vortex is shooting bubbles into my tank

[drew22to375]

I have one of those vortex diatom filters for polishing the water. But you would think there was a bubble stone attached to the return hose since it shoots a jet of tiny bubbles back into the tank. Is this normal?:mad:

[NJ Devils Fan]

Have you thoroughly checked for leaks?

[ewok]

constantly?

try using a little less powder. my xl seems to "burp" and blow a blast of bubbles now and then as it gets restricted. another way to tell if it's restricted is by looking at the bag. is it like sucked in?

i *think* what's happening is the impellor actually churns the water so hard it creates the bubbles, or it's just filtering them out of the tank and the blast happens when enuf collect.

it might help keeping the filter lower too. i usually set mine on the floor in front of the tank. watch where you position the inlet too. if your in a regular filters outlet stream that could be where the extra air is coming from.....

and... as nj devils fan already said..... look for leaky connections on it. maybe one of the inlet connections is pulling a little air in.

i just ignore it, but mine is only occasionally, not constant.

[Matak]

It also may not be properly primed. I have the Freedom filter and the manufacturer recomends holding the unit upside down while running and while both inlet and outlet tubes are in the tank. The bubbling will increase, then slow right down.

[125gJoe]

Also -- you need to shake it from side to side; not violently or the hoses might rip off the top.. You should only have to shake it some from the start, and not constantly.

[Cearbhaill]

I was using mine last week thinking- why has no one reinvented this thing?
Probably because it is the only decent one on the market and if your design has worked for the past 100 years why change it, right?

Mine is a bear to prime- no matter which way I do it (and I've invented a few alternate methods) I always shoot DE into the water. The intake should be flexible tubing that accepts vacuum attachments (not the POS gravel vac thing they sell), the shut off valve should work (I lose my prime every time I close it) and you should not have to stand there inverting/rocking/shaking/throwing the **** thing out the window for 10 minutes to get it going.

<rant mode over>

I just think they've gotten complacent regarding design improvements, that's all.

Edit: Censor removed the letter "P" followed by the letter "O" followed by the letter "S".
Nice to know we're protected from nasty acronyms
:D :D :D :D :D :D

[Matak]

You are SO right Cearbhaill. I have often looked at the unit and said: "this thing was invented in the 70's and has never been improved upon." Just look at the fittings! Pure 70's tech.

I'll bet if we put our heads together, we could vastly improve on the design.

[ewok]

cear..... try what i do.....

i put a 3 gallon or so bucket on a stool in front of the tank. fire up the unit, flip it over to prime it run it for a few and shut it down. then unfortunately you have to lift the bucket for the air to purge out. after you lift the bucket the air should start bubbling out pretty quickly, when this slows set the bucket down and turn the unit on and then let the remaining air purge out. then i add the powder to the bucket and let it coat the bag. let it run until the water in the bucket clears, you can use the filter outflow to agitate anything that settles. then when it's ready to go.... put your fingers over the end of the inlet and outflow tubes with the filter running and just lift the ends of the tubes out of the bucket and put them in the tank. you might have a blast of bubbles and maybe a slight bit of DE powder escape at this point, but it's generally pretty minor. after the ends are in the tank put the diffusers back on and let it go. you need at least the inlet diffuser, i had a fish get sucked all the way in once. :(

i usually don't use the outlet diffuser tho. i use the filtered water to agitate the gravel and stuff to get the junk into the water where it can be removed. i even have an old piece of tubing i slide into the outlet sometimes to extend the reach.....

good luck

it is a bit of a pain, but well worth the hassles. :)

[NJ Devils Fan]

Originally posted by Cearbhaill
I always shoot DE into the water.

Is that DE the same DE(earth) this is put in pool filters?

[ewok]

Originally posted by NJ Devils Fan


Is that DE the same DE(earth) this is put in pool filters?

close enuf for government work. :D

[Matak]

Originally posted by NJDF
Is that DE the same DE(earth) this is put in pool filters?Yep! I bought 10 lbs for $16.00 CDN (about $10.00 US) at a discount pool supply store.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Cool, how much does the "real" DE go for in the pet stores?

[Matak]

I forgot to add that and that's the best part! It is about 4-6 times as expensive, and that is the price at a discount store like Big Al's.

Warning:
Don't breath in the Diatomacious Earth! Wear a good dust mask. The advantage to buying it prepackaged at the aquarium supply store as opposed to dealing with it in bulk is that you are less likely to get airborne dust when it is portion packed.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Wow, I guess thats even more of a reason to finally get one. I can just take some from my grandmother who has a big pool. We just bought a giant bag of earth for it. About how much do you use at a time?

[Matak]

I find 1 to 1 1/2 cups works good for a charge.

[NJ Devils Fan]

I got your pm Matak and thanks for the warning. You change the earth after every use right?

[Matak]

Yeah. The only way to keep it would be to leave it wet in the filter container and that could get really mungy and funky after a couple of days. You have to rinse it pretty good.

[NJ Devils Fan]

About how long does it take to polish the water continously running?

[125gJoe]

NJ Devils Fan -
The Vortex XL or D-1 (depending on tank size), takes maybe 2 hours. But, that depends on other factors too.... I have had my tank "cleared" in one hour (actually less..), but left the Vortex on for 6 hours just for the heck of it. These are not 'leave it and forget it' filters..

I thought you had one already?

[chewey]

Hold on here fellas, I have been using the same old vortex diatom for around 30 yrs and have worked most of the bugs out of this VERY dependable filter over a period of time. First you did not state if you are using a recharge valve or not, ( which allows you to coat the filter bag with diatom and NOT get any of that stuff into your tank. )
It also keeps the filter primed so you can move the filter from one tank to another whithout losing the prime. As for air bubbles returning to your tank, most of the responces were good advice, but I would also check the jar top gasket if we are talking about a jar type diatom. You can contact vortex at thier web site www. vortez innerspace products.com

[Matak]

I had to vaseline my gasket to keep it from leaking (just a thin coat). I am impressed with the performance of the Vortex and I have heard the reliability is good, but as I posted earlier, I am really unimpressed with the design and construction. Solid but oh so 70's.

Speaking of the Vortexes performance, does anyone remember 80gJoe's dramatic before and after pics in his post last fall? It was reason enough for me to ask Santa for one :D

Post it again Joe if you still have the pics.

[NJ Devils Fan]

No Joe, I don't have one yet, but I am really wanting to get one soon, especially that I can use the regular pool earth in it.

[Cearbhaill]

First you did not state if you are using a recharge valve or not,
Yes I am


( which allows you to coat the filter bag with diatom and NOT get any of that stuff into your tank. )
There is always a percentage of powder that gets into the tank. I have Onyx Sand- it shows.


It also keeps the filter primed so you can move the filter from one tank to another whithout losing the prime.
It may have been designed to do so, but mine is not perfect and the prime always goes kablooey.
They state in their advertising that this valve enables you to move the unit from tank to tank without problem- this is untrue. I have to invert/ rock/curse the thing back into action and then- more DE in the water.

I like my Vortex- it does the job.
But no one will ever convince me that the design cannot be improved uopn.

[NJ Devils Fan]

If DE is being shot into the water, then you must not have the bag in right or something to that effect, I mean, thats obviously not supposed to happen.

[Cearbhaill]

The DE shoots out the return when you invert and shake the unit to get the pump primed. You can keep most of it from escaping but inevitably a few particles do get by.

[Matak]

For some reason DE is not (as?) harmfull to fish.