Setting Up Micro Scrubbing Bubbles In A Reef Tank

FishOfHex

Setting Up Micro Scrubbing Bubbles In A Reef Tank In this video i will be showing you step by step how i setup micro scrubbing bubbles within my 125 gallon reef tank. First thing you will see is me setting up the wooden airstone withing the input screen on the jebao dcs 12000 return pump. After connecting it to a pecto four port air pump and testing it was time to move into the neptune apex fusion to setup wave profiles and outlets to get the best spread of bubbles within the reef. After programing you will see the micro bubbles in action within the tank. I will say after a couple weeks of using this i have noticed an increase in polyp extension. I find that i am also cleaning my filter socks and protein skimmer more often indicating i am picking up more from the water. Feel free to take the time to do your own research and decided if you want to use this within your reef. Support FishOfHex: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4428042 Nano Bubbles Info: https://reefbuilders.com/2016/07/09/nano-bubbles-in-the-reef-aquarium/# Come Join & Ask Your Questions On Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BuildingASuccessfulReef/ 125 Gallon Reef Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-qZiboMWjYNtQNMLlxiHhVF Zeovit Tank Build Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-rtT_B_gLcyWBWUdbvlBgEJ How To Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-qTgkRrs5wrIE086wL9Gikd Aquatic Log Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-rjb4q8rB1S-ZwnEuCCR2Ga Neptune Apex Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-rwKS3T-gW-eQAT-skoi92m Beginner Guide Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-o8wXkbVMIZUd9eYVfo0P-T 60 Gallon Freshwater Planted Tank Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-ppGwibzUjAkuGqum4mUb64 Tips & Tricks Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-oPvUGif9tzAGJL4xaVv00w Frag Tank: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-rFSnKRoOX4pQW79k2qtkyA Quarantine Tank: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-p7OZoT5Sicbs3GvYDk4hpT Korallen-Zucht Coral System: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-o-XQ2ZzOLbIcQIm0-k5-6i Subscriber Contest: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-oTdWZenQ2-JSXerh1BHEDd Subscriber Request Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-q8ZJGvYK0Pj4Mq17tIOxwm Subscriber Q@A: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlyrWzDlRs-p9jnMdAWevl-RtTHdEHJQR Follow me on Aquatic Log: http://www.aquaticlog.com/users/hexdex Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fish-Of-Hex-389648551215254 Twitter: https://twitter.com/FishOfHex End Music: http://www.bensound.com

Setting Up Micro Scrubbing Bubbles In A Reef Tank 148 13

Reef tank 8 years ago 15,759 views

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Franklin Michael - 7 years ago

do you do this in your frag tank?

Ash - 7 years ago

Interesting and very well explained...

Sasuke Ushiha - 7 years ago

Well guys a have sponges in my thank I don't think that's good for them not at all !!

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

I have hundreds they will be fine

yuyiboy - 7 years ago

Doesn't it affect your alk?

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

Larry Barry - 7 years ago

great video and still people think the micro bubbles hurt fish from breathing clogging gills 100% not true!!!! micro bubble scrubbing my 150 gal reef two hours a day at night has helped so much for me.. ph way more stable even nitrate levels dropped to even lower readings!!

Vincent Taylor - 7 years ago

FishOfHex are you still doing this? Also did you notice any ill affects to your starfish? I thought that they weren't supposed to be exposed to air.

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

i no longer have this system but when the 300 gallon is up ill be putting it back on

Josh griex - 7 years ago

Funny someone mentioned how it was once bad to have micro bubbles in reef tank. I noticed 4 years ago when I would not add r.o. water when I should have and went to work, my tank would be filled with micro bubbles from the tank running low on water. well I would add the r.o. water after work and low n behold, a few hours later the tank would be crystal clear and everything seem to open more than before. glad to see I am not truly crazy....nice video. lets all share the knowledge...keep reefing

Serenity's journey - 7 years ago

Looks sick .

Rotter Tube Reef - 7 years ago

cool man. i get bubbles by letting evaporation in sump happen. don't read the forums

10. comment for Setting Up Micro Scrubbing Bubbles In A Reef Tank

Hĕmáŋt Kŭmåŗ - 7 years ago

do fish get harm due to the micro bubbles ........i mean do they fee l uneasy in respiration or get any bloat disease
or is it fine with the fishes

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

It has no negative effect on the fish

Tristan G - 7 years ago

hey I just started using the bubbling method. so far its going well. Only thing is not sure if its an issue or not is that when the bubbles hit the surface they pop. will this have any negative impact on the tank?

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

I would get more flow in the tank to move those bubbles.

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

its normal for them to pop, when they do they leave what they collected at the surface to be skimmed off.

Tristan G - 7 years ago

also a few of my sps have a couple tiny little bubbles underneath them. I don't have the ability to alternate wave modes as I only have one pump which is on %100 already

Yoshukai Tony - 7 years ago

can you explain me what microbubbles does in a tank I mean the purpose because some claimed when they used microbubbles the alkalinity when to the sky

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

No problem thank you

Yoshukai Tony - 7 years ago

FishOfHex thanks man because I have the same pump and I did the same you did, it works perfect , but I wasn't sure about it , awesome channel

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

micro bubbles have nothing to do with alkalinity. micro bubbles are used to trap detritus and bring it to the surface to be skimmed off or picked up by filter socks.

HNiCDuke - 7 years ago

so u run your bubbles everyday? how have that worked out for ur tank? how long should I run the bubbles to be effective? when is the best time to run them?

FishOfHex - 7 years ago

Yes and i only run for a couple hours. People like to run them all night its up to you

DANNYGZERO - 8 years ago

Nice going to try this out ✌

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Cool let me know how it works out

Eli Carter - 8 years ago

I love your videos but I have to turn the speakers all the way up. Is that just me?

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Haha yea i wont say anything

Eli Carter - 8 years ago

Just yours. Don't tell my work but I watch a lot of videos.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

I asked a few people and everyone says its fine. Is it just my videos or every ones?

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Thanks ill ask around and see if anyone else has the same problem if so ill just make the volume higher

Eli Carter - 8 years ago

Thanks for the fast response. I will keep turning it up...the videos are worth it.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Might be, the last time anyone said anything about audio was 6 months ago. I use medium leveling within camtasia. The are fine on my system and phone.

berny's reef - 8 years ago

Is this aplicable to a 40 gallon or is it to small?

berny's reef - 8 years ago

+FishOfHex
Great thanks

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

You can do this with any tank

Franklin Michael - 8 years ago

Many people have a hard time getting rid of microbubbles in their tank, how do you get rid of them after bubbling? Just cranking up the flow? And why did you choose to do it for an hour instead of having it run all night or 2 hours or... Thanks

Franklin Michael - 8 years ago

+FishOfHex Great thanks.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

I didnt feel a need based on my nutrient levels in the tank. Two hours at this point does enough, as for getting rid of the bubbles my surge modes in the morning will take care of anything trapped under the coral or rocks

Krishna Karkera - 8 years ago

If u dont have sump. can i keep the wooden air stone below the wave maker n try it. kindly help sir i am newbie

Charles Brouillette - 7 years ago

have you ever think of putting a skimmer pump near de return pump? i might try it. nice video!

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Yes you could place the airstone under a powerhead so when it turns on the flow will move the bubbles out into the tank. You will need something to trap the detritus you are collecting with the bubbles, so what are u using a hang on the back or canister?

Gary Cort - 8 years ago

How long do you do it for?

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

i do it for three hours during the night while the lights are off. I know many people do it for 10-12 hours but i have been seeing good results with only three.

20. comment for Setting Up Micro Scrubbing Bubbles In A Reef Tank

PsychedelicBabe - 8 years ago

I've watched a few of these videos but no one explained it the way you did so thank you so much for this video .... adding it to my favourites playlist

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

I will say i dont watch to many videos and i think thats my downfall but once things calm down i be able to.

PsychedelicBabe - 8 years ago

+FishOfHex there are quite a few

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Thank you i have yet to look around at any other videos about this topic.

John John - 8 years ago

Even though I've only been into reefing for a few months now, which basicaly makes me a toddler who just learned how to walk, my gut tells me that this method is one of the biggest evolutionary steps in reef keeping. But as a new reef keeper, I also think I should avoid it for now because if I screw it up and things start dying, I'll never know if it was the bubbles or my inability as a newbie to maintain stable parameters. Toddlers must first learn how to walk before they learn how to run, right?
As you've said recently, if you're new to the hobby, you should first master the basics and then try new things. But I'm definately going to give it a try after my first year of successfuly keeping corals.
Thanks, Hex.

Greetje Buijert-Nijdam - 8 years ago

Wow what a great tank.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Thank You

Paul Chippington - 8 years ago

Great informative video Travis thank you glad I subscribed

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Thank You

Mo Osman - 8 years ago

It it reduces carbon dioxide, woukd it not be best to only implement at night after lights out, therefore helping with the PH. Secondly, photosynthesis requires carbon dioxide during the day. Just some thoughts Hex. Keep up the great videos! !!!

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+Mo Osman I have it running at night I only set it this way for the video

Mofros Reef - 8 years ago

Great Video Travis, super interesting, how long have you been using this setup?

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

a couple weeks so far works great

Rosco's Reef with Scott - 8 years ago

Great job Travis and it's definitely something to research to put into use. As usual you gave a lot of information. Your controller makes things a lot easier.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Thank You. Yea i couldnt live without my apex

DOES MY NUT IN - 8 years ago

Hi Hex, is it safe for sponges?

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

+Carbonardo Dog see if know sponges can't be completely out of the water bc they trap air and die but bc it's still under the water and it's just bubbles it should be fine. I have one small sponge that's been doing fine, it would be your call.

Reefgrrl - 8 years ago

Interesting video, thanks for this. On what schedule do you run the bubbles? Like, every two hours for ten minutes, overnight, etc? After you mentioned you would be doing a video I went and did some reading and set something up for my 20g nano. But I don't run any controllers and use a Jebao wp10 for water movement so right now I've got limited dispersion of bubbles, they are pretty dense in half the tank but are pushed back by the Jebao.

I've read a bunch of different opinions on timing of the bubbles...I was thinking if the bubble bursts were short enough I could just put both the Jebao and the air pump on alternating cycles using a simple plug-in mechanical timer....then the Jebao could be off when the bubbles are streaming from the return and they might get better dispersion through the tank. Does this make sense? Am I understanding the principle correctly?

Reefgrrl - 8 years ago

Thanks for the info. It looks really promising if I can get the right dispersion in the 20g. Today I'll be pulling out the timers and testing it. I've got wooden airstones and they seem the perfect type of thing to make the bubbles, it's just setting it up so the return pump pulls enough of them in before they get to the surface. It's a process......

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

I run my bubbles from 10pm to 1am once the lights go out. and its the entire time 5 minutes on 30 seconds off ect. I think if you can get the bubbles small enough and spread them out within the entire tank i dont think you will have any issues. I use a wooden airstone that already makes small air bubbles and then use the return pump to make them even smaller. When they are small they end up getting a charge to them that allows detritus, mucus ect to stick and be lifted to the surface.

DrOfWelshMagic - 8 years ago

great video as always mate. Unfortunately, you just put me off ever buying an Apex, Wow, far too complicated for my tiny brain lol. How the hell d'you understand all that? Computer programmer maybe? lol

DrOfWelshMagic - 8 years ago

That could be a big issue for me as by the time i'll be fully stocked so to speak, we would be talking thousands of pounds worth of equipment and livestock. Certainly something to consider, thank you.

Ian Eisenberg - 8 years ago

@DrOfWelshMagic The GHL profilux is much easier to program and is designed to be easy to repair yourself. I switched years ago and it's been fantastic.
What's worse is we just found out that the Apex is NOT UL tested or rated so insurance companies wont cover any issues that may be connected to it.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

It just takes time its not that bad.

30. comment for Setting Up Micro Scrubbing Bubbles In A Reef Tank

Deon 0026 - 8 years ago

this is over my head omg this is extreme fish keeping for sure. I never knew how much work you put into keeping a reef tank.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Thank you, as for the micro bubbles they are working great. I only run them for an hour a day and noticed better acro polyp extension and clear water. Filter sock gets changed every day as normal so all that detritus is removed before it breaks down.

Dinesh Raj Methuku - 8 years ago

When people tell me "this is so much work" I say "the time you spend on the couch drinking coke is the same amount of time I spend on my reef tank". I watch many of your videos man, great job. How the microbubbles going? I thought about this long time ago, probably will try now.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

lol its ok it just takes time to learn these things its not that bad

yoshi moto - 8 years ago

https://youtu.be/70ZWeIQWJi8
look how he produce nano bubbles into the tank

915Mang - 8 years ago

Great Vid Hex, I don't know the air bubbles could kill corals. Very cool surge mode

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Thank You

DrOfWelshMagic - 8 years ago

take a look at my latest dipping corals video where I blast them profusely with micro bubbles for a few minutes and the following video showing them in the tank less than 24 hrs later, they are only zoas but they can deffo handle it. lol

Bay Area Reefs - 8 years ago

Good one hex I'll have to try this

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Thank You

yoshi moto - 8 years ago

i have been doing this for about a year now and think all your doing is turning your tank into a massive skimmer and then your sump and skimmer removes it from the water.

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Yup pretty much

Reefer 525XL - 8 years ago

I'm trying to figure out why you are using a virtual outlet for this. You could have just used the If time statement on the wavemakers to run the bubble surge profile instead of the virtual outlet. Just seems like an extra unnecessary step.

Reefer 525XL - 8 years ago

FishOfHex not saying it doesn't work. Just seem like an extra step. For the surge modes if you using a OSC command them the timer virtual outlet is the best method

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

I use virtual outlets for my surge mode timers so im sticking with the theme and at the end of the day it doesnt matter how its done, the point is it works.

Arrick L - 8 years ago

What's funny is this technique goes against everything they used to say in reefing. Air was bad but when you think about it corals in tidal zones have waves crashing all the time and are exposed to bubbles so if it works for mother nature should work in our tanks

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

I was reading people have a problem with new things and bc its not talked about much people tend to give it a bad rep. It works for me

Nado - 8 years ago

saw your other vid the other day and it made me go on a hunt to learn more about this last night. i grabbed an old skimmer pump i had and hooked it up before the return pump to get some bubble action going on. i noticed that my skim has been coming out green now vs the normal colour. pretty stoked to see what it'll do in a few days

Hasso Hammerle - 8 years ago

FishOfHex what happens if you see some bubbles trapped under the rocks?
Is this a problem?

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

I really believe these bubbles help from all that i see within my system. i mean if you have to change the socks and clean the cup more that means something.

Murphy's Reefing - 8 years ago

very well done man, I think it would totally be worth it. I bet you see a lot more growth out of the SPS also..

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Its the same amount of biopellets that i had in the old reactor so it shouldnt be the problem. im simply processing waste to fast and with the gfo and biopellets its getting to low. I have already made changes and the red monti color is coming back. no worries

Murphy's Reefing - 8 years ago

Oh wow. hopefully your new biopellet reactor isn't stripping the tank. I've started dosing microbacter7 to keep up with the beneficial bacteria.. hope all goes well

FishOfHex - 8 years ago

Over the last couple months my system has gotten to low in nutrients even with adding the fish and increasing feeding. So im dealing with that ill have a video out soon.

Brandon Meade - 8 years ago

what's the advantages of this please

yoshi moto - 8 years ago

didnt you listen??

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