Film on water

667 Views 9 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Elliot, Nov 20, 2010

KC1

Discussion Starter · Nov 19, 2010

Hey guys, I got this film on the surface of my aquarium water. I just did a water change and sucked some of it out but it's gonna take forever to get rid of it this way. Is there an easier way to remove it? It actually looks like an oil by the way it separates

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MrMoneybags

· #2 · Nov 19, 2010

paper towels on teh surface...

the only way to get rid of it is to have something that causes surface turbulence...like a HOB filter or a surface skimmer

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Porsche

· #3 · Nov 19, 2010

You must have a filter that can suck the surface film, by disrupting the surface of water the film(organic protein) will get sucked in the filter. Or put your hand in there, the oil will stick to your arm/hands.

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Sharkfood

· #4 · Nov 19, 2010

You can skim it out with a cup also. Or suck it out with a python.

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Darkblade48

· #5 · Nov 19, 2010

+1 on breaking up the surface film with some agitation (i.e. spraybar from a canister filter, HOB filter, etc)

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KC1

Discussion Starter · #6 · Nov 19, 2010

My eheim spray bar is across the surface all it does is move the film around. Maybe I will add a hob filter and see if I can put the suction side really close to the surface? I suck it out everytime I do a water change but it seems like I'm getting nowhere.

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DANIELSON

· #7 · Nov 19, 2010

I have the same thing it's really annoying

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Matty

· #8 · Nov 19, 2010

I bought a new canister filter really cheap on ebay, 60 bucks delivered to my door, anyway, the inlet tube for the system has a surface skimmer, Its a star shaped piece of tubing that sits right at the water level and creates a constant current to remove any dead plants/ film works great.

I used to have this same problem and haven't seen it since.

You can see the piece I'm referring to in this photo of the inlet tube.]

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Eden Marel

· #9 · Nov 19, 2010

The paper towl trick works, and you might want to up the amount of surface agitation to prevent it from showing.

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Elliot

· #10 · Nov 20, 2010

+1 on surface agitation. It's the easiest way to do it if you want to get rid of it the easy way. I noticed this on the surface of my tank, I pointed the powerhead up and it was gone in a couple days. There are still some particles on the surface though.

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