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surface contaminated

F

Frederick

Member
Joined
20 Feb 2012
Messages
64
Location
Hinckley
H all.... a couple of days ago I fed the fish some JBL Gala food and since then I have noticed a what looks like a oily deposit on the surface of the water.This means that the CO2 bubbles are trapped under it.
It is no use doing a water change as the wateris not taken from the surface. At the moment the inmates are showing no signs of distress but I am still worried.
Has anyone else had this happen and how do I get rid of the scum.
On the other hand should I just ignore it.
I am very worried.... please help.... Frederick
 
Hi all,
It is possibly lipids from the food, although plants naturally leak waxes and oils into the water. You can try floating a kitchen towel on top of the water, this should remove the surface film, or you can move the filter out-let up to give some surface movement that will break the film up.

cheers Darrel
 
Putting air on for 1/2 hour (when CO2 not on) completely clears the film for me.
 
Hate surface scum, i tend to skim the surface with a gravel vac every day for a while and it dissipates. Yet to clear in mine completely though :twisted:

ian_m said:
Putting air on for 1/2 hour (when CO2 not on) completely clears the film for me.
Click to expand...
shall have to try that Ian.
 
Do a Mark Evans and get some Gouramies. I did just that and no more surface scum... :thumbup:
 
Antipofish said:
Do a Mark Evans and get some Gouramies. I did just that and no more surface scum... :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Apparently mollies are good for this too.

I think mine has gotten worse since I changed flake food to King British from Aquarian.
 
easerthegeezer said:
Hate surface scum, i tend to skim the surface with a gravel vac every day for a while and it dissipates. Yet to clear in mine completely though :twisted:

ian_m said:
Putting air on for 1/2 hour (when CO2 not on) completely clears the film for me.
Click to expand...
shall have to try that Ian.
Click to expand...
I bought a Boyu Flexible Air Curtain Diffuser (£2) and some suction cups (£2.15) from an Ebay shop in Hong Kong and have placed this at the back of my tank behind all the plants, just above the substrate. Black pipe & black substrate, hides quite well.

Doesn't really matter when air is run, obviously not during CO2 time. I have run the air

10:45pm (45minutes after CO2 off and 15mintes before lights of) until 1pm (2 hours before CO2 on).
10:45pm to 11:15pm
6am to 8am to cover morning feeding time.

My air is currently off, as everything all appears OK without it for the moment.

Make sure you use a decent timeswitch as cheap timeswitches are sometimes not happy with the inductive load an air pump has. My cheap B&Q timeswitch would quite often just reset to 00:00. Now using a Byron Home Easy switched sockets with timed remote, which means I can set lights, CO2, wavemaker & air times from comfort of armchair.

Remember one way valves as well, as when setting up the air system my tank started syphoning out the air pipes.
 
Thanks for that Ian, i have a pump, tubing etc so just need a curtain. Will do that today as the film is driving me mad now, its nowhere near as bad as when i had BBA so now the plants are happier it has dissipated to a shine on the surface. 'whats the oil on top?' is one of first thing anyone says when they come round :twisted:

i like the mechanical timers, electric ones have always let me down but am interested in the byron timers, remember your thread. Guess they still work ok a few months on...?
 
I run an airstone every night 10 mins after lights out till 7.30am, still can get an oily film if somethings not right but it doesnt last long.
I have just invested in some 'wilkinsons' electric timers (approx. £5) so will see how they fare. Favoured these as they have battery back up so when the power goes off they maintain the correct times :thumbup:
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
easerthegeezer said:
Thanks for that Ian, .....
i like the mechanical timers, electric ones have always let me down but am interested in the byron timers, remember your thread. Guess they still work ok a few months on...?
Click to expand...
Byron Home Easy switched sockets still working fine and excellent soultion. Couple of things I really like about it is:

- Can set timings for all your bits of equipment from your armchair. Currently light, CO2, wavemaker and air pump.
- Can disable a timer (ie not clear) so my air pump time is disabled at the moment.

I also use one to remotely switch of a pump in the kitchen during water changes.

I have ion exchange softened water in my house so my hot water can't be used in weekly water changes. So what I do is fill a big flexible bucket with cold tap water, boiled kettles and pan from stove water and water conditioner, drop a JBL u750 pump (whose outlet is same as standard hose pipe) and pump across house to tank. When tank is at correct level I remotely turn the pump off. Job done.

Oh, I syphon water into yellow bucket as well, before pumping out onto front lawn, so that you can see if you have syphoned something out you shouldn't have :wideyed: (fish, plants etc).
 
A lot of foods (ie. Tetra Pro Colour) leave an oily surface - caused by lipids as mentioned previously...
I had it with my old tank and purchased a JBL Surface Skim (not good for those that love their hidden equipment) - it draws water in to the filter from lower in the water column as with a traditional external filter but also has a small weir to draw water from the surface, thus removing any oily film.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
ian_m said:
I have ion exchange softened water in my house so my hot water can't be used in weekly water changes. So what I do is fill a big flexible bucket with cold tap water, boiled kettles and pan from stove water and water conditioner, drop a JBL u750 pump (whose outlet is same as standard hose pipe) and pump across house to tank. When tank is at correct level I remotely turn the pump off. Job done.
Click to expand...

wow! i thought my water changes were a pain just using a bucket. Bugger boiling kettles and pans :lol:
 
I have found lily pipes very effective at removing surface scum. You can raise them up slightly so that they make a splashing noise. The surface scum is then broken up and pushed under the surface where the filter will suck it in. It usually only takes 5 minutes to remove the surface film by doing this.
 
Matty1983 said:
I have found lily pipes very effective at removing surface scum. You can raise them up slightly so that they make a splashing noise. The surface scum is then broken up and pushed under the surface where the filter will suck it in. It usually only takes 5 minutes to remove the surface film by doing this.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I also saw a video where they even suck the surface down in a kind of "vortex" even when under the water level. Does yours demonstrate that Matty ? Im actually contemplating buying a set myself, although my Honey Goramies are doing a good job of helping the surface cleanliness too.
 
Yes it does work like a vortex as long as the water level isn't too far above the outlet. If the film bothers me I just log it out of the water and it's gone within a few minutes. You can actually see it getting pushed under the surface.
 
Matty1983 said:
Yes it does work like a vortex as long as the water level isn't too far above the outlet. If the film bothers me I just log it out of the water and it's gone within a few minutes. You can actually see it getting pushed under the surface.
Click to expand...

Cool. Damn. Now I may have to spend some MORE money, lol.
 
mikeappleby said:
Any inlet raised above the water level will do the same thing. No need for lilly pipes.
Click to expand...

Hi Mike, very true. I already raise my spraybar at night to reoxygenate a la Tom Barr. Gotta love them lily pipes though ... They look soooo sexy.
 
I always thought the surface oil was due to the co2 bottle. My one clearly states it contains a lubricant to keep the working parts happy. Havnt heard about getting it from food until now. I wish I could fit an external near my tank to run Lilys. I have a 9mm and 12mm set just begging to be used ;)
 
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