Aquatube sucking in bubbles. What's up?

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Blown 89

2[H]4U
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Oct 21, 2002
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I have my inlet located on the rear in the middle port and the outlet on the lower port on the back (incoming water on top of outgoing water) and air bubbles created by the incoming water slamming into the front glass are getting sucked back into the loop. How are you guys preventing this? I filled the aquatube as close to the top as I could but it's still recirculating air which piles up in the radiator and releases with a mighty kerplump sound ever minute or so. I can't move the barbs because the pump mount braket on the aquabay blocks one of the back holes and the side holes require another cd bay to snake hose through which I don't have. Ideas?
 
I took the aquajet out trying to increase flow and it doesn't produce much of an effect mounted horizontally like that....it does but I had even more air recirculation. The aquajet created less bubbles but I still had some problems. I'm using an Eheim 1080. Here are some pics:

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The aquatube is a classic case of form over function. There are known problems with the aquatube when used at higher flow rates. AC doesn't care because they dont care about flow rate. Therefore for those of us who understand the basic laws of thermodynamics, and dont just settle for par performance...we are left out in the cold.

If you could find a way to get more water into the aquatube you could probably remedy the problem. I would suggest having a fill tube coming out of one of the top ports, but the disc drive is in the way. About the only other option would be to somehow get a baffle in there like Swiftech has on their micro-res. But that seems exceedingly difficult.

PS. I would get some moulding over that cut in the drive bays there so you dont risk cutting the tubing.
 
i don't know about the baffel necessarily being difficult, but that might be your only choice if you want to make it work. clear plexi slanting from just below the inlet to just above the bottom of the res, back to front.......

alternately, you can run a T-line in front of the pump inlet to get air out, and have the res totally for decoration.
 
this always happens once you reach the flowrates of the 1048. like erasmus said, you can use a t-line to get the bubbles out.
 
Erasmus354 said:
If you could find a way to get more water into the aquatube you could probably remedy the problem. I would suggest having a fill tube coming out of one of the top ports, but the disc drive is in the way. About the only other option would be to somehow get a baffle in there like Swiftech has on their micro-res. But that seems exceedingly difficult.
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As you can see I cannot get any more water into that aquatube. I have it mounted on drive rails so I can move it in an out to fill (that was the whole point of the reservoir. If it comes to making a baffle I'll just sell the damn thing.

PS. I would get some moulding over that cut in the drive bays there so you dont risk cutting the tubing.
Click to expand...
The cut is rounded so I'm not worried about it for a few days. I just have to make a trip to the hardware store


theseeker said:
Too much liquid in the system.
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Too much liquid as in I've filled it to high or to much as in it's flowing faster than the aquatube can handle.



Does anyone have a bay reservoir they'd recommned to replace this if need be. I obviously bought the aquatube because I liked the way it looked....I wish I could make it work but I'm not willing to put that much work into it.
 
Blown 89 said:
As you can see I cannot get any more water into that aquatube. I have it mounted on drive rails so I can move it in an out to fill (that was the whole point of the reservoir. If it comes to making a baffle I'll just sell the damn thing.

The cut is rounded so I'm not worried about it for a few days. I just have to make a trip to the hardware store


Too much liquid as in I've filled it to high or to much as in it's flowing faster than the aquatube can handle.



Does anyone have a bay reservoir they'd recommned to replace this if need be. I obviously bought the aquatube because I liked the way it looked....I wish I could make it work but I'm not willing to put that much work into it.
Click to expand...

Too much liquid as in to high. The liquid/water should be about half way up in the res, at least that it what I found for optimal results.
 
theseeker said:
Too much liquid as in to high. The liquid/water should be about half way up in the res, at least that it what I found for optimal results.
Click to expand...
When I have the fluid halfway up the res this is what it looks like inside (very turbulent). The turbulence creates so many bubbles that it sounds like a bad hard drive constantly seeking when it pulls the air through. When I fill it almost to the top the sound goes away for a while until the little bubbles build up in the radiator and they release. I'll run it overnight and see if it gets better....maybe it's just air caught in the water blocks and such.

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I know a person that fixed that with his 'Tube by placing a small sponge inside.
 
Pooky said:
I know a person that fixed that with his 'Tube by placing a small sponge inside.
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Isn't he worried about clogging the intake?



Well I ran it overnight and nothing's changed. This morning I played with the water levels a bit and found that he fuller the tube the better it got but the problem never went away. In fact, as I took water out the level in the aquatube RAISED because the air getting sucking into the loop was displacing that much water. Unless someone has a solution I'm convinced that the AT is simply to small for so much flow. I wish I had a second tube and I'd test that theory by welding two together lengthwise but I'm not about to drop more money into this project at this point.
 
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