slick on top of water

[socko6774]

why does it look like i have a coating on top of my water?? should i face hte PH towards the top??
right now i have 2 PH plus hte filter outlet to cirulate the water.. one PH is pointeing down, the other has one of those rotating heads, and the filter outlet is right along the top.

 

[robsw]

i have the same problem on my nano. how big is your tank and how long has it been set up. also is this slick made up of little white particles. i hope someone answers this post cuz it bothers the junk outa me.

 

[socko6774]

its a 30 gallon, its not really a color, just a transparent film, its annoying...LFS guy told me it was from poor circulation. I cant fit anymore powerheads in there !!

 

[jdragunas]

what kind of filter do you have? How does the water get down to the filter? is it like a HOB filter that has the intake toward the bottom of the tank? if so, that's your problem. You'd have to get some sort of filter to take water in at the top (like a skimmer) in order to get the surface to look clean. It's not really a circulation problem.

 

[socko6774]

Originally Posted by jdragunas
what kind of filter do you have? How does the water get down to the filter? is it like a HOB filter that has the intake toward the bottom of the tank? if so, that's your problem. You'd have to get some sort of filter to take water in at the top (like a skimmer) in order to get the surface to look clean. It's not really a circulation problem.

yeh its HOB filter, and its way down below...should i cut the intake tube to raise it up a bit??

 

[socko6774]

Originally Posted by jdragunas
what kind of filter do you have? How does the water get down to the filter? is it like a HOB filter that has the intake toward the bottom of the tank? if so, that's your problem. You'd have to get some sort of filter to take water in at the top (like a skimmer) in order to get the surface to look clean. It's not really a circulation problem.

well is it harmfull to have that on stuff on top?>?

 

[robsw]

i too have a HOB filter on my 20 with the same film. i will try cutting it a little higher and let you kno how it works. thanks for posting this question.

 

[socko6774]

Originally Posted by RobSW
i too have a HOB filter on my 20 with the same film. i will try cutting it a little higher and let you kno how it works. thanks for posting this question.
definelty keep me posted :thinking:

 

[jdragunas]

i wouldn't cut it. It's setup that way for a reason. If you cut it, it'll mess with the unit.
It's not harmful to have the stuff on the top of your water, as long as you don't mind the look of it. I have the same thing on my 30g hex with a HOB filter.

 

[socko6774]

Originally Posted by jdragunas
i wouldn't cut it. It's setup that way for a reason. If you cut it, it'll mess with the unit.
It's not harmful to have the stuff on the top of your water, as long as you don't mind the look of it. I have the same thing on my 30g hex with a HOB filter.

aight, thanks for the info

 

[jdragunas]

no problemo!

 

[dmjordan]

maybe try adding a surface skimmer or doing a diy skimmer box for your existing intake. i have one powerhead pointing towards the surface of my tank to create surface agitation.

 

[pchromis]

In addition to my fuge with PS, and powerheads, I run a cannister filter basically for the added water flow accross the surface. I added a surface skimmer and that problem was fixed.

 

[murph]

That film is most likely dissolved organics. They are attracted to the surface of the water just as they would be attracted to the surface of bubbles created in a protein skimmer which is basically how a skimmer works but provides an export for these DOCs via its collection cup.
A safe bet is if you added a well functioning skimmer to the system this problem would go away in a week or two.

 

[ninjamini]

You need an overflow to suck that gunk off the top of the water and a protein skimmer to remove it. Its real nasty stuff. It will keep the light from your corals and good air transfer from your fish.

 

[mileto]

i also have this problem in my 10 gal nano with underground filter realy annoys me i thought it was poor water quality

 

[davidmwj]

I had the same problem with my 90, so it's not isolated to smaller tank sizes. I think the way I had my powerheads and returns going it just created a slow (not dead) spot there. So, I pointed on of my returns there so it just breaks the surface and it cleared up. Hope that helps you.