film on surface of water.

annewayne · 11/14/2006, 05:15 PM

my question is there is a oily film on the surface of the water,there doesnt appear to be any effect on tne corals or fish. my question is what is this and how do i get rid of it.

got2lb · 11/14/2006, 05:23 PM

Do you have a sump? If so you need to make it so that your overflow is only skimming the surface water off. I was having the same problem on mine. My overflow has teeth cut into it. So I actually took some acrylic and covered up the teeth to make it flat all the way across now it skims that stuff off of the surface and I don't have any problems.

annewayne · 11/14/2006, 05:31 PM

yes,i have a sump with a skimmer in it.my tank has the corner overflows built in to it.i clean my filters on the overflows daily trying to get rid of this

lllosingit · 11/14/2006, 05:41 PM

Your overflow should pull the film in as the water drains to the sump, That is where your problem is, Anyway you can get a picture of the overflow?

lllosingit · 11/14/2006, 05:43 PM

One more question? what is the water level in your overflow box?
Do you run a standpipe of some kind?
If the water level in the overflow is to high it could keep the overflow from pulling in the surface crud.

annewayne · 11/14/2006, 05:49 PM

i would but my 6-year old son lost usb cord for camera. i will try to buy one tonight. thank you for your help.

Atticus · 11/14/2006, 07:59 PM

Sounds like the water level is too high in the overflow, like mentioned above. Odds are you are feeding frozen foods that contain the oil that you are seeing. Thaw and rise your food.

tibbs2 · 11/15/2006, 08:52 AM

I had a similar problem when I had my powerheads set up a certain way. The tunze was blowing all the film to the opposite side of the overflow and it began to look really ugly until I re-arranged the location of the pumps.

Chris

mthedude · 11/15/2006, 10:22 AM

The oil will be there no matter what you feed. It's the disolved organics that your skimmer will pull out. You just need to make sure your overflow is pulling the surface water out and it goes directly to your skimmer input pump. You can point a powerhead at the surface to break it up but you'll need to make sure your sump has a higher turnover rate so as so make sure your skimmer is getting the organics out of the water collumn.

annewayne · 11/15/2006, 08:26 PM

thank you for everybodys help.you made me think about the powerhead setup,i moved them around and up a little,it cleared it up,and i cleaned my overflow intakes a little.everything looks fine now.

11/14/2006, 05:15 PM	#1
annewayne Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Des Moines Posts: 237	film on surface of water. my question is there is a oily film on the surface of the water,there doesnt appear to be any effect on tne corals or fish. my question is what is this and how do i get rid of it.

11/14/2006, 05:23 PM	#2
got2lb Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Clarksville, Iowa Posts: 2,771	Do you have a sump? If so you need to make it so that your overflow is only skimming the surface water off. I was having the same problem on mine. My overflow has teeth cut into it. So I actually took some acrylic and covered up the teeth to make it flat all the way across now it skims that stuff off of the surface and I don't have any problems. __________________ Tanks gone, planning the next endeavor!

11/14/2006, 05:41 PM	#4
lllosingit Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Des Moines Iowa Posts: 3,190	Your overflow should pull the film in as the water drains to the sump, That is where your problem is, Anyway you can get a picture of the overflow? __________________ It Was Funny Until Someone Got Hurt..........Then It Was Hilarious! Current Tank Info: DD 250 60x36x27 450 gallon total system.

11/14/2006, 05:43 PM	#5
lllosingit Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Des Moines Iowa Posts: 3,190	One more question? what is the water level in your overflow box? Do you run a standpipe of some kind? If the water level in the overflow is to high it could keep the overflow from pulling in the surface crud. __________________ It Was Funny Until Someone Got Hurt..........Then It Was Hilarious! Current Tank Info: DD 250 60x36x27 450 gallon total system.

11/14/2006, 07:59 PM	#7
Atticus Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Independence, Iowa Posts: 5,841	Sounds like the water level is too high in the overflow, like mentioned above. Odds are you are feeding frozen foods that contain the oil that you are seeing. Thaw and rise your food. __________________ "Good enough is the enemy of excellence." Current Tank Info: As many as the wife will allow....

11/14/2006, 05:31 PM	#3
annewayne Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Des Moines Posts: 237	yes,i have a sump with a skimmer in it.my tank has the corner overflows built in to it.i clean my filters on the overflows daily trying to get rid of this

11/14/2006, 05:49 PM	#6
annewayne Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Des Moines Posts: 237	i would but my 6-year old son lost usb cord for camera. i will try to buy one tonight. thank you for your help.

11/15/2006, 08:52 AM	#8
tibbs2 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: IA Posts: 1,422	I had a similar problem when I had my powerheads set up a certain way. The tunze was blowing all the film to the opposite side of the overflow and it began to look really ugly until I re-arranged the location of the pumps. Chris

11/15/2006, 10:22 AM	#9
mthedude Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Des Moines, IA Posts: 549	The oil will be there no matter what you feed. It's the disolved organics that your skimmer will pull out. You just need to make sure your overflow is pulling the surface water out and it goes directly to your skimmer input pump. You can point a powerhead at the surface to break it up but you'll need to make sure your sump has a higher turnover rate so as so make sure your skimmer is getting the organics out of the water collumn. __________________ You........Cake or Death? I'll have the cake please.... ....well we're outta cake! Current Tank Info: 55g Reef Tank, scooter blenny, tail spot blenny, cleaner shrimp, button polyps, fuzzy mushrooms, hammer coral, multi color zoos, 10 gal fuge, Octopus NW150

11/15/2006, 08:26 PM	#10
annewayne Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Des Moines Posts: 237	thank you for everybodys help.you made me think about the powerhead setup,i moved them around and up a little,it cleared it up,and i cleaned my overflow intakes a little.everything looks fine now.