I have a 20gal saltwater aquarium with 2 false percula clowns, one pink mushroom rock, one green mushroom rock (which isnt doing so well), one purple mushroom rock, a blue and green clam, a diamond watchman, and a koko worm. For about a month now I've had this brown film over the surface of my water. I've done 2 water changes and it goes away but then it comes back. What is this stuff? It separates when I add food to the water like oil or something. I dont have a protein skimmer but I have opticarb which is supposed to act just like it. I change it once a month. Anyone know what this 'film' could be from??
Film over water??
- Thread starter Willoww
- Start date
SSalty
Team Liquid Force
What also might help to get rid of the film is to take a plain white papertowel (make sure there is no colorful decorations on them) and hold the two corners and kind of skim the towel across the surface of the water.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I agree with jhnrb, point a powerhead upwards enough so that it moves the water around better.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
You should have strong circulation throughout your tank at all times, I'd say especially something breaking the surface of the water, that will help oxygenate the water also.
yote
In Memoriam
What kind of filter are you running?
I was going to run my 55 with out any mechanical filtration.But after a day or 2 I got that nasty film.I went ahead and added a HOB filter to run untill I can get a wet/dry system.
If you dont have any way to trap the film,it will collect on the surface of your water.
I was going to run my 55 with out any mechanical filtration.But after a day or 2 I got that nasty film.I went ahead and added a HOB filter to run untill I can get a wet/dry system.
If you dont have any way to trap the film,it will collect on the surface of your water.
fishbait
I found Nemo
yup, mine will get that too. i use the spraybar on my canister filter to keep the water surface broke up. before i used a single spout return but the film would still build up on one end of the tank.
tizapolgar
Zymurgist
I had a similar problem on my old 10g nano before i realized the importance of surface agitation.
Added a higher flow powerhead, pointed it upward to get a decent amount of agitation, and no longer had a problem.
If surface agitation doesn't solve the problem, I'm going to take a "Car Talk" kind of random guess (for all of the NPR listeners here...and since my other hobby is working on cars...where random guesses are often the right ones) and suggest that overfeeding could be the source of the goo (food that doesn't get eaten). I have a friend that had that problem with a freshwater tank. Like I said, just a WAG...
Added a higher flow powerhead, pointed it upward to get a decent amount of agitation, and no longer had a problem.
If surface agitation doesn't solve the problem, I'm going to take a "Car Talk" kind of random guess (for all of the NPR listeners here...and since my other hobby is working on cars...where random guesses are often the right ones) and suggest that overfeeding could be the source of the goo (food that doesn't get eaten). I have a friend that had that problem with a freshwater tank. Like I said, just a WAG...
