water

[ozpkchris]

i apower head pointed towards the surface will help brake up the film so it can be filtted though the over flow or maybe you can point the return towards the surface or maybe change the return to a spray bar

what kind of mech filtration do you have is it filter socks or a filter pad ?

 

[mymindseye81]

Well although this may not be the case, this thin film over the water is often built up residue from a cleaning product used in the vincity of the tank or soap residue from your hands. It can also be eutropication but as at least there seems to be water movement, it is unlikely.

the dining room table is in the same room, my wife uses glass cleaner on the table-could this be the cause? i do clean my tank glass but i always spray on the rag not the glass, but i do it in the same room, could the spray travel into the tank? i do have a glass top over the tank

 

[mymindseye81]

i apower head pointed towards the surface will help brake up the film so it can be filtted though the over flow or maybe you can point the return towards the surface or maybe change the return to a spray bar

what kind of mech filtration do you have is it filter socks or a filter pad ?

filter pads and theres only one that sits under the drip and on top of the bio balls. is there suppose to be more? i also know that in the over flow box the filter that sits on hose, has fallen apart and im useing zip ties to hold it together (i need a knew one) should i replace all my media sponges?

 

[Twicksisted]

i just wet a sponge and clean the glass that way, then use a paper towell to dry it... gives the best finish and I dont risk getting chemicals into the water.
I too also get an oily film in my tank on occasion but its usually down to the types of food i feed and also perhaps becuase im a smoker and the tank is in my boys room / office when smoking is definately allowed!

I do still think that 20-25% every two weeks is far too little though (even though your fish obviously still are alive) and if you did a 30-40% each week you defi8nately wouldnt have this issue with the film

 

[mymindseye81]

Is your overflow right next to your return?? Couldn`t quite understand the

Since you have a wet/dry drip system you have plenty of water movement..though not a big fan of the CPR overflow systems, I am trying to understand why, with a skimmer style box you are getting any film on your tanks surface. Pics would be a plus.
If you have particles floating in the water, your mechanical media is not working. You need some finer material(quilt batting works well) or your drip system is bypassing because of gaps in the media chamber.
That just comes off the top of my head, tiny and pointed as it is.

here are some pics i just took, notice the particles floating in the water and then look at the stuff at the surface of the water, what is this stuff? it just started happening about a week ago and now its much worse. in the pics look at the return hose churning the water. also my over flow box, i just cleaned that on tuesday, what is going on.

 

[sostoudt]

its just surface scum. where oils build up and prevent bubbles from poping.
to fix:
you can get a surface skimmer
you can get a powerful powerhead and point it at the surface.
you can do more water changes more frequently.
also your frozen or meaty foods probably contribute.

 

[mike dunagan]

Okay most ideas above work great. Now the water changes will not help if you draw the water from the bottom and do not mix the top water often. The white stuff is from two things one... bright cheap lights. Bright cheap lights show off the things in the water more. Second, you need a finer filtration system. Perhaps something to polish...

 

[Twicksisted]

i use my siphon hose to suck water from the surface... (takes a bit of practice)... kinda like a whirlpool or surface skimmer but siphoned straight out of the tank.
Another trick is to use a flat white sheet of paper... float it on the top (the oil / film clings, then pull it off from one side and it sticks to the paper as you peel it off the surface

You waste a lot of paper getting it all but its a good way of getting oil / scum off the water surface... just make sure theres no ink on the paper or you could harm the fish... white printer paper wiorks well... or paper towell. hehe.... anyways yeah i wouldnt worry to much about the surface scum unless your fish arent getting enough oxygen... the main problem with it will be oxygen penetrating into the water (or not getting into the water through the surface scum).

Solutions will be anything that can break the surface film and agitate the surface such as powerhead, airstones... or filtration that traps the oily substance

 

[KaiserSousay]

it just started happening about a week ago and now its much worse

Looked like you have pretty good water movement, all the surface ripples from your return line.
What, if anything, did you do different last week, compared to the other times you serviced your sump system?
After running a UV for awhile I had little white cruddies build up in my intake/return lines. During system cleaning they broke loose, spread all over the tank, but my filters took care of it in a couple hours.
Kinda runs me back to your filter media. Any changes made there?
Have you changed food, feeding schedule,amount? That is the usual source of surface scum.
As others have pointed out, there are a number of ways to treat the symptoms you have..but I would like to zero in on the action that caused the symptoms to appear.

 

[mymindseye81]

Looked like you have pretty good water movement, all the surface ripples from your return line.
What, if anything, did you do different last week, compared to the other times you serviced your sump system?
After running a UV for awhile I had little white cruddies build up in my intake/return lines. During system cleaning they broke loose, spread all over the tank, but my filters took care of it in a couple hours.
Kinda runs me back to your filter media. Any changes made there?
Have you changed food, feeding schedule,amount? That is the usual source of surface scum.
As others have pointed out, there are a number of ways to treat the symptoms you have..but I would like to zero in on the action that caused the symptoms to appear.

i did change food, i was feeding just frozen blood worms which i like because i feel like the fish can see the red better, but i kept reading on this website "MFK" that frontosa need variety of high protien food so i bought frozen kril and frozen brine shrimp. the kril sinks pretty and the fish love it but brine shrimp seems to go everywere and does not sink. ive tried to feed them this several times but it just seems to confuse them because it spreads all over the tank. anyway im doing a 30% water change today, and im going to clean out all pumps and hoses. also im going to inspect my filter media and see if that needs to be changed out, i knolw the one in the over flow needs to replaced. also im going to add aragonite into the sump for extra buffer. you know if i didnt have a BLACK back ground this crud wouldnt be so evident. i hope it clears up after the water changes etc.