Looks kinda like an oil spill.....

[drouse517]

tanks got, what looks like to my g/f, like an oily kinda looking film on the top of our saltwater tanks. again this tank is only maybe a few weeks to a month old. does anyone know what could be the problem? we've tried taking out water and adding clean tap to the already salted water, but could it maybe be that there's too much salt? how can we get rid of this problem? we need some help so we can finally get another fish in there! there's a salt-like film at the top of the water that doesn't seem to wanna go away, please let me know what we need to do! thanks!

 

[stumpdog]

You said adding another fish after 2 weeks? What kind of fish is in there now? What are the specifics of your tank?
Filtration, lighting, substrate, and water parameters...
What kind of fish is in there now? A 7 gallon is pretty small.
Jeremy

 

[hondo]

sounds like your system does not have an overflow and a sump. The overflow will drain off this "oil slick" stuff which is just a build up of proteins. A good skimmer will help a little but most tanks without overflows will have this problem.

 

[aarone]

sounds like your system does not have an overflow and a sump. The overflow will drain off this "oil slick" stuff which is just a build up of proteins. A good skimmer will help a little but most tanks without overflows will have this problem.
he has a 7 gallon.

 

[crustytheclown]

Point a small powerhead across the surface!

 

[aarone]

get the smallest rio you can find, then increase the surface agitation.

 

[finfin2003]

I noticed you said you were adding tap water. I dont know if you have been told this or read it on here but tap water is really not the best thing for salt water aquariums.
I would get the power head and from now on use distilled or RO water. Much better for the whole set up.

 

[beaslbob]

It is very common for tanks (fresh and salt) to have a surface film when first setup. As stated by others, various circulation measures will help. Over time the film does go away. Top feeding fish (platties, guppies in fresh and mollies in salt) do a very effective job eliminating this film.