Surface oil doing my head in

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micstarz

micstarz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 28, 2008
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Hong Kong
This is just getting plain annoying now. Every day when I check my two saltwater tanks, any water surface that isn't agitated enough forms a small layer of oil on the surface - like a real fine layer of it. What I need is input on the cause and solutions, please. Here's a list of my causes but are there any others?

Some of the causes that I've thought of:
1. Cooking from the kitchen makes oil get into the air and it gets into the tank

2. Feeding crabs and shrimp that are being split open by mantis shrimp and cuttlefish releasing oil into tank

3. Oil in pellets that I gut load the feeder animals with

4. Oil from my hands

This is especially a problem because I have guppy breeder boxes in the tanks and the oil just forms there because there is no surface agitation. What options do I have to remove the oil? Waterchanges don't seem to be enough.

Thanks.
 
put a small pump in each breeder box pointing up for surface agitation
 
micstarz;3066729; said:
This is just getting plain annoying now. Every day when I check my two saltwater tanks, any water surface that isn't agitated enough forms a small layer of oil on the surface - like a real fine layer of it. What I need is input on the cause and solutions, please. Here's a list of my causes but are there any others?

Some of the causes that I've thought of:
1. Cooking from the kitchen makes oil get into the air and it gets into the tank

2. Feeding crabs and shrimp that are being split open by mantis shrimp and cuttlefish releasing oil into tank

3. Oil in pellets that I gut load the feeder animals with

4. Oil from my hands

This is especially a problem because I have guppy breeder boxes in the tanks and the oil just forms there because there is no surface agitation. What options do I have to remove the oil? Waterchanges don't seem to be enough.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I don't know what would be causing these symptoms with you're tank but! My co-worker is a saltwater expert and got a phone call regarding the same symptoms. He said its something that can just happen.

It shouldn't be from #2 or #3 you listed. Those should create more of a cloudy look. I would highly doubt that #4 would cause this either unless you have you're hands in something oily, but I always recommend washing you're hands before putting them in the tank. Just be sure to rinse well... LOL

Anyway, #1 is a slight possibility. If the tank is set up with in close limits of the kitchen. But I think it would affect creatures in the tank.

My co-worker said to take a paper towel, clean, new, and not with the glue on it. More from the center of the roll and to lightly drag it across the top of the tank. Just skimming it. That should remove or reduce the oily look.

Good luck!
 
Most likely from what you feed IMHO....
 
you answered your own question my friend.
It's ALL surface agitation..
The ocean would look like an oil spill if it wasn't for waves..
You HAVE to keep water moving at the surface..

90% of all dissolved mater in a SW tank is in the top 20% of the tank.
This is why we have surface skimmers, (overflow box).
 
another issue could be the type of water being used. Most tap water with higher impurities will cause a foggy look, and this can also build up on the surface over time. Tanks with overflows never see this issue because the water gets mixed together constantly, allowing the skimmer contact time with this water, eventually will reduce and clear up this problem. Pellet foods are very high in oil and usually only recommended to feed twice weekly, to avoid an excessive amount within of oild and other such buildups in the tank.
 
I've read on one of the forums (probably a planted tank forum) that the oil like slick with a rainbow sheen is actually a type of bacteria colony. My planted snail tank gets it occasionally and I've even seen my snails skimming the top of the water upside down with their mouths sucking away at this rainbow slick, or they could just be doing the backstroke and taking a breath of fresh air.

The bacteria is probably there cause of an excess of nutrients remaining in the water which I guess could be from not enough circulation and or overfeeding.

I could be wrong but that's just a suggestion.
 
I had the same thing happen to me. I never found out why it happened but I got a surface skimmer and it went away. Try that and see what happens.
 
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