Film on top of water

[saltymarine]

For the last couple of days there has been this thick film on the the top of the water. I skim it off with a cup and the next day it is back. It looks kind of milky and it is really irritating me. I took the glass cover off the top to keep the PH at the right levels. Anyone have any idea what this might be?

 

[meowzer]

I had a film once...Do you have water flow at the top?

 

[[ronnie]]

could be mucus from ur corals.. i wouldnt worry about it 2 much.. a surface skimmer should take care of the problem.

 

[t316]

What type of equipment are you running? This is rare, but sometimes a film can be the result of one of your pieces of mechanical equipment leaking bearing oil/lubricant, which will float to the surface. Skim it off, then smell of it. If that doesn't work, rub it on your fingers and see if it feels slick.

 

[saltymarine]

I am running all of the normal stuff and I don't believe anything is leaking. It is not really an oily film but rather something like a film from being exposed to air. It is almost like skin when I skim it off it stays in large pieces. Maybe it is because it is a relatively new set up and hasn't matured all the way yet. I don't have any flow specifically pointed at the water surface because I removed the glass cover and I don't want to ruin my VHOs. Thanks for the advice.

 

[uneverno]

I'm guessing undisolved organics. Need some surface movment - without it, your gas exchange may become a problem. Doesn't have to be churning, just moving - into filter off the surface or return to it, either way.
I was getting the same thing. I just put a small Aquaclear filter on the tank. Cleared up in minutes.