You have set aside this day to check and maintain your aquarium. You aquascape and move around to ensure the substrate, decorations, plants, and all the aquarium equipment are in the order you desire. Suddenly, you notice bubbles. As a good aquarist, you are curious to know where the bubbles come from.
The most important thing that will ring bells in your mind even before you locate the bubbles’ origin is how to get rid of them. The sad thing is that the bubbles may be coming from more than one source. But do not worry. This article looks at the possible origins of the bubbles and stipulates the best ways to get rid of them. Curious? Let’s get started!
Filling Your new Aquarium With Water
These bubbles will be spotted on the glass pane of your aquarium and also decorations. Many pockets of air are trapped among the plants, decorations, and substrate when you add water to your aquarium. As you continue adding more and more water, you will notice these air bubbles rising and clinging to the glass of your aquarium. These bubbles usually appear as lines whenever you use a container or jug to fill your aquarium. The reason behind this is pretty simple. Adding more and more water will result in the bubbles rising and clinging to the glass. Persistent adding of water will cause the surface level to increase, and more air bubbles will be trapped. The newly trapped bubbles will then rise to occupy the new surface level and thus leave the old surface level with the previous bubbles. This process repeats itself, resulting in evenly spaced lines of bubbles.
How do you get rid of the air Bubbles Stuck to the Aquarium Glass and Decorations?
The easiest bubbles to get rid of are these bubbles that are produced by filling your fish tank for the first time. The process is simple and doesn’t require your efforts too! What you need to do is to wait. After a few days, you see these bubbles rise to the top of the water, and the next thing you will see is them popping on their own.
What if you don’t have to wait? Use your hand or an algae scrubber to rub off the bubbles! It’s as easy as that.
Bubbles Originate From Your Filter Outlet
You will see these bubbles at the surface of the water, which is from your filter. Since the filter outlet generates a current that pushes the air bubbles around the fish tank, it may be difficult for you to determine if the cause of the water surface is from your filter or not.
These kinds of bubbles usually float around until they find a surface to cling. The bubbles tend to stick to the aquarium grass, aquarium glass, the filter, or the top part of a plant! Your filter may be producing a single bubble each second, but these may build up after some time leading to more air bubbles.
How then should I stop my filter from producing the bubbles?
Have a Clue on How Aquarium Filters Work?
Unless you have a faulty filter, you should clearly understand that the part of the filter returning water to your fish tank is the one producing the bubbles. When your outlet sits above the water, air can be trapped by the stream of water that flows down into your tank. The stream of water then pushes the air underwater producing the small bubbles floating around your tank in the process.
You ought to focus on minimizing the amount of contact the stream of water has with air. You can do this by repositioning the filter outlet on or just below the water surface. The filter ensures that no air is trapped.
If you are unable to lower the filter any further, move the water to the outlet by adding more water to your aquarium until the water level is in line with your filter outlet.
Bubbles Coming From Your Heater
You will spot these bubbles on or near the aquarium heater. Coldwater holds more oxygen than warm water. So, if you turn on your heater for the first time, the cold water suddenly becomes warm. The air bubbles forming as oxygen in the cold water will lack a place to go when the water becomes warm. But these types of bubbles shouldn’t worry you that much. Once the temperature of the water is proper, the bubbles will disappear by themselves.
Air Bubbles That Appear as a Result of a Water Change
You will notice this when you see micro bubbles all over the glass and on the surface of the fish tank. A sudden temperature change will cause the oxygen to leave the water. The temperature change will be in form of bubbles. A lot of bubbles will form when you add cold water to the warm water in your fish tank during a water change. These bubbles will be on the glass and the surface of the aquarium but suddenly disappears on their own. The only way to get rid of these bubbles by heating the freshwater to a point where it is closer to the temperature your aquarium had before adding it.
Air Bubbles on Plants
The bubbles will be located on the surface of plants or help rise some of the plants. The oxygen will merge with the water whenever the water in your aquarium is low in oxygen. The oxygen produced by the plants will need to find a place to go if the water in the fish tank is full of oxygen. This is what results in the bubbles forming, which slowly float to the surface. Pearling will also occur when you cut your plants.
Bubbles Emerging From Dead Algae
Do dead algae cause the aquarium to stink? To some extent, no. You must know why your aquarium is producing that unusual odor, delve into Why Does my Aquarium Stink? to satisfy your curiosity.
When you reach for a bottle of Algaefix, the outcome is that you may find your tank overturn with algae. Be wary that all dead algae bring with them a new problem – ammonia. A bit of knowledge about the nitrogen cycle will make you understand that ammonia isn’t ideal for your fish tank. Bubbles that form around dead algae are, in most times, ammonia bubbles. The efficient method to combat this setback is to remove as many dead algae as possible. The alternative methods that can aid you in the same mission are having a good water conditioner, monitoring the aquarium keenly with a good test kit, and having repeated water changes.
Fish Bubble Nests
Have you been reading this article and yet can’t find the cause for the bubbles in your fish tank? The list is not exhausted yet. Your fish might be the cause of those bubbles. Those clusters of bubbles floating on the water may be emanating your gourami, betta, or catfish. You will see these bubbles forming on the surface of the water. However, you should note that when your fish is building a bubble nest, it is always an indication that your fish is healthy. In case you don’t plan on breeding your fish, these bubbles shouldn’t worry you much. You can have your fish continue building their nests until the next time you embark on cleaning your aquarium. Read on How to Clean my Aquarium to make sure your aquarium is clean.
When are Aquarium Bubbles Normal?
It’s the nature of the environment that you will be going to see little air bubbles in the water. Bubble development is from air-driven filters. Air stones will create cascades of small bubbles suitable for the movement of the water around the tank. Bubbles can also be caused by changing filters. It’s normal for your aquarium to have bubbles when the bubbles pop shortly after forming, if they don’t appear foamy or when they don’t cover the entire surface of the water.
As said, some species of fish also create bubble nests, according to Tankarium. This is a way of attracting mates in healthy bettas and gouramis. Bubble nests may look like a mass of floating orbs on the water’s surface. They may also attach themselves to plants in your aquarium. Seeing debris mixed with the nests is perfectly normal and shouldn’t worry you.
It is also normal for bubbles to appear after you refill your aquarium with water. These tiny air bubbles are normal and usually go away after a few days. You may also choose to wipe them out if you wish.
In Conclusion
As the article has just stipulated, many different triggers may cause bubbles to appear. Some are normal, while others may be unusual. The latter requires you to conduct an immediate investigation so that you may figure out the mystery behind the small tiny air bubbles appearing in your aquarium.
