HELP with Bubble Magus Mini Q - MICROBUBBLES!

[awokenreefboy]

Can anyone tell me how to fix this microbubble problem with the Bubble Magus Mini Q?

Some people say they’ve never had a problem, some people say they can’t get it to stop - I’m with the latter.

What should I do to fix this thing? And what settings/height do you have it running on that doesn’t create so many bubbles? How long did your break in period last?

Should I just add some filter floss or something?

I’m loosing hope in this skimmer in a nano thing - the bubbles almost aren’t even worth the hassle.

Some info it’s a Innovative Marine 10g, and the skimmer is in the middle chamber.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Are you so sure you even need a skimmer on a 10g seems like overkill unless ur dosing trace elements and not doing any water changes

 

[officialreefbros]

How long have you been running it? Some times they just need to build up some biofilm and it cleans up. Let me know if you like it! I've tried like 4 other nano skimmers on my 25 and got mad at them all

 

[awokenreefboy]

Are you so sure you even need a skimmer on a 10g seems like overkill unless ur dosing trace elements and not doing any water changes

Id like to run it as I have a pretty big bio load. Many TOTMs that were IM10s have ran skimmers. Is it needed? Probably not, but it’s a huge luxury. I love to feed my fish and corals too, so it’s a huge plus for my personal enjoyment.

How long have you been running it? Some times they just need to build up some biofilm and it cleans up. Let me know if you like it! I've tried like 4 other nano skimmers on my 25 and got mad at them all

I hope you’re right. I’ve only been running it for like 2 or so days. I’ll let you know how it goes. It’s already pulling good skimmate. The only thing has been the massive amount of micro bubbles.

 

[FUNGI]

I’ve only been running it for like 2 or so days.

Give it a month or so......it needs to break in.

 

[exnisstech]

I put one on my IM 20 a few weeks ago. The tank is new and has a light bio load but I added it because the protein slick in the rear chamber was annoying.
Mine overflowed at first but ive never had any bubble issues.

Mine is running a little higher than recommended.

Zero bubbles

 

[BriDroid]

You can also try moving the skimmer a bit more out of the water. I've read that some people have done that and it helps.

 

[awokenreefboy]

I put one on my IM 20 a few weeks ago. The tank is new and has a light bio load but I added it because the protein slick in the rear chamber was annoying.
Mine overflowed at first but ive never had any bubble issues.

Mine is running a little higher than recommended.

Zero bubbles

Thanks for this! How open/closed are you running it? None in the display?

Mines actually the opposite. The more you raise it up, the less it bubbles. So it NEVER spit microbubbles for you?

 

[exnisstech]

Raising it higher it will have less bubbles inside. If it's too low it will bubble up and overflow. I never have any bubbles except inside the skimmer. I get bubbles coming out if I overflow it. It should look similar my first image. You don't have bubbles coming out of the top do you? If so it's overflowing and will need adjusting or as @FUNGI said it may just need to break in. Usually I let new skimmers overflow for a week or so before I even bother trying to tune them.

 

[Aquacrazed]

I have the same issue. Granted I only run it off and on and I've only had it for 5 weeks. The micro bubbles arent going away.

 

[awokenreefboy]

Raising it higher it will have less bubbles inside. If it's too low it will bubble up and overflow. I never have any bubbles except inside the skimmer. I get bubbles coming out if I overflow it. It should look similar my first image. You don't have bubbles coming out of the top do you? If so it's overflowing and will need adjusting or as @FUNGI said it may just need to break in. Usually I let new skimmers overflow for a week or so before I even bother trying to tune them.

Yeah, raising it up lowers the micro bubbles produced that are showing in the tank. It is creating a good foam head.

Here’s a video (excuse the TV - wife is watching Jason Bourne :grinning-face-with-sweat: )



I’ve pretty much given up messing with the levels unless someone has the magic fix. I’m going to let it ride for a week or two and re-assess.

I have the same issue. Granted I only run it off and on and I've only had it for 5 weeks. The micro bubbles arent going away.

Dang, 5 weeks and still not fixed? When did you get it? What do you mean on and off?

 

[Aquacrazed]

Yeah, raising it up lowers the micro bubbles produced that are showing in the tank. It is creating a good foam head.

Here’s a video (excuse the TV - wife is watching Jason Bourne :grinning-face-with-sweat: )



I’ve pretty much given up messing with the levels unless someone has the magic fix. I’m going to let it ride for a week or two and re-assess.



Dang, 5 weeks and still not fixed? When did you get it? What do you mean on and off?

I ran it about 2 weeks straight. The bubbles seemed to be subsiding the first few days but it just stayed at a certain amount after. I've been running it only about 2 days a week after because I had my nutrients bottom out.

 

[Reef.]

I’ve had 2 of these, no micro bubbles at all.

Have you tried pulling the pump off and messing with the pump, pulling out the propeller and resitting it…definitely worth waiting a couple of weeks as you seem to be getting good skimmate out of the tank.

Just rewatched the video, there seems to be a lot of water movement in the chambers? Whats going on there?

 

[awokenreefboy]

I’ve had 2 of these, no micro bubbles at all.

Have you tried pulling the pump off and messing with the pump, pulling out the propeller and resitting it…definitely worth waiting a couple of weeks as you seem to be getting good skimmate out of the tank.

Just rewatched the video, there seems to be a lot of water movement in the chambers? Whats going on there?

Yeah I’m getting plenty good skimmate froth.

I did actually pull out the skimmer and deep clean it with just soap and water. Even took the propeller out and made sure it was seated correctly. Also ran it for a few minutes in a bucket of soapy water.

I’ll definitely wait a couple weeks before giving up on it. Everyone has been saying it’s a good skimmer.

As far as the movement, it’s just the water flowing from chamber to chamber. I did just put a Sicce 1.0 rated for 251GPH in there. Do you think it’s too much flow, should I turn down the pump? Should I raise the water level?

I’ve always thought there should be some type of little “waterfall” coming from the second chamber to the 3rd for water agitation.

 

[Reef.]

Yeah I’m getting plenty good skimmate froth.

I did actually pull out the skimmer and deep clean it with just soap and water. Even took the propeller out and made sure it was seated correctly. Also ran it for a few minutes in a bucket of soapy water.

I’ll definitely wait a couple weeks before giving up on it. Everyone has been saying it’s a good skimmer.

As far as the movement, it’s just the water flowing from chamber to chamber. I did just put a Sicce 1.5 in there. Do you think it’s too much flow, should I turn down the pump? Should I raise the water level?

I’ve always thought there should be some type of little “waterfall” coming from the second chamber to the 3rd for water agitation.

The cleaning the skimmer is probably what is causing the bubbles as the skimmer forms a slime coat which blocks the gaps between the plactic body, in future I would just give it a quick rinse in old water change water.

Yeah water agitation is good but that is crazy and now you have a skimmer that will take care of gas exchange, I would remove it, a slight drop of water into the last chamber helps but that kind of movement in the chambers is not needed, the display yes but not the chambers.

 

[awokenreefboy]

The cleaning the skimmer is probably what is causing the bubbles as the skimmer forms a slime coat which blocks the gaps between the plactic body, in future I would just give it a quick rinse in old water change water.

Yeah water agitation is good but that is crazy and now you have a skimmer that will take care of gas exchange, I would remove it, a slight drop of water into the last chamber helps but that kind of movement in the chambers is not needed, the display yes but not the chambers.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I went ahead and throttled down the Sicce pump, and raised the water level last night. It’s definitely way less turbulent back there, and the micro bubbles in the tank, while still going, are way less than yesterday.

Hopefully now the skimmer just needs a week or two to break in. I did get a bunch of good skimmate last night.

 

[Nasty_Goblin]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I went ahead and throttled down the Sicce pump, and raised the water level last night. It’s definitely way less turbulent back there, and the micro bubbles in the tank, while still going, are way less than yesterday.

Hopefully now the skimmer just needs a week or two to break in. I did get a bunch of good skimmate last night.

I purchased the same skimmer, for a the same reason, for my 10 gallon, and had the same issue.

Give it a couple of weeks to break in. I get super thick gunk out of mine now. It's also really handy if you have a bacterial bloom. Keep an eye on nitrates though. Once it starts running well it can remove nutrients quickly.

 

[awokenreefboy]

I purchased the same skimmer, for a the same reason, for my 10 gallon, and had the same issue.

Give it a couple of weeks to break in. I get super thick gunk out of mine now. It's also really handy if you have a bacterial bloom. Keep an eye on nitrates though. Once it starts running well it can remove nutrients quickly.

Oh nice. Yours was spitting micro bubbles too? How long did it take for yours to break in?

Funny enough, even with 3 fish, a bunch of coral, and a good amount of feeding, I actually have to dose nitrates.

 

[Nasty_Goblin]

Oh nice. Yours was spitting micro bubbles too? How long did it take for yours to break in?

Funny enough, even with 3 fish, a bunch of coral, and a good amount of feeding, I actually have to dose nitrates.

Yup, spat bubbles for 3 weeks straight. It was an increase in feeding that helped.

What are your nitrates and phosphates? Do you run any media?

I was dosing nitrates as well, but I've stabilized at around 10-12 nitrates. I usually feed a sprinkle of pellets 1-2 times a day, and mix of 2:1 tdo and benepets every other day during the week. Reef-Roids occasionally, but I plan to increase once I get a more reliable phosphate test and maybe some macro algae.

 

[awokenreefboy]

Yup, spat bubbles for 3 weeks straight. It was an increase in feeding that helped.

What are your nitrates and phosphates? Do you run any media?

I was dosing nitrates as well, but I've stabilized at around 10-12 nitrates. I usually feed a sprinkle of pellets 1-2 times a day, and mix of 2:1 tdo and benepets every other day during the week. Reef-Roids occasionally, but I plan to increase once I get a more reliable phosphate test and maybe some macro algae.

So my nitrates literally went to 0.00ppm for ~3 days straight, but my phosphates hovered around 0.6-1.0ppm. My corals were beginning to recede and they always were shriveled up. That’s when I figured my tank was nitrate deficient so I decided to start dosing sodium nitrate. Ever since I started dosing nitrates and feeding more regularly, all my corals bounced back and now are almost back to 100%.

I am now at around 5-10ppm nitrate, and as of now my phosphates are around 0.05-0.1ppm. I think I’ll stay at this level for a month to see how everything reacts and go up or down based on what I see.

Right now I feed Reef Nutrition TDO, and PE Misis for the fish. For the corals I just started Aquaforest’s coral line (aminos, power food, vitality, energy, and build), and I’ll throw in Reef Roids before every water change since it’s SUPER high in phosphates.