Originally Posted by
NavyGuy
I have a 3 month old 55 gallon tank. 5 corals, and a couple of inverts and one fish. There is this film on the top of my tank, it's not thick, but when I put my hand in the tank and then dry my hand off with paper towel, there is a brown residue. Is my protein skimmer not working well, the over flow can on the skimmer does have gunk in it. What could this be?
The film on your tank is from built up waste/proteins, it will eventually be removed by your protein skimmer, but at a slow pace, are you getting enough skim? This is usually solved by having a surface skimmer which is offered on some skimmers or by having enough surface agitation via a powerhead to circulate the protein/junk into the water again, which in turn will be sooner or later removed by the protein skimmer, Check you skimmers effiency again as well please. I also experienced the same problem in the first few months of my tank with no surface pre filter. it will go away in time as your skimmer removes it along with your mechanical filtration ea activated carbon and floss.. Good Luck!
