I Can't Stand The Microbubbles From My Protein Skimmer!! Am I Doing Something Wrong or Should I Exchange It?

[ExtraSalty]

Hey all, just joined the forums and recently got my first saltwater tank up and running about a week ago. Haven't had one since I was a little kid and it has been a fun experience so far aside from one annoying thing, my protein skimmer.

I purchased the CPR Bak Pak 2R+ after it was highly recommended by my LFC. My tank is a 40 gallon and has a live sand substrate and a little over 30 pounds of Life Rock in it. The dang thing is driving me CRAZY with the amount of micro bubbles it is sending back into my tank. It's turned what was a crystal clear sanctuary into a blurry nightmare. I've read countless things along with my LFC insisting it's because it needs to be broken in but I just don't see how that is going to help. It doesn't matter how opened up the air tube is, barely any bubbles or a ton of bubbles, the current seems too strong and it brings along tons of tiny bubbles past the bubble trap section of the Bak Pak. It's been running for about 3 days now and there has been zero improvement. I'm tempted to try and exchange it tomorrow for something else because I've read a lot of other people who owned this skimmer saying it either didn't get better or they had to add on various accessories or make changes to help alleviate the bubble problem.

Can someone either explain to me what I'm doing wrong, what's going to change during the 'break in period' that will somehow stop the ridiculous amount of bubbles returning to the tank, or recommend a different skimmer?

 

[Ron Reefman]

How about adding some filter sock material over the exit of the skimmer?

 

[Retro Reefer]

Welcome to R2R!! These are famous for producing lots of micro bubbles.. there are a few add on traps that may help.

Bubble Trap for CPR Bak Pak 2 and Aquafuge Refugium AFBT for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Bubble Trap for CPR Bak Pak 2 and Aquafuge Refugium AFBT at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[lilgrounchuck]

It does need to break in, and that’ll be the case with whatever you replace it with too. It can take up to a week to develop the film inside the skimmer body. You’ll notice they’ll stop (or drastically reduce) suddenly. You can also add a foam filter around the outlet to catch bubbles coming out.

 

[homer1475]

It's a HOB skimmer, they always put microbubbles in the tank to some degree. Even in sump skimmers produce microbubbles. There's a reason we use bubble traps in sumps.

I would try some filter floss, or sponge on the output of the skimmer. It's what I did for the HOB skimmer I used to have on my biocube.

 

[SDK]

I’ve seen these types of skimmers take thee to four “weeks“ to fully break in. Three days is too early to make any judgements just yet.

 

[Jaebster]

What they said ^^ ....and Welcome!

 

[ROB2005]

Patience my friend. Your tank is fresh. Give your skimmer time to get a coat of slime and it will be skimming well in due time!

 

[Indytraveler83]

I have one of these, I used to have it on my smaller reef tank, and now it actually hangs off my sump.

Yes it takes a while to break in, but yes it will, and the bubbles will get better.

One of the things I did too, was redirect the output of the skimmer to directly hit the inside wall of the tank. This allowed the microbubbles to dispurse before getting into the main current of the tank. (Hope that makes sense).

 

[Alarmguy66]

I would think that there simply isnt enough bacteria and organics in the water at this point to create the surface tension you need to keep the bubbles bigger. The lack of surface tension causes the bubbles to break down smaller and smaller, in turn causing less to be captured and allowing slower currents to move them farther.

Think about adding soap to water. It allows more bubbles and bigger bubbles. Thats what the bacteria and organics do in a fish tank. You have to give them time to grow..... or add soap.

Just kidding, dont add soap.

 

[ExtraSalty]

Thank you guys for the replies! My LFC opens up in 15 minutes and I'm going to see if I can't get one of the attachments listed here or some filter floss to at least help minimize the return of the micro bubbles until it finishes breaking in. I just hate how hazy it makes the tank!

Thanks for the soap analogy Alarmguy, that makes a lot of sense.

I shall begin to do what I do worst... wait!

 

[Indytraveler83]

Thank you guys for the replies! My LFC opens up in 15 minutes and I'm going to see if I can't get one of the attachments listed here or some filter floss to at least help minimize the return of the micro bubbles until it finishes breaking in. I just hate how hazy it makes the tank!

Thanks for the soap analogy Alarmguy, that makes a lot of sense.

I shall begin to do what I do worst... wait!

One word of advice- if you accidentally block the output, it will overflow. So however you rig up floss or something, be sure it doesn't block it. (I've learned this the hard way)