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Surface Film

John Starkey

Member
Joined
8 Jul 2007
Messages
1,599
Location
worcester
Hi all,i thought i would post this here instead of in my journal,as i am hoping for more opinions,

Right the only real probs i was having while doing a fish less cycle was a few diatoms/brown algae,now my filter has matured that has cleared up nicely,i was dosing easy carbo 1ml a day and i was getting this surface film so i quit dosing that and things seemed to get better,then i decided to up my co2 rate from 2bps to 4bps as the marsilea was struggling a bit,that improved but so did the surface film,so i am thinking the film is being caused by too much co2, my drop checker is a nice yellowy / green colour,all i dose now is TPN + 2 1/2 ml,s a week

your thoughts and idea,s what may be causing it would be very helpful

regards,
john,
 
oddly enough, me and james have had discussions regards to surface film and co2...but no conclusion.

It's weird, sometimes i get it, and sometimes i dont. :?

when i do have it, it's easy to get rid of, using a plastic container....forget paper towels. :thumbup:
 
Thanks mark for your thoughts,i just use my small fish net to scoop it off the surface,but i may reduce the co2 down to 1bps once the marsilea has spread more,its all i can think of doing to see what affect that has if any,
regards,
john.
 
Yeh me to, some tanks do some don't. I did notice the other day however that when I overdosed excel in my highlight tank, the film actually went and has since come back.

Odd. If Ceg is right (no reason to doubt he is! :lol:) then this probably just proves that the plants in the tank were deficient of CO2 and where 'leaking'. Adding the excel gave them what they needed and so they 'healed'

You might find this interesting.

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13512

Sam
 
viktorlantos said:
Since i do aeration on my small tank at night i never see any oil film. ;)

Well Viktor funny you should say that,because last night i moved my spray bar up higher to cause more surface movement and i came down looked into the tank and surface film was back ?,i have now reduced the co2 bps back down to 2bps and wait to see if it make,s any difference,

regards john.
 
Hi all
I had this the other week and the only conclusion I could come up with that there may have been some soap / detergent residue on my hands / arms - I usually rinse my hans / arms prior to going into the water which put an oily film on the water surface.

Regards
Paul.
 
I simply add floating plants like frogbit and eventually once it covered a small area of the tank then the oily film stopped.

However recently I have removed the frogbit as it was totally covering the water surface the oily film has come back. But its very slight.

My nano tank doesnt have a lid and is in the kitchen so possibly its from the atmosphere when cooking?
 
mlgt said:
I simply add floating plants like frogbit and eventually once it covered a small area of the tank then the oily film stopped.

However recently I have removed the frogbit as it was totally covering the water surface the oily film has come back. But its very slight.

My nano tank doesnt have a lid and is in the kitchen so possibly its from the atmosphere when cooking?

Which backs up my comment on here elsewhere - when my plants reach the surface the film goes, when I trim them lower again it comes back. Trimmed the rotala about 2 weeks ago and it is just about to hit the surface, once it does then I will see if the film goes again.
 
Thank,s guys for all the reply,s some very interesting points there,the film i am getting is like a clear white film and when you pull your finger through it it clots just like cold white fat does on water,but bare in mind it is a very thin film,

regards,
john.
 
Ok after reading Clive,s thread on this subject i am going to up my lighting to 7 hrs as the plants are doing ok,up the TPN + as i am only dosing half the recommended dose at the moment,up the co2 back to 4 BPS,and turn up the flow rate on my filter,i will keep you posted on the results,

regards,
john.
 
mlgt said:
Does your tank have a lid or is it open to elements?

Its open topped, i have never in thirty years of fish keeping had a lid on my aquariums,

regards,
john.
 
john starkey said:
mlgt said:
Does your tank have a lid or is it open to elements?

Its open topped, i have never in thirty years of fish keeping had a lid on my aquariums,

regards,
john.


I must keep a lid over the tank or my fishes would immediately jump out :lol:
I wish it were not so.
 
mlgt said:
Have you managed to resolve this issue?

Hi Migt,its 100% better since i upped the co2 to 4 BPS,i also upped the lighting from 6 hrs to 7 hrs,i also increased the flow rate and up to now the film is a lot better,i also upped the TPN+ to 4mls, i am struggling with the marsilea for some reason,initially it took off very well,then it seemed to be suffering from the diatom issue i was having,now the the filter has fully matured and the diatoms have gone i trimmed it right down to see if that gets it going,if not out it comes :lol: ,

regards,
john.
 
john starkey said:
the film i am getting is like a clear white film and when you pull your finger through it it clots just like cold white fat does on water,but bare in mind it is a very thin film,

regards,
john.
I'm getting exactly the same thing in two of my three tanks. It comes and goes, seemingly at random times, but affects the two victim tanks at similar levels of 'scum intensity'.

Coincidence perhaps, but the only tank not getting it has a closed lid. The two victims are open top.

I don't think this type of scum is nutrient or CO2 related, but something in the surrounding air.

The scum is pure white and has a waxy feel to it.

Does anyone else suffer from a similar type of scum?
 
like I've said, it comes and goes also. Thin film, which if left unchecked, can get bad.

Skim it off with a plastic tub (takes 2 mins) it runs clear. Over time, it then disappears all together.
 
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