White "HARD" film on glass?

RyanM · 03/08/2007, 02:51 PM

Im getting a white extremely hard to scrap off film on my front glass. Takes a brand new razor blade to get it off. Im guessing its Calcium persipitation but I can see no reason for it. I switched to randy's 2 part a few weeks ago and since then my alk and calc have been stable at 10dkh and 400 calc. I have been letting my alk drop to 9 the past few days and calc is around 390. My mag lvl I have no idea but I do freaquent water changes with reef crystals so I dont think my mag is to low. I have a test but for the life of me I cant get an acurate reading out of it. Its a red Sea mag test and IMO it is junk.
What can this stuff be?

I see no reason for anything to be persipitating out. Its a really thin layer and very hard to scrape off. Not because its overly hard just that it is so thin a layer nothing but a brand new blade cuts it and even that doesnt really do a good job. Then in a matter of a few hours its right back. Kinda looks like a water mark on a fine wood table.

Any guesses?

Oh one more thing, I stopped dripping kalk when I went to the 2 part system but my phosphates started to rise a little so I started to drip kalk again as top off. It started soon as I started to drip again. Not sure if it has anything to do with it but Im thinking it may. My first gallon I dripped after a couple weeks of not dripping kalk clouded my water pretty good. Ive never seen this before and at the time thought maybe i dripped it to fast or didnt let it settle enough before dripping. It cleared up pretty quickly so I didnt give it much thought. Water is clear now. but the stuff on the glass is telling me somthing.

Just dont know what.

tmfuller · 03/08/2007, 04:25 PM

i'm no expert but from what i have read it sound like your mag level is low.if i'm understanding what i have read correctly your mag.in the salwater helps desolve the cal. and alk so that it is useful.someone will have an answer on here and i will be following this thread to see if i'm totally wrong lol.

RyanM · 03/08/2007, 04:39 PM

I would think it was my mag lvls to but from what ive read, if your mag is to low then your calc is unstable and it makes it hard to maintain higher lvls. That does not seem to be the case. Always 390-400. All my lvls are IMO very stable. But like you, im no expert either. Thats what has me perplexed.

magdelan · 03/08/2007, 08:44 PM

Is your Alk and PH high??? It sounds like you have high levels of Alk.

RyanM · 03/08/2007, 09:54 PM

No, my alk is 9.5 dkh and ph is 8.2
Im sure my ph goes down at night a little and back up during the day but ive never had it be lower than 8 or higher than 8.4 when ive tested it. Ill stop adding anything for a day or 2 and see if it slows up or starts to clear up. Its not on the glass in my refuge and that seems strange to. Its only in my display. Its not real bad
tho just bothersome. It may even dissapate on its on.

03/08/2007, 02:51 PM	#1
RyanM Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Owego Ny. Posts: 677	White "HARD" film on glass? Im getting a white extremely hard to scrap off film on my front glass. Takes a brand new razor blade to get it off. Im guessing its Calcium persipitation but I can see no reason for it. I switched to randy's 2 part a few weeks ago and since then my alk and calc have been stable at 10dkh and 400 calc. I have been letting my alk drop to 9 the past few days and calc is around 390. My mag lvl I have no idea but I do freaquent water changes with reef crystals so I dont think my mag is to low. I have a test but for the life of me I cant get an acurate reading out of it. Its a red Sea mag test and IMO it is junk. What can this stuff be? I see no reason for anything to be persipitating out. Its a really thin layer and very hard to scrape off. Not because its overly hard just that it is so thin a layer nothing but a brand new blade cuts it and even that doesnt really do a good job. Then in a matter of a few hours its right back. Kinda looks like a water mark on a fine wood table. Any guesses? Oh one more thing, I stopped dripping kalk when I went to the 2 part system but my phosphates started to rise a little so I started to drip kalk again as top off. It started soon as I started to drip again. Not sure if it has anything to do with it but Im thinking it may. My first gallon I dripped after a couple weeks of not dripping kalk clouded my water pretty good. Ive never seen this before and at the time thought maybe i dripped it to fast or didnt let it settle enough before dripping. It cleared up pretty quickly so I didnt give it much thought. Water is clear now. but the stuff on the glass is telling me somthing. Just dont know what. __________________ Imagine all the people living life in peace. "John Lennon" Current Tank Info: 120 reef 3x250wMH Octopus NW-200 Skimmer Last edited by RyanM; 03/08/2007 at 03:05 PM.

03/08/2007, 04:39 PM	#3
RyanM Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Owego Ny. Posts: 677	I would think it was my mag lvls to but from what ive read, if your mag is to low then your calc is unstable and it makes it hard to maintain higher lvls. That does not seem to be the case. Always 390-400. All my lvls are IMO very stable. But like you, im no expert either. Thats what has me perplexed. __________________ Imagine all the people living life in peace. "John Lennon" Current Tank Info: 120 reef 3x250wMH Octopus NW-200 Skimmer

03/08/2007, 08:44 PM	#4
magdelan Fish? Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Gananda, NY Posts: 3,785	Is your Alk and PH high??? It sounds like you have high levels of Alk. __________________ "Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent, used to build monuments of nothingness. Those who specialize in them, are seldom capable of anything else."

03/08/2007, 09:54 PM	#5
RyanM Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Owego Ny. Posts: 677	No, my alk is 9.5 dkh and ph is 8.2 Im sure my ph goes down at night a little and back up during the day but ive never had it be lower than 8 or higher than 8.4 when ive tested it. Ill stop adding anything for a day or 2 and see if it slows up or starts to clear up. Its not on the glass in my refuge and that seems strange to. Its only in my display. Its not real bad tho just bothersome. It may even dissapate on its on. __________________ Imagine all the people living life in peace. "John Lennon" Current Tank Info: 120 reef 3x250wMH Octopus NW-200 Skimmer Last edited by RyanM; 03/08/2007 at 10:05 PM.

03/08/2007, 04:25 PM	#2
tmfuller Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: asheboro,nc Posts: 243	i'm no expert but from what i have read it sound like your mag level is low.if i'm understanding what i have read correctly your mag.in the salwater helps desolve the cal. and alk so that it is useful.someone will have an answer on here and i will be following this thread to see if i'm totally wrong lol.