Injecting Micro Bubbles to your reef

Discussion in 'General Reef Topics' started by Armydog, Apr 30, 2016.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. Armydog

    Armydog Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2016
    Messages:
    63
    Location:
    Ankeny Iowa
    So I was reading an article on reefbuilders about injecting micro bubbles via air stone into your return pump to spray into your dt.

    Has anyone tried this? What benifits have you seen from doing this?

    I know the obvious would be stable ph and releasing co2 from the water but some claim to see better coral growth.

    Thoughts or experiences?

    Thanks
     
  2. Click Here!

  3. Armydog

    Armydog Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2016
    Messages:
    63
    Location:
    Ankeny Iowa
    They claim it can also rid your system of cyano and dino
     
  4. Armydog

    Armydog Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2016
    Messages:
    63
    Location:
    Ankeny Iowa
  5. DSC reef

    DSC reef Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2012
    Messages:
    3,817
    Location:
    Cocoa, Florida
    I read that article too. From a logical standpoint it makes sense but there's gotta be some cons to it as well. If you use a skimmer then I wonder if you'll notice a big change in ph? I wonder if you inject bubbles all night then maybe by morning you'll have a line of sludge at the rim of the tank? Just some thoughts.
     
    Lovemyreef2015 likes this.
  6. Seacurchin

    Seacurchin Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2016
    Messages:
    30
    I use a bubbler in my sump along with my skimmer. I don't let the bubbles get in the DT as I am pretty sure bubbles in particular ," micro bubbles " are bad for the fishes gills(obvious reason). I do believe in constant gas exchange. As for ph? It seems stable so I am not overly concerned. I use a algae turf scrubber and my lights turn on at night for roughly 18 hours a day. I have not had a bad cyano problem in many years. I would not day proof is in the pudding but it has been working for me.
     
  7. Va Reef

    Va Reef Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2010
    Messages:
    3,627
    Location:
    Chesapeake, Va
    To get a really good understanding of it, there are some threads on R2R.

    Basically you turn your whole tank into a giant skimmer. The micro/nano bubbles cling to bits of waste and detritus and even small bits of algae and "lift" them away, to be filtered out by your overflow/sump.

    As for cons, in theory it can cause problems with sponges, feather worms, and starfish, animals that should avoid air contact. Similar theories for clams and gorgonians. I have yet to see anyone claiming deaths caused by this, however I only know of a few people who have been doing this long term (more than a few months).

    Gill issues with fish is another one however the argument is that they experience this on a reef every time a wave crashes. Now obviously this doesn't apply to fish that aren't found on reef crests. However once again there isn't any science behind it to either prove or disprove this.
     
    Turbo's Aquatics and DSC reef like this.
  8. Click Here!

  9. _alex_

    _alex_ Feather Duster

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2012
    Messages:
    222
    A local guy has been doing it for about a year over night with lights out. Has shown no sign of bothering fish, says they actually are more active at night and are eating from the water column. He also mentioned his skimmer was pulling out way more gunk than before and when he started doing it his nitrates were 40-60 and after about 3 months they were under 10. With no changes other than the air stones in front of his return pump. He also had a large clam last I talked to him and was not bothering it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk