What's a bubble tower?

[Bolo Tran]

Hey guys. I just took my filter socks offline yesterday as suggested by some reefers and discovered that they were primary tool for removing microbubbles from my system. I've heard of bubble towers to minimize microbubbles but am clueless on what they are. I'd much rather not run my system with filter socks as they are a pain to remove and wash and they trap beneficial microorganisms. Can someone tell me what a bubble tower is and is it easy to incorporate into a preexisting sump? Thanks

[luv951]

picture a 1 1/2 inch pipe that is your sump inlet. It enters the sump about 1 inch below the water line.

Now, picture a 6 inch diameter pipe that fits around your inlet pipe. The 6 inch pipe goes farther down into the water, to within an inch of the bottom. it extends to above the water line.

Bubbles entering the system will rise within the 6 inch pipe and break at the surface. The water that makes it under the six inch pipe will be more free of bubbles.

hope that makes sense.

[Mr. Brooks]

I just filled the section in my sump that used to hold socks with a bunch of live rock. No bubbles.

[das75]

one in my fuge, a 2" drain line into a 4" stub
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/das75/twr_ref.jpg

here's the ghetto in my sump, a dog treat pail with ~1/2" holes around the sides just off the bottom.
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/das75/ref.jpg

[Jackie Blue]

My God it's so simple it just might work :). I know what I am doing tomm.

[drummereef]

Melev has a detailed description of a bubble tower in the link below.

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/a/sump_model_a.html

[ludnix]

I made a removable bubble tower that combines the one on melev's site and PVC elbows to only remove the bottom most water similar to a skimmer's outlet.

http://www.someawe.com/uploads/120gallon/Plumbing/bubble_tower1.jpg

http://www.someawe.com/uploads/120gallon/Plumbing/bubble_tower2.jpg

http://www.someawe.com/uploads/120gallon/Plumbing/bubble_tower3.jpg

This way I can easily dump out the rubble to remove any ditritus that might build up. I've been really happy with this system, I don't have to clean out socks every other day and I have no microbubbles in my tank.

[harlequin75BB]

great idea but looks noisy ludnix

[ludnix]

Here's some more pictures, I forgot to include that I have a ziplock bag over the top of the tower to prevent any water spray. I wouldn't consider it noisy at all, my protein skimmer makes significantly more noise, but neither are loud enough to be the least bit distracting when stand's doors are closed.

http://someawe.com/uploads/120gallon/December/bubble_tower.jpg

http://someawe.com/uploads/120gallon/December/plastic_bag.jpg

[mille239]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15043643#post15043643 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ludnix
Here's some more pictures, I forgot to include that I have a ziplock bag over the top of the tower to prevent any water spray. I wouldn't consider it noisy at all, my protein skimmer makes significantly more noise, but neither are loud enough to be the least bit distracting when stand's doors are closed.

http://someawe.com/uploads/120gallon/December/bubble_tower.jpg

http://someawe.com/uploads/120gallon/December/plastic_bag.jpg

Very nice! Where did you get the coral fragments to fill the tower with? I seem to like that more than live rock rubble.

[ludnix]

My cousin used to service saltwater aquariums and gave me a bunch of enormous dried coral rocks. I didn't have any use for them in my tank so I smashed one of them up make some rubble. I like it more than live rock rubble as well. It's a lot harder so it doesn't crumble away the way fiji rock seems to. I keep a jar of it by the aquarium to use as frag plugs which seems to make the tank look more natural than using porcelain or plastic plugs.