New to the hobby, Biorb 60L tank tiny bubbles

[unicornaqua]

Hi, i’m new here and to fish keeping as a whole.

Recently my parents were gifted a 60L Biorb tank. We made sure everything was working before hand before acquiring our fish.

Unfortunately, a week after getting the fish, our pump gave out so we got a new one.

Well, a week later (today)...and the bubbles are tiny. We’ve checked the pump & its working (its vibrating, noisy & air is coming out of it as it was before). We also checked the one way valve for any leaks, but there were none. Lastly we have changed the air stone & filter but there are still little to no bubbles.

We’re struggling to figure out whats the issue & websites/books haven’t been much help. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as we are really concerned for our fish Thank you!

 

[AilyNC]

What fish are in the tank?

 

[unicornaqua]

What fish are in the tank?

2 Goldfish!

 

[AilyNC]

It's happened my air pump but I think resolved once all connections were tightened. Also my pump has to be higher up than the stone. I don't know what else you could check. Maybe @essjay @Fishmanic or @Ch4rlie have ideas as they're all online.

 

[Treestone]

Most times you get a blockage it will be in the media chamber. To test it fiddle around with the media to see if the flow changes.

 

[Treestone]

Oh, you're talking about the air pump. Most cheap pumps don't last very long at all, this would be due to the wearing of the rubber bladder yet it would be strange for it to wear out so fast. Have you checked the back pressure on the pump?

 

[unicornaqua]

It's happened my air pump but I think resolved once all connections were tightened. Also my pump has to be higher up than the stone. I don't know what else you could check. Maybe @essjay @Fishmanic or @Ch4rlie have ideas as they're all online.

Yep. Our pump sits well above the tank.

Oh, you're talking about the air pump. Most cheap pumps don't last very long at all, this would be due to the wearing of the rubber bladder yet it would be strange for it to wear out so fast. Have you checked the back pressure on the pump?

It wasn’t a cheap pump and was well reviewed on the website. Really dumb question but how do I check the back pressure on the pump?

Edit: Would it help if I provided pictures of the tank, pump & stuff?

 

[AilyNC]

My pump has a dial to adjust the amount of air flowing through it. The stone can get algae on it and I'd give it a clean in tank water. But pics might help.

 

[Treestone]

Yep. Our pump sits well above the tank.



It wasn’t a cheap pump and was well reviewed on the website. Really dumb question but how do I check the back pressure on the pump?

Edit: Would it help if I provided pictures of the tank, pump & stuff?

If you have the pump above the tank the backpressure should be fine in that relatively shallow tank. If it isn't the air pump itself its more likely to be the check valve (some reduce the flow considerably) or a part of the airline tubing. To check this I would disassemble the airline connection to the tank and test each part with the air pump if it pumps air into a container containing some aquarium water.

 

[unicornaqua]

Hi, just wanted to update the thread! It’s been fixed & our fish are fine!!

We figured that since both the pump & filter are working, we thought that maybe something was blocking the airflow (We think a pebble might have gotten stuck while we were replacing the filter). So my brother gave the tube several huffs & puffs and BOOM, our bubbles are back!

Thank you for all the suggestions & help

 

[AilyNC]

Great!