Intermittant micro bubble bursts from return

[arejayy]

125g FOWL, proflex sump, aqueon quiteflow 4500 return pump.

Tank has been up and running flawlessly since September. All of a sudden over the course of the past couple of weeks, the return pump will make a noticeably louder hum/vibration for 2-3 seconds and then I will see a burst of micro bubbles shoot into the DT.

Nothing at all has changed in the entire setup. The waterline in the return chamber sits a good 4-5 inches above the top of the pump (ATO fed, line stays consistant). Hard plumbing run throughout and no visable leaks.

My concern is that the pump is getting ready to give out and if that's the case I would like to upgrade anyway, Im not a fan of the aqueon pump...too noisy and seemingly inconsistent.

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated, Im at a loss as to what the issue may be.

If a replacement/upgrade is in order I was thinking of going with the Eheim 1262 and incorporate at least a portion of soft plumbing coming out of the pump to reduce vibration. Thoughts?

[snulma1]

A couple of suggestions:
1. Slow the return, see if that fixes the problem, you may be overworking the bubble trap and getting some in the return
2. Check your return hosing. you may be drawing air into it somewhere along the line
3. Try and clean your return pump and line (if possible) no rationale behind it, just always seems to fix my problems

[arejayy]

Thanks snulma1, the return has been running at the same flow/pressure since day one, do you still think this could be a potential cause for my issue? I did a thorough check of all plumbing and see no leaks. I will take everything apart this weekend and do some cleaning/maintenance. Im leaning toward just picking up the Eheim and running that. I wanted to incorporate some soft plumbing anyhow and this could be my excuse. I could keep the Aqueon for a backup. Any opinions on pump brand, im looking for quite and reliable without dumping $500 on a Red Dragon. Thanks!

[snulma1]

sorry, no recommendations on pump brands. But I like the use of soft tubing more then rigid. Just make sure you get dark tubing to limit algae growth.