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#1
06-16-2011, 08:01 PM
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Bubbles in Closed Loop
Everything has been going great for about 14months then almost over night I started noticing micro bubble in my tank. I initially that it was due to increased fan speed over tank(not). The bubbles seemed to be coming out of the closed loop. The loop is an OceansMotion 4way run off a Reeflo Dart. I checked all the pipes and there does not seem to be anyway for air to be getting into the loop.
The only other thing I can think of is that my inlets(3 X 2inch) are getting clogged by coralline algae. When I look at the dart it looks like there is a washer that occasionally travels the length of the shaft than settles back down towards the motor side. Any ideas are appreciated. Joe
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210 Gallon slowly gaining population. Foxface, Naso, Coral Beauty, 2 Clowns, 2 Chromis, Orange Anthias, and Striped Goby. 
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#2
06-16-2011, 09:28 PM
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Maybe re-plumb the intake of the closed loop. Any Teflon taped fittings. This happened to me a couple of times a few years ago. It's annoying I know. Glued fittings should be fine.
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#3
06-17-2011, 12:10 AM
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Has to be a very small air leak into the CL, also happened to me. Removed the CL pump and re tefloned the threaded fittings, bubbles gone.
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Feed the bear goodies, make a new friend, don't feed the bear............... 8' - 165gal Reef DIY LED's Build 2012 Nano Contest Winner Febuary 2013 POTM Winner 300 gal + 60 gal Complete DIY Build
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#4
06-17-2011, 12:22 AM
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Wrap a wet towel or cloth around the fittings one by one, if the bubbles stop you've found the leak. For the pump to cavitate and cause bubbles it would have to be VERY restricted, you would have noticed the reduced flow before the bubbles.
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My 150 In Wall Build
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#5
06-17-2011, 02:39 AM
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Try what has been mentioned... But if that fails, open up the impeller of the pumps. I've had debris stuck in the impeller vanes and it doesn't take much to cavitate the flow and cause micro bubbles.
Not theory. It happens to me all the time. My system has two OM4ways on two Darts.
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400 gal reef. Established April, 2007. 3 Sequence Dart, RM12-4 skimmer, 2 x OM4Ways, Yellow Tang, Maroon Clown (pair), Blonde Naso Tang, Vlamingi Tang, Foxface Rabbit, Unicorn Tang, 2 Pakistani Butterflies and a few coral gobies My Tank: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=28436
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#6
06-17-2011, 01:03 PM
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It's also possible that the intake plumbing has become more restricted resulting in a lower pressure at the pump intake, if the pressure is low enough it can actually liberate dissolved oxygen. To test for this just throttle back the pump output halfway, if the bubbles stop this is likely the issue. I've seen this happen with these pumps when people don't plumb large enough pipes and bulkheads. Untamed is also correct regarding cavitation which is essentially the same thing, a good cleaning could fix things.
If not it could also be the seal on the pump, anywhere you notice salt creep could be a potential leak.
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