided to switch the skimmer on........guess what?

Micro bubbles...........

To be expected I would imagine as the skimmer was giver a bloody good clean before I set the tank up.

There are large bubbles forming in the tube in the skimmer cup, and I have adjusted the air valve so the bubbles are not just pouring into the skimmer cup.

I will continue to run the skimmer over night and see what it is like in the morning. If is still causing micro bubbles I'll turn it off during the lighting period and switch it back on again over night.

An interesting point: If you shine a torch onto the back wall (in the dark with the lights off) you can see the micro bubbles in the skimmer (bloody millions of them) so it shows how few are actually escaping.

Will the micro bubbles cause my fish/inverts/corals are problems?


Roger

[Reefmack]

Hi Whipitup. Give the skimmer a few days. As you're already aware, the microbubbles are common in new or thoroughly cleaned skimmers, till they break in again. I had several whiteouts in my tank, due to a Linkis star crawling over and blocking the gate. The water looked like white paint several times, but none of my livestock was ever affected. IMO a few microbubbles causes no harm, and I had them for a long time. The only negative effect of microbubbles that I'm aware of is on the owners - they don't like them.