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?
vortex is shooting bubbles into my tank
- Thread starter drew22to375
- Start date
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Last edited:
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.
I'll bet if we put our heads together, we could vastly improve on the design.
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.
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.