film on water surface

[habsfan]

I have some type of clear oily looking film on the surface of my water. I have an aqua clear remora skimmer that appears to be working ok because it's putting out foamy crud. I also have an aqua clear 110 hob filter. My water parms seems to be fine.
ph 8.2
amm 0
nitrite 0.05
nitrate 2.5
alk 1.7-2.8
phos 0
ca 420
sg 1.023
temp 80
kh 7

The inhabitants are:
1 perc
1 coral beauty
3 green chromis
1 lawnmower blenny
1 royal gramma
1 coral banded shrimp
3 emerald crabs
snails
hermits
green star polyp

I added the coral beauty and GSP a week ago.

All inhabitants seem to be fine.

This film has been here for some time but it seems to be getting worse.
My last water change was 5/20.

Any ideas anyone?

 

[Woods]

Do you have a sump? When I over fill my tank and the top of my water is touching the glass spacer at the very top of my tank a noily film will appear. As soon as I bring the water level down and allow water to circulate and flow through my overflow it goes away.

 

[Brian5000]

It's dissolved protein in your water. It's attracted to surface tension, the same principle that makes protein skimmers work. It's perfectly natural, but it should be fixed before it becomes a problem. Too much can prevent oxygen exchange at the water's surface, which can cause lots of problems.

To get rid of the oil slick, make waves. Buy a wavemaker if you want to get fancy, or just aim a powerhead along the top of the aquarium. You only need a tiny ripple to get the protein to redissolve into the water where it will eventually get picked up by your protein skimmer.
_________________
Santeria Forum

 

[trido]

It's dissolved protein in your water. It's attracted to surface tension, the same principle that makes protein skimmers work. It's perfectly natural, but it should be fixed before it becomes a problem. Too much can prevent oxygen exchange at the water's surface, which can cause lots of problems.

To get rid of the oil slick, make waves. Buy a wavemaker if you want to get fancy, or just aim a powerhead along the top of the aquarium. You only need a tiny ripple to get the protein to redissolve into the water where it will eventually get picked up by your protein skimmer.

Or, get the surface skimmer attachment for your HOB skimmer and it will skim the grunge off the surface for you.

 

[habsfan]

Thanks guys. I think I'll try the powerhead option first. I already have enough equip. in my tank at the moment.

 

[habsfan]

So I directed the flow of one of my powerheads for more surface agitation. It seems like all its done is push the film to the other end of the tank? How long will this method take till I see some improvement? If this doesn't work guess I'll have to try the surface skimmer but I hate fill my tank with more hardware.

 

[Brian5000]

Either there isn't enough agitation over the whole tank surface, or you just have a lot built up there. Try scooping out what's there. If you get it clean and oil returns, you may need another peice of hardware (I know how you feel there). I don't know what you're tank is like now, it might be better to reposition your powerhead too. Experiment with it. Good luck.
_________________
define economic stimulus

 

[Anonymous]

A simple way to get the existing film off of the top of your tank is to take a sheet of paper towel and lay it across the top of the tank. When you lift the towel up most of the film on the water will stick to the towel. Then you can see if the added circulation is enough to keep it from accumulating in the future.

 

[habsfan]

Thanks. I'll give 'em a try.