dirt in water

plainzwalker

plainzwalker

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Jan 6, 2003
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plainzwalker.no-ip.org
edited to revamp the question....

My new tank has an oily looking film on the top...Is there a way to get rid of this? I have 3 plants that have been split up, Sera Florapot, a co2 generator/injector, spong filter, heater, and small 1-3mm gravel.

Would doing a water change help at all?

any help would be greatly appreciated
 
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Apparently, some tanks get this, others don’t. I experience this in my betta tank only. Could be the kind of fish, the food, something else or a combination. A water change itself won’t do much unless you can only skim the surface. Another way is to lie a paper towel across the surface then pull it up quickly. Either way, it may just come back.

Other reading on the subject:
http://64.191.28.50/forums/showthread.php?threadid=19765&highlight=oily+film

http://64.191.28.50/forums/showthread.php?threadid=20927&highlight=oily+film

Or, search the forums for oily film - I got 15 hits.
 
Thanks for the links. I did some more research when I had time and did the oil film search.. I'll give the paper towell a try but all the other solutions I can't really do. Its a fairly fresh tank that I just setup a co2 system on. Do you think adding an air stone to the tank help at all or will it just mess up the co2 in the tank?

My sponge filter has a vairable intake where i can control how fast it takes in/puts out the water so I turned up this morning allow for more surface agitation (something I was hoping to avoid).

As for the cause, I'm kinda confused because all the reasons they came up with don't really relate to mine.

Thanks for the help, and I'll tell you how the paper towel works when I get home tonight.

Plainz
 
I float these Scum balls in my hot tub to pick up any oils and lotions. Maybe they will work. They are towards the bottom of this page. They dont have any additives that I know about but you can call them to make sure. They will float high in the water and start sinking slowly when they load up just rinse and reuse.
Hope that helps.
http://www.spadepot.com/Merchant2/m...Y&Store_Code=SD2000&Category_Code=Maintenance
 
well, I tried the paper towel thing and that didnt help too much. So I turned my filter up lil bit, and aded an air stone from one of my old tanks. I also did a 10-15% water change and that seemed to clear it up pretty good.

I did a water test after the water change and here are the results, i dont have a nitrate test how ever.

PH: 7.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0

Well, let me know what ya'll think..

Thanks
Plainz
 
You probably should post this over in the plant forum. Plantbrain seems to indicate this scum mainly becomes a problem when the CO2 levels are too low. I get it from time to time since I use DIY CO2. Some people devise a top skimmer to keep it off. I usually just skim the top with my python before a water change when it is being a problem.
 
Well, when I first noticed it, I tried with the python, but since its such a small tank its kinda hard to get it at a good angle to suck off the stuff... But today (bout 19hrs later) its still clean. I REALLY doubt I have to low of a co2 count in my tank.. Mater of fact I'm a lil worred that I have TOO much co2. The package deal I got is made for tanks up to 150/200ltrs (cant remember wich off hand) and I only have a 54l tank...

Plainz
 
What happens with this stuff is that as long as you have good surface agitation it gets mixed back up so you never see it but by increasing the surface agitation, you lose the CO2 you are putting in. What are your kH and pH so we can get an idea on where your CO2 is? I'll look up a url for the charts for this if you don't have one.
 
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