Skimmer help?

So I have a layer of film on my water that from what i have read comes from the food that the fish consume (hikari floating sticks, hikari massivore, and NLS sinking cichlid)

I noticed this film about 4 months ago. Didn't bug me too much but I did some research and now I can't stop till I find a solution.

I have two Koralia 4 power heads and I pointed them in a more upward direction but the "create more surface agitation" solution did not work.

I then also pointed the spray bars from my two ehiem pro 3's (2075) spray bars, and the output nozzles from my FX5 upward to create even more agitation and still no dice.

So finally I added two 6" disc air stones on each side of the tank, now I should have more than enough surface agitation and I still have the film.

It isn't a HUGE deal but someone with OCD like me can't handle it now that I have noticed it and couldn't find a proper solution other than adding a skimmer. So this is where your help kicks in, and I need advice / recommendations.

I have a 180 gallon tank (Standard dimension 72x24x24) with the following 3 canister filters:

One FX5 canister AND two Ehiem Pro 3's (2075) with upgraded spraybars and intake tubes (Ehiem kit 1 & kit 2 with the proper 16/22 mm tubing) - The stock intake and spray bars looked pathetic and puny, not to mention a really ugly neon green.



Now are there any of you out there that have added those inline skimmers to either of these two filters? I am looking for an out of the box solution preferably rather than having to mod something as I am limited with time and tools to mod with.

Also how many skimmers should I add? Will one suffice or would I require more? Anything other than an inline skimmer to try?

This film is driving me crazy....

I have read that there are some made by ehiem AND fluval but research turns up that they are made for smaller filters and do not work for either filter very well, due to their larger turnover and that they "rattle"

View attachment 863531 View attachment 863532

Anyone tried this one? Toms Surface Skimmer (it doesn't have a "T" fitting so I guess this is a unit that requires retro fitting if I am correct? Ugh....)

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I am fresh water sorry

I did some searching on here for "oily film" or something like that and searched google and all signs point to food.

I have tried the old school paper towel method and it not only takes a ton of paper towel, it comes back within 3 or 4 days.

I clean a different canister each month, so no canister goes more than 2 months before getting cleaned.

Jan = Canister A
Feb = Canister B
Mar = Canister C
Apr = Canister A
May = Canister B
June = Canister C

etc....

I try and keep them on a cycle as to not kill off all my BB all at once...

My stock list isn't crazy and I don't feed a lot. Every few days and its all gone within 5 - 10 min. Water parameters are fine as well. I just ran a test earlier tonight and my weekly water change isn't due for 2 more days.