[Raul-7]

It seems that surface scum is usually caused by a lack of aeration. Now apart from surface skimmers, would an inline venturi run via an air pump at night solve this problem? IMO, it would act similar to a saltwater protein skimmer where it basically creates a vortex of air and water.

 

[epicfish]

I have a small powerhead aimed at the surface of the water and it does a decent job of getting rid of the surface scum...

 

[plantbrain]

Better CO2 = better O2 production = less surface scum.
If the plants are growing well, there's generally no need for such.
A slightly to med ripple is good anyway, more CO2 can be added to make up for the little CO2 loss.

A powerhead or aeration can be used, but it's better to have the higher current when the lights are on, than off.

Plants and the tank do better with that set up(powerhead during the day).
So rather than adding yet another piece of junk inside the aquarium, I just use the existing filter (and have a filter that makes a lot of current, keep it clean so the current stays consistent).


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[distrbd]

:i

I have a small powerhead aimed at the surface of the water and it does a decent job of getting rid of the surface scum...

This is exactly how I'm doing it,and as Tom says my other tank with a lot of fast growing plants does not need anything like this to get rid of the surface scum.
Epicfish ,Every time I see your user name I have to take a double look to make sure its not "tropicalfish":icon_smil

 

[Raul-7]

I have a small powerhead aimed at the surface of the water and it does a decent job of getting rid of the surface scum...

The point is to get as much equipment as possible out of the tank.

 

[Raul-7]

Better CO2 = better O2 production = less surface scum.
If the plants are growing well, there's generally no need for such.
A slightly to med ripple is good anyway, more CO2 can be added to make up for the little CO2 loss.

A powerhead or aeration can be used, but it's better to have the higher current when the lights are on, than off.

Plants and the tank do better with that set up(powerhead during the day).
So rather than adding yet another piece of junk inside the aquarium, I just use the existing filter (and have a filter that makes a lot of current, keep it clean so the current stays consistent).


Regards,
Tom Barr

Good point. But this was more of a safeguard and it could double as a way to increase O2 levels at night.

 

[spypet]

anyone try this $6 plastic gizmo?
seems you can turn that stick up
on the top to stop it from sucking
in surface stuff while you're feeding.

 

[Betowess]

anyone try this $6 plastic gizmo?
seems you can turn that stick up
on the top to stop it from sucking
in surface stuff while you're feeding.

Spypet, use the search option. (LOL). There are about 10 posts on this device. But to answer your query, yes they work fine and look really ugly in a tank.

 

[epicfish]

Spypet, use the search option. (LOL). There are about 10 posts on this device. But to answer your query, yes they work fine and look really ugly in a tank.

Hey!!! I have one in my reef tank. But most of it is hidden by the rockwork, so it's fine.

You can also point the outflow of my canister at the surface of the water if you want to get rid of equipment in the tank. I get a good amount of surface movement so I inject a little more CO2 to compensate and it works fine.

 

[spypet]

hehehe, Betowess.
I deserved that :wink:

but technically I was offering it as a possible Scum
removing alternative, not just asking if it's any good.

 

[plantbrain]

You can hide most anything with scaping.

Still, the scum is not a good sign of healthy planted tank IMO.
Something is causing an excess leakage of plant or bacterial lipids/proteins etc.

When there's plenty of O2, then the material is rapidly broken down..........
When O2 suffers, less than optimal plant growth/O2 etc then you get it.

I've added pure O2, it went away in several repeat test.
It'd come back when I stopped.

Later I noticed the CO2 was not up to snuff.
That corrected the appearance without O2.

I might have gone back and redid the same tank with cO2, but I did not.
Later, every time I've seen the scum, a water change and redoing the tweaking the CO2 resolved the issue along with some good water movement.

This did not isolate the cause/s, but it does show that it's O2 and perhaps plant growth(since O2 production is linked to plant growth).

Mild cases should clear up at night near the end of the light cycles and appear again early about the time the lights go on.
Plants also leak more scum/exudates etc when slightly stressed.
So it might be both the plant's leaking and the lower O2.

Not sure.

Regards,
Tom Barr