tiny particles floating in water
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framester
New Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
alittle bit more about your system would help. and more than likely its miscro bubbles if the tank has been set up for a longer period of time.
just add abit more about your tank and filtration system so we can help narrow it down.
welcome to the board.
Mike
Tank has been set up for over month and is cycled...We have about 140lbs of LR, 120lbs of LS, a refug with 20 lbs of LS, plus a variety of plants living in it...2 JBJ 1000 powerheads, G2 skimmer, and a little giant 4 pump...As far as livestock goes, 3 green chromis, a yellow tang, 2 juvi percula clownfish, and today just added a brownbanded goby, but the problem was there before any livestock was added....also have a variety of snails (turbos, cerith, nassarius)...We've been playing around with the jets, trying to get just the right flow so it doesn't create bald spots in the sandbed, but so far we just can't seem to get it right...Not sure if the return pump in the refug is blowing it back into the tank, to what the problem is....
alittle bit more about your system would help. and more than likely its miscro bubbles if the tank has been set up for a longer period of time.
just add abit more about your tank and filtration system so we can help narrow it down.
welcome to the board.
Mike
Tank has been set up for over month and is cycled...We have about 140lbs of LR, 120lbs of LS, a refug with 20 lbs of LS, plus a variety of plants living in it...2 JBJ 1000 powerheads, G2 skimmer, and a little giant 4 pump...As far as livestock goes, 3 green chromis, a yellow tang, 2 juvi percula clownfish, and today just added a brownbanded goby, but the problem was there before any livestock was added....also have a variety of snails (turbos, cerith, nassarius)...We've been playing around with the jets, trying to get just the right flow so it doesn't create bald spots in the sandbed, but so far we just can't seem to get it right...Not sure if the return pump in the refug is blowing it back into the tank, to what the problem is....
framester
New Member
Originally Posted by zman1
Your balance could be out-o-whack
Have you been dosing anything?
What are your
Ca, Alk Mg and pH levels?
I've never tested for CA or MG....Don't have any corals in tank as of yet....PH is at 8.1 and Alk is normal....I'm thinking it may be caused from sand being stirred up in the refug and brought back thru the tank....I did a 20% water change this weekend and removed a filter from the refug and the LFS was out of stock on the filter, so I used a cheapo one from Petsmart...I don't think it's doing the job...So, I will go back to my LFS this weekend and get the one that originally came with my system and see if it makes a difference....If it doesn't, I don't know what to do...
Your balance could be out-o-whack
Have you been dosing anything?
What are your
Ca, Alk Mg and pH levels?
I've never tested for CA or MG....Don't have any corals in tank as of yet....PH is at 8.1 and Alk is normal....I'm thinking it may be caused from sand being stirred up in the refug and brought back thru the tank....I did a 20% water change this weekend and removed a filter from the refug and the LFS was out of stock on the filter, so I used a cheapo one from Petsmart...I don't think it's doing the job...So, I will go back to my LFS this weekend and get the one that originally came with my system and see if it makes a difference....If it doesn't, I don't know what to do...
socal57che
Active Member
My gut tells me to agree with fishn808. Prolly from your skimmer. Try shutting it down entirely for a day or two and watch for change. If the bubbles/particles go away then you know an adjustment is in order. Since you mentioned bald spots as well, you may have a combination of fine debris mixed with micro-bubbles. Disable powerheads if the skimmer doesn't clear up your issue, then address them as necessary.
framester
New Member
Originally Posted by socal57che
My gut tells me to agree with fishn808. Prolly from your skimmer. Try shutting it down entirely for a day or two and watch for change. If the bubbles/particles go away then you know an adjustment is in order. Since you mentioned bald spots as well, you may have a combination of fine debris mixed with micro-bubbles. Disable powerheads if the skimmer doesn't clear up your issue, then address them as necessary.
Thanks for the info, I will try adjusting the skimmer and see if it helps...
My gut tells me to agree with fishn808. Prolly from your skimmer. Try shutting it down entirely for a day or two and watch for change. If the bubbles/particles go away then you know an adjustment is in order. Since you mentioned bald spots as well, you may have a combination of fine debris mixed with micro-bubbles. Disable powerheads if the skimmer doesn't clear up your issue, then address them as necessary.
Thanks for the info, I will try adjusting the skimmer and see if it helps...
michaeltx
Moderator
very rarely is it sand particuls unless a pump or something has stired it up but if that happens it usually goes away fairly quickly.
I would have to say it probably some sort of micro bubbles from the skimmer, pump, or even splashing or a pipe seal that not completely sealed off.
Did this just start after the water and it good be the sand bed even matureing causeing notrogen gas that is escaping and getting cought up in the flow. is there a part of the tank that seems to have more bubbles than the rest and do you see any bubbles coming out of the sand>?
and did any of the other suggestions bring any results LOL
I know alot of questions
Mike
I would have to say it probably some sort of micro bubbles from the skimmer, pump, or even splashing or a pipe seal that not completely sealed off.
Did this just start after the water and it good be the sand bed even matureing causeing notrogen gas that is escaping and getting cought up in the flow. is there a part of the tank that seems to have more bubbles than the rest and do you see any bubbles coming out of the sand>?
and did any of the other suggestions bring any results LOL
I know alot of questions
Mike
framester
New Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
very rarely is it sand particuls unless a pump or something has stired it up but if that happens it usually goes away fairly quickly.
I would have to say it probably some sort of micro bubbles from the skimmer, pump, or even splashing or a pipe seal that not completely sealed off.
Did this just start after the water and it good be the sand bed even matureing causeing notrogen gas that is escaping and getting cought up in the flow. is there a part of the tank that seems to have more bubbles than the rest and do you see any bubbles coming out of the sand>?
and did any of the other suggestions bring any results LOL
I know alot of questions
Mike
I've adjusted the skimmer and it doesn't seem to make a difference...I'm hoping it's the lack of filter in the sump/refug....I don't remember the particles floating around like that before, so I'm hoping after I replace the filter, the problem will go away....I will be stopping by my LFS on Monday to buy a new filter....The powerheads don't seem to be spitting anything out, can't seem to pinpoint where the particles are coming from...I'm including a photo of my refug, the last chamber on the left is where the return is, and there is sand that was spilled over from the main chamber sitting at the bottom, maybe it's coming from there?!?
very rarely is it sand particuls unless a pump or something has stired it up but if that happens it usually goes away fairly quickly.
I would have to say it probably some sort of micro bubbles from the skimmer, pump, or even splashing or a pipe seal that not completely sealed off.
Did this just start after the water and it good be the sand bed even matureing causeing notrogen gas that is escaping and getting cought up in the flow. is there a part of the tank that seems to have more bubbles than the rest and do you see any bubbles coming out of the sand>?
and did any of the other suggestions bring any results LOL
I know alot of questions
Mike
I've adjusted the skimmer and it doesn't seem to make a difference...I'm hoping it's the lack of filter in the sump/refug....I don't remember the particles floating around like that before, so I'm hoping after I replace the filter, the problem will go away....I will be stopping by my LFS on Monday to buy a new filter....The powerheads don't seem to be spitting anything out, can't seem to pinpoint where the particles are coming from...I'm including a photo of my refug, the last chamber on the left is where the return is, and there is sand that was spilled over from the main chamber sitting at the bottom, maybe it's coming from there?!?
kevin5500
Member
I just encountered a similar problem and mine was caused by the skimmer. If you can shut your skimmer off and the bubbles disappear then it's probably the same thing. If you can get your return pump as far away from the skimmer as possible and cover the return flow opening of the pump with a sponge or some type of filter apparatus it should break up the bubbles so that they don't get pumped back into the DT. Hopefully this helps! Good luck.