White film on top of the water

[mids1999]

I keep getting this white film on the top of the water in my planted 75g. Does anyone know the possible causes and a cure?

 

[joel.uejio]

I had that in the sump for my SW tank -- think it's just organic matter gunking on the surface. Try adjusting your filter(s) or adding a power head to create more surface agitation (which is good for a tank anyway).

 

[Ozymandias]

ya surface scum not bad or anything but it can be annoying especially in planted tanks where you want less surface movement. but only way to really get rid of it is surface movement.

 

[WeedCali]

Just organic waste. surface skimmers get rid of it.

But what i do is just take a water bottle and put its mouth right at the surface so that it sucks all the waste into the bottle then you dump it and repeat a couple times.

 

[timwag2001]

just curious, what type of food do you feed your fish?

 

[DoctaQ]

i wonder too, i have that stuff, i feed new life spectrum, hikari carnivore pellets
occasionally nutramar ova and cyclopeeze. any overlap here?

 

[tanker]

There has been many post with this same problem. I do not believe it is food related, but think it may be some sort of algae. Surface movement will bring it down so filter can get it. If you run CO2 then that could be a problem.

If you have plants I would dose excel, it kills most algaes. Try to skim off most during water changes.

Or you can try this---Get a PH on a timer to come on at night for 5-8 hours, does not have to be a strong one. Aim, PH across top of water. This should clear it in a few days and keep it clear.

 

[pjrichar]

i get it from time to time,,, have to keep eye on it a bit as it can disrupt oxygen transfer in water.... i paper towel method and make sure have good surface flow... usually goes away in couple days,,, sucks though ,,, looks terrible, like you have really screwed somehthing up,, but not that big a deal

 

[cellodaisy]

I've gotten a white film on a plant grow-out tank that was not getting fed anything (other than tank water from the other tanks) and I was dosing excel---in fact, it actually seemed worse after a heavier dose of excel. So there is at least one kind of white film that doesn't respond to that treatment.

 

[J double R]

The majority of the time, it's organic proteins that have built up on the surface. No big deal, but unsightly. Increased surface agitation, water changes, and in extreme cases, a skimmer, can help.