Micro bubbles

[Christian55]

I have a lot of really small bubbles in my tank..l because air stones and the filter and stuff like that is that ok???

[Adam S]

Unless it's right after a water change, you're fine.

Airstones/filters/powerheads don't make microbubbles.

[Christian55]

[QUOTE=Adam S;1283889]Unless it's right after a water change, you're fine.

Airstones/filters/powerheads don't make microbubbles

It it okay if theyre are a few micro bubbles after my water change I use a python cleaner to where I can put water from my sink directly into the tank is that ok?

[brady]

It depends. Are the water parameters in your tap water the same as your tank water? If not then you should age and aerate your
your tap water for 24 hours. This would take care of the micro bubbles and any differential in water parameters.
Jay

[bluelagoon]

There is a lot of gases in your tap water.Micro bubbles IMO are just as dangerous /harmful as a downward ph swing.You can see more when you do extra large WC's or have plants in the tank,also known as "false pearling" caused by carbon dioxide in the water.These bubbles do get in the gills and sometimes can be fatal and cause 'gas bubble disease";not really a disease but rather a condition.That's why a lot of folks don't change more than 25-30% WC's straight from the tap.I think that's where the old myth comes from to only change 25% at a time.Aged water will take care of this issue and makes it safe to change large amounts of water.

[CammieTime]

Airstones/filters/powerheads don't make microbubbles.

Marineland 360 canister filters can, and often do. Mine does, and it is so annoying. Poor design allows for air intake into the system. If you have a canister filter, start with that. Otherwise you will only get micro-bubbles if you fill up your tank directly from the tap (not aging it). Tap water is full of micro-bubbles that gas off over 24 hours.

[DJW]

The bubbles made by a pump or airstone are what I call agitation bubbles. They are not harmful like microbubbles. What makes microbubbles stressful or dangerous is that they start out being microscopic and then grow as the gas comes out of solution, and when they grow in the tissues or gills they damage the surrounding tissue and interfere with blood circulation.

I would expect microbubbles to be mostly nitrogen. CO2 is about 25 times as water-soluble as nitrogen, so it takes much longer for excess CO2 to leave the water, whereas nitrogen will form microbubbles within minutes, or sometimes right away as the pressure drops at the faucet.

[Christian55]

I had put a type of sponge into my python cleaner when I’m putting wate r directly from tap into tank and it seems to break up the micro bubbles before it can get to the tank is that ok?

[CammieTime]

Another way to reduce the micro-bubbles with a direct fill is to first fill a barrel, then pump the water via water pump and vinyl tubing into tank. Water sitting in the barrel for even 10 minutes combined with the pumping greatly reduces the micro-bubbles.

[bossanova]

There is a lot of gases in your tap water.Micro bubbles IMO are just as dangerous /harmful as a downward ph swing.You can see more when you do extra large WC's or have plants in the tank,also known as "false pearling" caused by carbon dioxide in the water.These bubbles do get in the gills and sometimes can be fatal and cause 'gas bubble disease";not really a disease but rather a condition.That's why a lot of folks don't change more than 25-30% WC's straight from the tap.I think that's where the old myth comes from to only change 25% at a time.Aged water will take care of this issue and makes it safe to change large amounts of water.

wow, i had never heard of this before. thanks for the head's up. I've been growing out a bunch of Discus from Hans and doing straight tap WCs for almost a year.

[Megalodon]

The only true solution is to heat the water to aquarium temperature in an unconfined space (e.g., not your water heater) and in the absence of fish. The nitrogen comes out of solution harmlessly. This can be accomplished by aging which usually warms up the water to at least room temperature. It can actually be done as quickly as you can heat the water.

[zippy]

I had put a type of sponge into my python cleaner when I’m putting wate r directly from tap into tank and it seems to break up the micro bubbles before it can get to the tank is that ok?

What type of sponge ?