[BrianT]

There is a film, developed on top of the water. I'm not sure if its good or bad.

I have a 150 planted,
pressurized c02 / ph monitor
PH 6.6
eco-complete / black florite
two canister filters

The only slight water movement is the cansister filter outlet torward the top.

Is it a build up of to much c02 or breakdown of plants? Should i have more movement up top where it doesnt build as much? when you disturb the water, small particles begin to float down like dandruff.

 

[shane3fan]

I believe I read that it is protein buildup and that it doesnt occur with surface disturbance present. Do you want calm water with healthy plants and stuff on top, or bubbly water with the posibility of not as healthy plants with no buildup?

Just what I remember reading--so Im just being a parrot.

 

[urbguy]

Nutrients themselves don't cause algae. Your plants need macro and micro nutrients to grow. "Supposed to be providing" sounds like you are not sure exactly what type of nutrients are in your substrate and in what quantity. There is no reason you can't dose your water column too, it gives the plants two sources to draw nutrients from and helps to provide non-limiting amounts of nutrients.

Without further info about your setup i.e. tank size, lighting, photoperiod, filtration, bioload, CO2 or no CO2 it will be hard for anyone to give helpful advice.

Meanwhile here is a link to more info about the various types of algae and how to identify and prevent them.

http://www.aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/

I thought that this might come in handy. Posted by captain_bu this little article has alot of stuff on algae and other things as well. It covers surface film and provides remedies to such problems as well. hope it helps!

 

[BrianT]

Healthy plants of course lol. where does the build up benefit the plants?

 

[urbguy]

Healthy plants of course lol. where does the build up benefit the plants?

Not necessarily good or bad and based on the thickness of the film, it can slow the gas exchange process.

But what's in your tank? # of fish, how much food you feed them, what kind of food?

 

[BrianT]

40 tets
2 clown loach,
4 discus
2 bumble bee cats
1 gold ancistrus
1 angel

feed twice , small discus food (sinking) and two cubes at end of day of bloodworm

 

[hbosman]

Try to increase the surface turbulence a bit. It is possible to find a balance between less surface film and co2 loss. If the co2 level goes down, increase the co2 bubble rate slightly. Co2 is cheap. I create visible surface turbulence in one corner of my 46 gallon tank, the 4 kh bubble checker turns green and I still use less than 3 bps.

 

[CL]

I thought that this might come in handy. Posted by captain_bu this little article has alot of stuff on algae and other things as well. It covers surface film and provides remedies to such problems as well. hope it helps!

Is this real?

In the past many believed that NO3 and especially PO4 can induce algae. It has been proven numerous times that these nutrients (even if overdosed) can not create algae issues. Actually the more we dose the less algae we get.

 

[urbguy]

wow i would love to see your tank! lol. but i think the bloodworm is probably one of the cause as it is high in protein. algae wafers and decaying plant matter contribute as well. in your case it doesn't seem like it's thick enough to cause any problems. agitating the surface would probably fix this problem or you can manually skim it yourself. i've had friends invest in a surface skimmer to reduce the skim.

here's one thats pretty cheap.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+12703&pcatid=12703

 

[mistergreen]

it's a natural by-product. If you look at the film under a microscope, it's a lot of small gunk, bacteria, protozoans dead and alive.

 

[BrianT]

Now I read that you can get some shrimp that may feed off of the stuff? As well as cleaning the bottom.

I've seen that alot of you have some type or another of shrimp. I was wondering if i was able to order some or where a good reputable place to get some would be.

I live in Austin Texas, but they are still expensive, like 20 dollars and up ....anyone got a good lead..?

 

[timwag2001]

if you can rig one of these up to your filter it will take care of the skum http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12703

once i got rid of it i just increased the turbulence on the surface of the water and that keeps it under control

 

[johnnyboy2476]

Some black mollies would do the trick. They love to hang out on the top and clean the surface film.

 

[hbosman]

I would go with the surface turbulence. The Aquarium Surface Skimmer is almost uglier than the surface skum. :icon_mrgr

 

[NJAquaBarren]

I have one of the surface skimmer attachments. It was simple to install, works great. 10 minutes and your surface skum will be gone for good.

Once in a while you have to adjust it as you can adjust the amount of flow from the skimmer and bottom inlets. I donlt think I spend 5 minutes on it in a month.

Can't imagine fish or inverts being able to handle the volume in my 80g tank. Lily pipes were suggested as an alternative to agitate the surface just enough, but are a lot more than $10. This device doesn't alter your current outflow arrangement, just sucks surface water as part of the intake process. Takes excess food off the surface as well.

$10, works exactly as described. Can't beat it.

AB