Hey guys i have been doing saltwater tanks for about 10 years, I have a desktop tank that is 4 gallons with a clown fish and a blue damsel, zoas, and a rock flower anenome that has been running for over 3 years now. It has developed a small leak in the bottom seal of the tank so i bought a IM Nuvo 10 gal to replace it with before the leak gets too bad. I have had the tank set up for about 2 weeks and have been cycling with dr. tims, i decided to go with the stax dry rock. I also have a loc-line random flow nozzle on the tank. I am having an issue with the pump it is the mighty jet pump that came with the tank, the pump has a controller, and it is set on the 2.9 setting currently for the wavemaker function. The pump is constantly blowing air bubbles in the tank. How can i fix this, in the back sump department there are 3 chambers the first one has the media rack, the second chamber is has the heater ( i am waiting on the eshops skimmer to come in as covid-19 has the mail going slow...) and the third chamber is where the water flows down into the pump return chamber. I thought this would stop after a while as there is a weird wall at the bottom of the first two chambers that allows for more water to sit down by the return pump so you don't go dry in the back because the evaporation is crazy on this tank. Does anyone else have a tank like this or a reccommendation on how to stop the air bubbles from coming out?
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Peace River
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On my IM Nuvo 10 air bubbles start when the water level in the pump chamber is too low. You may want to confirm that this is the issue in your situation and then in the longer term consider adding an ATO.
I have a Fluval 13.5 with stock pump but this is what I would do first..
1) Pull out pump and Lines connected to it and clean them
2) Make sure all screws on pump are in place and tightened
3) Run the pump with the Return hose/nozzle connected to in a bucket of water to see if bubbles persist.
4) Adjust the flow if possible
5) Buy an ATO or manual top off everyday (This is what I do) lots of evap for small tanks.
->marine magic ATO is cheep and easy option I think it runs $35 Amazon or I think you can also buy it on their website.
1) Pull out pump and Lines connected to it and clean them
2) Make sure all screws on pump are in place and tightened
3) Run the pump with the Return hose/nozzle connected to in a bucket of water to see if bubbles persist.
4) Adjust the flow if possible
5) Buy an ATO or manual top off everyday (This is what I do) lots of evap for small tanks.
->marine magic ATO is cheep and easy option I think it runs $35 Amazon or I think you can also buy it on their website.
What is the proper level in your return chamber? I have it set to be about a 1/4 inch Below the last tier so that the middle chamber will always be a constant level for the protein skimmer that will be added. The evaporation rate on my smaller tank as well as my large tank are not very much, but the screen top on this I’m sure contributes to this by far.
Peace River
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1/4" or more for water movement between chambers is appropriate. As you pointed out before, there is a cavity below the first two chambers and the third chamber goes lower than the rest so the pump shouldn't be pulling air unless the water level in the third chamber drops several inches. If the water level in the third chamber is close to the others and you are still getting bubbles in the main tank then you need to check for an air leak in the return tubing where air could be getting sucked into the line and create bubbles in the tank. Other than recommending an ATO, I can't really speak to your evaporation levels because of the variables including the ambient temperature, humidity, etc. (I agree with your comment about the screen top).
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Good evening,
Just stopping by. Read about the tank and sounds interesting. Figured I should say hi. Can’t help with the question, you already have the best guy on the forum doing that. I hope to get a build thread going by you so I can see this tank, and maybe a meet and greet thread so we can also say #WelcometoR2R
Just stopping by. Read about the tank and sounds interesting. Figured I should say hi. Can’t help with the question, you already have the best guy on the forum doing that. I hope to get a build thread going by you so I can see this tank, and maybe a meet and greet thread so we can also say #WelcometoR2R
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littlefishy
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I agree with peaceriver. I also have a nuvo 10 with the 3rd chamber water level 1/4-1/2" below chamber 2 at ato shutoff/full. The low water sensor is only 1" below chamber 2, no bubbles, so my bet would be your return connection.
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