Surface of water

polka

polka

Member
Hi I have a 38 gal f/o with u/g crush coral sub, two power heads, seaclone p/s, filter part of skilter. I have a clown, fiji devil, spotted hawk. My question is this...why does the surface of the water seem to have a film on it and I have ring of foam all around edges. Protein skimmer seem to be working ok. I also have a hard time with brown algae. Tank has been cycled for approx. two months. I have added fish very gradually. Levels are right on the mark. What should salt be at? Sometimes it is 22 sometimes it is 23 to 24. Thank you.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
I had answered this somewhere on this board before, but will do so again. This "film" on the surface of the water is not an unusual phenomena. And it usually shows up, if its going to, in new tanks. Marine substrate is never completely washed clean no matter how much you rinse and rinse. Tiny particles do not get sucked down into the filters or picked up by the skimmer. Because it is light, it ends up circulating at the water surface looking like a swriling mess at the surface. I don't know of any way to get this out; however, it seems harmless to the fish. If you don't like it, its simple to camoflage. Drop strong airstones on either side of or your tank, making sure that a good stream of bubbles is constantly hiting the surface water. This will dislocate that swrilling mess at the surface enough so that you won't have to look at anymore.
 
porkypuffer

porkypuffer

Member
ANOTHER WAY THAT YOU MIGHT GET RID OF THE FILM IS TO BUY AN INEXPENSIVE HANG ON THE BACK TYPE FILTER. IF THE FILTER ALONE ISN'T ENOUGH, YOU COULD MAKE A SURFACE SKIMMER WITH IT BY PUTTING A CLEAR TUBE, SEALED ON ONE END, OVER THE INLET UP TO THE SURFACE OF THE WATER SO IT DRAWS FROM THE TOP. CUT SLITS IN THE TUBE TO ACCOMADATE FOR WATER LEVEL CHANGE. KEEP IT IN PLACE WITH SUCTION CUPS. BUT THE FILTER ALONE MAY BE ENOUGH TO CLEAN THE SMALL PARTICALS FROM THE WATER.
 
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